When you get down to it, most people aren’t going to be all that excited about business processes, but when your day runs smoothly and nothing falls through the cracks, you’ll start to realise that even if they’re not your favourite thing in the world to set up, they’re actually vital.
It might seem as though you have to be completely organised and you need to think of absolutely everything when it comes to setting up processes, and that can be off-putting if that’s just not in your nature, but the truth is that as long as your processes work and make life easier for everyone rather than more stressful, they’re doing their job. So with that in mind, keep reading to find out more about why good processes save time and money.
They Give You Structure
Most businesses aren’t actually in complete disarray, and many are going to be at least a little bit organised – nothing would happen otherwise. But the thing is that if it always feels like a bit of a scramble, or if your team’s juggling more than they need to, it might not be the workload that’s the problem – it might be that there’s just no structure (or at least not enough).
Maybe new clients take way too long to onboard because everyone’s trying to do new things every time, or maybe the marketing and sales teams aren’t quite on the same page, which can cause issues. It could be that invoices go missing, and then there’s a problem with cash flow because it takes a while for anyone to notice. These aren’t (usually) massive problems, but they will cost you time, money, and focus (and they build up). But if you had processes to follow, they’d be less likely to happen, and that’s the right way to go about things.
They Make Things Clearer
One thing that a lot of people think of when they think about creating processes is paperwork – lots and lots of paperwork. But that’s not really what a good process is all about, and although you will need to write down what people are meant to do, it really doesn’t have to be all that complicated. In fact, the simpler it is, the more likely it is that people will follow the steps, and that they won’t make mistakes.
It’s really just about clarity and answering questions before they’re asked. You need to note down who does what, what order steps should be completed, where do things go, and so on. That kind of clarity means people can just get on with what they’re meant to do rather than getting bogged down in their instructions or skipping them altogether because it takes too long to go through them all. So in the end, clear, simple instructions are the right way to make processes.
You Don’t Need To Do It All Yourself
Sometimes the hardest part about creating processes so you can save time and money is knowing where to start, and that’s probably because you’re too close to your own systems and you’ve come up with workarounds and shortcuts that you don’t want your team to replicate.
That’s why it might be worth speaking to a process mapping consultant. They’ll be able to look at what you need, where you’re heading, and they’ll come up with ways to make things nice and simple for your team. You’ll end up with clearer, smarter processes, and those processes will fit your business and the people in it in just the right way, and once you get started, you’ll see just how much time and money you can save by doing things the right way.
There Will Be Less Firefighting
When your processes work, you’re not going to have to constantly be reacting to problems – mainly because the problems will all be taken care of, or they won’t come up at all. That means you can actually plan ahead, hand things over to other people and not micromanage them, and you’ll spend a lot less time explaining what you want done.
That’s brilliant for productivity, of course, but it’s also a morale booster because your team won’t be under so much pressure, making them happier, more focused, and even more creative, which is exactly what your business is going to need.
Final Thoughts
Good processes are crucial for a good, successful business – they’ll help you hit deadlines, make fewer mistakes, and spend more time actually doing the work you’re meant to be doing. So perhaps it’s time to make a start and get your processes organised – true, it might not sound like a lot of fun, but the benefits definitely outweigh the work that has to be done.
