MEASURE, OPTIMIZE, REVISIT

Just like everything around you, your firm keeps evolving. Every day it’s different than it was the day before. If you don’t work on upgrading your processes, soon you’ll notice more and more bottlenecks. But how to make sure that the changes that you implement work out? You need to measure each process. First, you need to measure the current situation. This data will be your reference point which you can then use to compare results. Here are some of the critical metrics that you should keep track of: The duration of a project as a whole The duration of each individual step in the project The cost of completing the project on time The reliability of the data you’ve gotten. This applies to your initial measurement too. Of course, collecting this data may sound like the least exciting thing to do. But you need it, if you want to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and what you need to change. When you have the data, you can start breaking down processes. Are there any steps that are too time- or labour-intensive? Or maybe some steps could be eliminated or substituted? Or, even better, automated? Of course, don’t forget that once you make the changes – you need to measure everything once again. Then, repeat your measurements after some time. This will allow you to establish whether what you did helped your company. In fact, to ensure that you’re up-to-date, consider running regular workflow audits. Your firm is going through changes all the time and it’s not something you can (or should) stop. There will always be something that you can improve. Regular audits help you find things you can improve to keep your efficiency high. Also, don’t forget that not all the changes that you put in place will stay as fruitful as they once were. Revisiting them ensures that you’re always doing your best to free up as much time and resources as possible. Looking for ideas and tips on how you can improve certain processes? Don’t forget to visit my blog where I share growth tips and sales tactics for accounting firms just like yours. You can do that by clicking > this link.