Technology Highway

Ideally, your business is firing on all cylinders, working both efficiently and effectively.

However, by not having the proper systems in place and your employees properly trained on those systems, many companies are shooting themselves in the foot. Inefficiency in the office can affect the long-term workflow and lead to sub-par performance and results. Is your organisation reaching its full potential? 

Symptoms of Inefficiency 

The symptoms of inefficiency are numerous, and many companies exhibit one or more of these symptoms across a variety of departments. Here are a few examples: 

Operations – Working with manual systems that reflect the way a company was originally run back when it was founded, is a classic symptom of inefficiency. Examples of this include warehouse procedures, supply chains, orders and manufacturing methods that aren’t computerised or in a central database. 

Finance – Collections, AP, P&L/balance sheets, and reports generated by request with little control and limited monitoring by management. 

HR – Recruiting, background checks and hiring taking place without job descriptions or even a formal process to follow. Training that is haphazard and lacking in form or structure. 

Business Development – Sales executives with limited knowledge of their marketplace, their company’s competitive advantage, unique selling proposition, account base, and where to find sales opportunities. Paper based processes often slow them down. I know myself, every year we review and automate certain processes or make them more efficient to do more with less.

How to Prevent Inefficiency 

Those in charge should look at the processes, workflow, and results that are being achieved under the practices presently in place. Then, drawing upon your knowledge and experience, or even that of an outside advisor, begin to upgrade the internal processes. People have to interact, and information has to flow in and out to fully utilise technology as the valuable tool it can be. The price for not taking such measures can be high, even fatal for a company. 

Remember, success in business comes from the effective use of processes and systems that are run by people working daily. If your systems are outdated and inefficient, or your employees aren’t properly trained to utilise them, then you're losing out. Your competition will smile all the way to your customers’ doors as they take their business right out from under you.

Courtesy of SalesXtra