It’s Important to Systemise Your Business
To be successful in business you need to be able to deliver a high -quality product and service consistently.
If you are going to attract new business and keep your existing customers coming back, they need to be able to experience the same level of product or service each time they return.
To achieve this consistency in your product or service you need to have checklists and procedures in place. The checklists help to maintain that consistency outlining step by step instructions to help staff remember the important information in each task they undertake.
It is not enough to just put the systems in place and produce a procedures manual. Most procedures manuals end up on the shelf never to be looked at. There needs to be ongoing training, coaching your staff and possibly your clients or customers to do things as outlined in the systems outlined in the procedures manual.
The Benefits of Systems and Procedures Manuals
As Michael Gerber in his book “The E-Myth”. Business owners need to work on their businesses rather than in them. Staff need to take ownership of the procedures and systems they are responsible for in the business.
- Putting good systems in your business and making sure your staff are trained and encouraged to follow the systems will make your business run smoothly and consistently.
- Systems will keep team members to be accountable
- Having set systems in place makes it easy for training new staff. They have simple procedures to follow.
- Clients and customers will receive consistent and reliable service and will keep coming back.
- By systemising your procedures, the turnover of your business will increase and customers will keep coming back and buying more.
So what Systems should I put in place?
- Training program for new and existing staff
- Training on sales procedures. When going into a retail store, how many times have you been asked “Can I Help You?” As soon as you walk through the door. You immediately respond, “No I am just looking”, or you turn around and walk out. Wouldn’t it be better to say, “have you seen our new line of stock that just arrived in the store this week”. They have to answer your question.
- Employee roles and job descriptions
- Delivery procedures
- Telephone answering and follow up and time it takes to answer calls.
- Set procedures for handling difficult customers and complaints
- Systems and procedures for staff goals and expectations
- Documentation for all your IT systems
- Systems to track your advertising and marketing to ensure your dollars are attracting new business.
- Systems for your financial reporting and collection of outstanding debts.
The advantage of systemising your business with good systems is it allows you to run a profitable and productive business without you necessarily working in the day to day operations. You can now work on the business instead of in it as Michael Gerber would say,
No matter what business you are in your aim should be to deliver a consistent and quality service to your customer. Systemising each area of your business will achieve this. However, it is important to train your staff to follow the systems and procedures and be consistent in delivering them.
