Every business owner hopes to increase efficiency in their business. Increasing efficiency has many benefits, including:
- Waste reduction.
- Engaged staff.
- More able to meet customer demand.
- Increased profits.
- More time for interesting/engaging work.
Inefficiency wastes time and money, creating a significant overhead and causing overwork among executives and employees. That is why so many companies focus on building efficiencies and automation into their businesses.
In Adi Klevit’s recent interview with Lisa Catto, CEO of The Business Catalyst, Lisa shared three efficiency hacks anyone can implement. Each hack aims to increase business efficiency and create a better workplace for all.
Three Efficiency Hacks You Can Use Right Now
Here are three efficiency hacks you can use today to reduce waste and increase profits.
1. Understand where you’re being inefficient.
Before tackling inefficiencies, you must find out where your business is inefficient.
During the interview, Lisa shared one area in which many companies are inefficient. This is the customer journey. Here’s what she does to improve marketing, lead generation, and sales efficiency:
a. Build a flow chart through marketing, lead generation, and sales. This chart shows what people are already doing.
b. Read through the chart and spot where sales are falling through.
c. Take a look through the chart from an automation standpoint. Could some manual actions be automated?
d. Conclude: What needs to be changed immediately to increase sales? What can be done in the next six months to improve the sales experience?
This bird’s eye view gives you insight into what can be changed immediately and over time to improve efficiency.
You can perform the above four-step process in any area to spot inefficiencies. Simply map out the area, determine the problem points, and note where work could be automated.
2. Focus on metrics.
One of the best ways to measure improvement and spot inefficiencies is to track metrics. However, metric tracking can often be viewed passively, with little to no action taken until the measurables have bottomed out.
When you actively monitor the numbers and assign specific metrics to particular areas, you can parse out which areas are inefficient and which are on track. In real-time, you can see if something you have implemented is working.
3. Ensure accountability
Accountability is vital for any business but particularly crucial when making changes. Building visible accountability dashboards and scoreboards can help ensure that responsibility is taken throughout the organization while providing a dynamic snapshot of how things are going in a particular area.
If the above actions sound overwhelming, there’s good news. Every one of these three hacks can be systematized. Contact Business Consulting Group today to talk to the systems experts and get these efficiency hacks implemented in your business.
