Have You Optimised Your Processes?
What is Optimising?
Making changes to the way you work to be make them more efficient & effective, for example to: automate tasks, simplify workflows, or outsource things you or your team do. The goal is to make your life easier plus free up time & resources. Many businesspeople know these Standard Operation Procedures.
Why?
Processes can lead to higher operational costs, inefficiencies & missed opportunities for growth & innovation. You also risk poor data quality & manual errors, hindering your overall performance & competitiveness. Optimising processes will improve operational efficiency & financial performance.
Another useful benefit of having Standard Operation Procedures is to cover sickness & absences. If you have a manual which details what everyone in your team does, written procedures, if one of your team unexpectedly can’t come into work, you won’t miss anything important or urgent that is normally done by them.
How?
Mapping out processes
You can begin by looking at each activity within your processes, to help identifying quick wins & creating detailed plans to optimise. Get your team to write down what they do & how they do it.
Standardizing & Automating procedures
Ensure everyone follows the same procedures, removing bottlenecks, improving training & performance across your company.
Enhancing data flows
Improve data quality & efficiency by enabling seamless data flow across your systems, reducing manual intervention, enhancing analysis & reporting.
Outsourcing non-essential activities
Focus on your core competencies & save costs by outsourcing one-off & non-essential tasks, by finding professionals to do these for you or using cloud-based solutions.
Use the Lean Six Sigma principles
These are a well documented way of making sure you properly document you Standard Operation Procedures: Reduce waste, Work for the customer, Find your problem and focus on it, Remove variation & bottlenecks, Communicate clearly & train team members, Be flexible & responsive.
Popular Technology Solutions:
Leading finance functions are increasingly adopting these technologies:
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Accelerates document digitization and enhances data accessibility by transforming scanned text into editable digital formats.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Streamlines operations and improves decision-making by integrating critical business functions into a cohesive system.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Enhances efficiency and innovation by enabling machines to learn and apply human-like thinking processes.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Increases productivity and reduces errors by automating repetitive digital tasks such as data entry and document processing.
Digital Transformation (DT)
Drives business growth and competitiveness by redefining processes and technologies to deliver enhanced value to customers.
By focusing on these strategies & using advanced technologies your company could be more efficient, innovative, competitive, more profitable & can pave the way for sustained growth & innovation. But not only that, this will improve your team morale & be more attractive place to work when you need to hire new staff.
If you find this interesting or helpful, why not book a meeting to see how we can help you?
