Advivo outlines how to automate, delegate and eliminate your way to more productive business practices.
No matter what industry your business operates in, we are sure you are always looking for ways to save money while improving productivity. By reviewing your current business processes, you can save time and money by using the right systems to automate laborious tasks, manage the delegation of basic tasks and eliminate wasted time and resources. Here we explain three strategies that will accelerate your business’s growth.
Automate
Although it has garnered a lot of media attention recently, automation doesn’t have to involve computers or AI technology. AI technology mimics human behaviour, whereas automation encompasses following orders that humans have defined – these orders stay the same unless humans redefine the rules. This is what you should be incorporating into your business to streamline your everyday practices.
- Examples of how automation can be used within your business include:
Using a single central database where data updates are automated so there is no out-of-date information. - A trigger process for your mailing list, including automated email alerts.
To get the most out of this strategy, it is important to review your current software and procedures to determine what processes can be automated to save time and money. Furthermore, to roll out successful automation, you must first ensure you thoroughly test your systems and train your staff so that the implementation process runs smoothly.
If you use Xero for your finances, there are several automations you can set up to help streamline your repetitive or time-consuming accounting-related tasks. Contact Advivo to learn more about Xero’s automation capabilities.
Delegate
Delegation involves making sure the right people are doing the right jobs. Many people don’t delegate tasks efficiently – or resist doing them altogether.
When implemented correctly, delegation is not only a way to ensure the right person is doing the right job, but it also ensures processes are time and cost-efficient. Delegation is a way of training and coaching people to create a more sustainable future for your business. It is also important to note that this does not always involve delegating down – it’s important to also delegate up when appropriate.
For best results, ensure that you don’t leave it too long between delegating and the first check-in with your team. It can be helpful to ask your employees to complete a rough mud-map of their progress so that you can confirm whether they’re on the right track to achieving the end result.
Eliminate
The main tool we use when discussing how to eliminate unproductive time and poor resource allocation is the 7 Wastes Audit.
The 7 Wastes that can appear in your business’s processes are:
- Overproduction – Creating too much material or information.
- Inventory – Having more material or information than you need.
- Transportation – Spending time or resources moving material or information.
- Motion – Spending time or resources moving people to access or process material or information.
- Waiting – Having to wait for material or information, or for material or information to be processed.
- Defects – Errors or mistakes resulting in tasks having to be redone to correct the problem.
- Overprocessing – Processing more than necessary to produce the desired output.
To determine the impact of these, compile three examples of where each ‘waste’ can be identified in your business. After completing this, assign costs to each of these waste areas, and order them from most costly to least. Following this, label each waste in terms of its ‘ease of billing’. This activity will give you a snapshot of what ‘wastes’ are the most important for you to eliminate to improve your business’s productivity.
It is important to also note that elimination isn’t about completely removing your capacity – it is about removing WASTED capacity.
