14 Ways to ‘Spring Clean’ Your Business Operations
Spring is coming, bringing with it that extra bit of mental energy that comes from the return of fresh air and the end of rainy cold. The change in season also creates a chance for companies to review their processes. So what can your business streamline and de-clutter to improve operations?
Examine Automation
With the projected advancements for artificial intelligence and automation in 2017, I will take a closer look at all aspects within my company, from bookkeeping to customer support and manufacturing to marketing. Wherever the automation of the work can be done, I will integrate the software and/or hardware to streamline operations, and free up time and personnel for design and business development. – Peter Bonac, Bonac Innovation Corp.
Unsubscribe From Unneeded Accounts
You subscribe to a lot of social accounts, email updates, and blogs through the year. Now is the time to unfollow all accounts that aren’t providing any value. This will help you de-clutter and focus on what’s important. – Pratham Mittal, Outgrow
Audit Your Activity
Every so often, I make it a point to step back and analyze my daily activities, as well as the activities of my team. I’m looking for inefficiencies, clutter, overhead and other “junk” that’s accumulated over time. It’s remarkable how much we do out of habit, never stepping back and asking ourselves if there’s a better way. – Robby Berthume, Bull & Beard
Review Neglected Areas
Every year, certain areas get neglected due to a lack of resources, so it’s the time to look specifically at those, see how they might be better incorporated, or just get rid of them if they have gone this long without any notice or results. There’s nothing wrong with simplifying to strengthen focus and funnel resources more effectively. – Drew Hendricks, Buttercup
Digitize More
I’m looking for all the ways I can get rid of any paper processes and operate in the most efficient way possible with digitized and automated processes. And, anything that is still manual, I will work with my team to determine if there is a tool or process that will change it. – Murray Newlands, Sighted
Question Processes
I’ve found that even the most mundane and tested processes can have massive room for improvement right under your nose. That’s why I encourage my whole team to question everything (similar to a toddler) and ask “Is that the best way to do it?” — even if it’s a process that’s been in place for years. We’ll even have a “spring cleaning,” where we go through every process and look for improvements. – Elle Kaplan, LexION Capital
Freshen Up Client Documents
Invoice templates, care instructions and the other docs we’ve been providing to our customers are starting to show their age. This year, I’m going to go through all of those and find out if my design people can’t improve the way these documents reflect on our company. Some of the templates date back to the 90s, so it’s hard to imagine that they couldn’t do with a little improvement. – Matt Doyle, Excel Builders
Reorganize Systems
As a startup, we developed systems and processes organically as needs arose. At the time, it allowed us to be agile. As our company grew, specifically the size of our teams, that strength often became a weakness. The timing can’t be better now to take a step back and say, “If we could do it all over again, how would set things up?” because we now have the opportunity to simplify things. – Vincent Wong, mHelpDesk
Source: Huffington Post
Author: Young Entrepreneur Council, Contributor
Young Entrepreneur Council. “14 Ways to ‘Spring Clean’ Your Business Operations.” The Huffington Post, 03 Mar 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/14-ways-to-spring-clean-your-business-operations_b_58af5106e4b02f3f81e44554.
