Whether you are a small business or a multinational company you need to have business processes in place to ensure the smooth running of your enterprise. Business processes help to automate and give people direction in what they should be doing in their various departments. By putting these processes in place, you will be able to free up time to focus on how to move your company forward. Remember that processes are dynamic and they will adapt as your business grows. Furthermore, they will help you to get funding from potential investors when they see how organised you are. Here are four key processes to consider developing for your small business.
An accounting process
In this process you will keep track of your cash flow and the assets which you have available. It is important to open a bank account for your business when you start it. This will make it easier for you to file for tax when the time comes. In addition, you will need to look at an accounting package or Excel worksheet where you can keep track of your sales and the money you owe.
A marketing and sales process
Here you will look at the avenues which are available to you so that you can get your product out there. You will highlight the manner in which marketing initiatives will be conducted.
A quality and delivery process
This process looks at how you will make sure that each product that is delivered meets the quality standards of your company. You will also look at how to ensure that a quality product or service is delivered and what to do if it is not.
A product development process
This looks at the way in which products are developed and what steps need to be taken to improve the product. By creating this process, you will be able to evaluate the progress you make with your product development.
Now that you know what processes you need, how do you create them? Here are five easy steps on creating a process.
STEP 1: Do the process yourself. By doing the process yourself and writing down notes as you go, you will be able to draw up an accurate process document.
STEP 2: Give the process to someone else to do. A fellow employee can test the process document you have created and they will be able to ask you questions so that you can make the document more concise and clear.
STEP 3: Revise the process document. With the questions highlighted by your fellow colleague, it is time to review the document. You can also put videos or screenshots into the document to make it clearer on how to perform a certain action.
STEP 4: Automate the process. If there are parts of the process which can be automated, do it. Try to automate as much of the process as possible.
STEP 5: Delegate the process. When the document is completed, it is time to hand it over to your employees so that they can become responsible for the process.
Creating these process documents may take up a lot of your time but in the long run there will be great benefits for your company. It will make training new employees easier as you will have a document which you can hand over to them. They can look at and refer to it when they have questions. It will free up your time, and this will allow you to focus on strategies to grow your business into the empire you dream it to be.
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