How can I improve the operational efficiency of my business? From change to time management, read our helpful guide to operational efficiency.
Whether you’re setting out on your business journey or have been established for many years, you need the most efficient organisational structure. Increasing operational efficiency/productivity is rarely a straightforward task that exists in isolation; continuous improvement is a mindset for the organisation as a whole to not only grow but to tackle inefficiency in all parts of your business.
Involving all the team in shaping improvements, initially with small wins, increases the likelihood of achieving the benefits – as well as framing continuous improvement as the norm. When positive change becomes achievable, targets can be stretched further by the use of SMART objective setting to help reach organisational goals. Perhaps what was once working brilliantly is now failing to meet customer expectations or the improvement initiatives you are putting in place do not seem to be working – this is where the following resources will come in.
Key: paid for service registration required official
Operational efficiency 101
WHEN: You want to make your business more efficient.
WHY: Efficient operations reduce error rates, which in turn lowers costs, improves customer quality and delivery timings.
WHAT: A blueprint for continuous improvement in business operations.
WHEN: You’re concerned that your business is losing productivity – or you want best practices to ensure it’s at optimum productivity from the outset.
WHY: Business issues on quality or costs have started to impact on customer delivery, resulting in lower satisfaction levels and less profitability.
WHAT: An article with examples, ideas and experiences on how other small businesses have improved operational performance.
WHEN: You are setting out on your growth journey and you need short, middle and long-term goals to keep the business plan focused.
WHY: Helps ensure everyone in the business is working towards the same end point and allows all stakeholders to have visibility of progress towards the company’s goals.
WHAT: A toolkit for how how to select which key performance indicators to measure, with various examples from different business areas.
The Thriving Small Business
WHEN: You want to improve certain processes and require a method to do this.
WHY: Processes and ways of working have become inefficient, leading to errors and duplication of effort.
WHAT: A short guide on how to think about defining and codifying business processes.
Canadian Small Business Network
WHEN: You want to improve certain processes and require a method to do this.
WHY: Processes and ways of working have become inefficient, leading to errors and duplication of effort.
WHAT: A short guide on how to think about defining and codifying business processes.
WHEN: Your work/life balance feels like it’s compromised, or the stakeholders of the business – customers, staff and suppliers – feel the business is failing to meet its promises.
WHY: As a business starts to grow and becomes successful, ways of working at formation can now prove a barrier to growth and quality.
WHAT: A short programme for owners, managers and any staff member on implementing better time management.