Optimizing Your Systems and Processes to Improve Performance and Productivity

“We should work on our process, not the outcome of our processes.”

~W. Edwards Deming

This edition of the newsletter explores some of the most practical methods for optimizing your systems as well as how you can optimize process efficiency within your team.

Keep in mind that as you build your business systems, they will manage the day-to-day of your company operations, but people (you and your staff) are what make those systems run.

A great case study for this principle is McDonald’s. The fast-food burger chain has done very well for itself by standardising streamlined procedures; with these in place, an employee can work in any location, which is exactly what you should aim for in your own business. That way, when you want to focus on quality time with loved ones, somebody else can manage a client or candidate who calls into the office.

Central systems you need to run your staffing business effectively

As your staffing business grows, you'll need essential central systems in place to keep your business running smoothly.

Some of these systems have been elaborated below:?

The Client and Candidate Attraction System is a novel way to connect with potential clients and candidates. The main aspects of this system are source, attract, engage, revenue, and income:?

Source: You need to identify your target market and where they spend most of their time. For example, Universities are some of the likeliest places to find your candidates (aside from bars) if you specialize in graduate recruitment.

Attract: Once you know where your target market can be found, you need to put together a plan to attract their attention. This can include creating compelling content or holding events.

Your competition will be tapping into this same audience as well, so it's important that you identify how you are going to stand out!

Engage: Once you have candidates' attention, you need to engage with them.

One tip for engaging your audience and enticing them to join your ecosystem would be to know what sets you apart from other companies in your industry or market segment - so that when someone searches online, they’ll find YOUR company instead of one with similar branding, but less value-added services offered up by their business model!

Revenue: The final goal is to generate revenue from your clients and candidates. As I have stated elsewhere in my book , cash is king and the lifeline of any business. How will you ensure invoices are charged correctly and paid on time?

Income: Remember, income is different from revenue. Revenues are your top-line sales figure; income can be thought of as the amount you take home to support yourself and those who rely on it for their livelihoods.

If you'll recall from elsewhere in my book , we discussed the misunderstanding around how much profit an invoice yields for a company. With that in mind, now I want you to decide what percentage of future invoices will be reinvested back into the business.

The Delivery System

In many ways, the delivery system makes or breaks your business. In terms of recruitment, if you can't produce successful hires for businesses, then there's no revenue coming in. Make sure to give this process a lot of attention!

Remember that as your business grows and changes, so too will this system have to adapt.

There are three key components to this system: onboarding, offer, and administration.

Onboarding: This is the process of getting a new client or candidate acquainted with your company. It's important to make sure that they understand the company culture and values. How can you make sure that every candidate is onboarded correctly and their personal information is protected?

Submittals: How are you going to submit candidates to your clients? This is an important step in the process, as it will determine whether or not you earn a placement fee.

Offer: This is the final stage in the process, where you make an offer to the candidate and they either accept or decline. If they accept, congrats!

What will the process be to handle candidate offers? This needs to be standardised too!

Pro tip: Always get offers down in writing before you show them to your candidate.

The Brand System

The Brand System is a tool that you can use to help manage your brand and ensure that your brand is consistently applied and that everyone understands how to use it. The main components of this system are the company brand, your personal brand, and your professional brand.

The company brand: Your company brand is the foundation of your overall branding system. It encompasses who you are as a company and what you stand for.

I strongly recommend thinking about what you want your business to be known for. You can refer to our previous newsletters , where we discussed creating core values for your business.

Your personal brand: How much of your personal life do you want to make accessible to those who may be prospective clients, employees or candidates? What types of things should be kept professional, and what can we use as examples to convey best practice to the rest of the team?

Your professional brand: This is how you want to be seen in the business world.

Which publications would you like to see yourself in? How would you like to be described by others? These are important questions to think about when thinking about your professional brand.

The Corporate System

The corporate system is essential for any business looking to be sustainable and scalable. It comprises the key components that keep a business together, such as sales operations, human resources, compliance and legal.

Sales operations: These processes support your client and candidate attraction system. This in turn helps with your company's growth. They include generating leads, nurturing them, and converting prospects into clients.

Shareholder value: Shareholder value is often calculated by looking at a company's return on investment. Even if you're the only shareholder, think about how you could increase your return on investment tenfold. What processes would you need to establish to make this happen?

Human resources: While you may not have a separate department for human resources when you build out your internal team, you must be able to answer how you are going to attract and retain your internal talent. Attracting and retaining good employees is crucial for any business, no matter the size.

Compliance/Legal: What will you do to ensure your business is compliant?

Earlier in my book , we discussed that it's essential you ensure your business is compliant. You should consult with professionals such as lawyers and accountants to be confident that this is the case. They will be able to give you advice on what you need to do to keep your business in compliance with the law. Put them to work and reduce the likelihood of future headaches in your business!

Coaching tip: One of the most challenging areas for me was to create efficient systems and processes. I don't love focusing on what may seem like unimportant details, but sometimes it's necessary in order to achieve my desired outcome. If this is something you can relate to, ask someone you trust, someone who is more analytical than you are, to interview you and be sure to record the conversation. That'll help you to gain clarity on the systems you need to invest in in your business.

Last, but not least, if you are unhappy with the progress you are making in this area and you need help, please don't hesitate to message me on LinkedIn or book a call . I would be more than happy to assist you.