Chaos is bad news for any business. Chaos makes a business less profitable, less efficient, and more stressful to work in. As you know if you have been paying attention to our blogs and articles lately, creating systems is a critical way to cut down on the chaos. Systems ensure that the business continues to function smoothly and consistently. Today, we are going to take a look at what it takes to create a strong system.
A strong business system is…
1) Repeatable. The whole point of a system is that it can be repeated time and time again—and a good system should be able to be executed in the same way each and every time. Fast food restaurants do this well – a burger from McDonalds will taste almost exactly the same no matter which location you order it from. The reason for this is because each location utilizes exactly the same process. You can apply this to your business—whether it’s keeping the books, producing a product or service, or handling customer service. A good system is repeatable… time and time again!
2) Teachable. Of course, it doesn’t do you much good to create a repeatable system that is so complex that you’re the only one who can run it! No, a good system must be easily teachable to your team. This enables your employees to run the business without you, freeing you up to focus on big-picture tasks… or take a vacation! It’s also important that your systems are easily teachable because this keeps you from being overly dependent on individual employees. If a key employee leaves, you need to be able to teach a replacement how to keep the systems running!
3) Effective. The bottom line is that your systems must get the job done. If it’s a system of production, you need to ensure that your products consistently meet your quality standards. If it’s bookkeeping, your system must lead to accurate records. If it’s marketing, your system must consistently generate leads and convert them into customers. Do your systems get the job done right?
4) Efficient. A strong system makes efficient use of your inputs—including raw materials and time spent by employees. As your business grows, improved efficiency that may only save you a couple of pennies at a time can add up into huge savings. Conversely, a wasteful system can quickly run your business out of business if you don’t get it under control. Are your systems efficient? Or are you wasting time and money?
5) Documented. Finally, you must be able to document your systems. Documenting your systems means that you can easily teach them to new employees, it means that you can easily replicate your systems if you open up a new location, and it increases the value of your business should you decide to sell. So if your systems aren’t yet documented, get busy!
Questions or comments? If you’d like to learn more, get in touch with me today!