Whether you’re just starting a business or have a growing one that you’re looking to expand, business systems are essential for success. Think of a business system as the foundation of a building, you need a strong base to build on, otherwise, the cracks start appearing and you can’t build that extension, or even worse everything starts falling apart!
What are they, anyway?
A business system refers to a structured framework of procedures implemented to achieve a particular outcome. Essentially, business growth involves establishing a series of streamlined processes to ensure all tasks are completed accurately, efficiently and on time – hence, the need for business systems.
Do you know that a lot of businesses are losing about 30% of their revenue due to inefficiencies and the inability to create good systems? This happens to new businesses and seasoned ones.
This is why business systems are essential.
Where can you use them?
A business system can be used in almost all areas of your company. This could include your operations, back-end, sales, marketing, and even the office pantry! By implementing systems, things can be simplified and streamlined, resulting in increased efficiency and productivity.
A key thing to remember: a business system is intended to promote synergy between various business departments and aspects to accomplish overarching goals. These systems shouldn’t create conflict or hinder your business operations.
Example of a business system
Let’s consider an example scenario of a business system of a small business that sells handmade crafts:
For the sake of it, let’s call this System One.
System One’s key objective is to streamline the order fulfilment process and reduce the time it takes to process and ship orders. The system can be broken down as follows.
- Breaking down the tasks. The order fulfilment process involves receiving orders, packaging orders, and shipping orders. To create a system, processes are recorded step-by-step. Tools and equipment are established.
- Identifying improvements. The business can look for ways to improve the process, such as using an online order management system to automate order processing, purchasing bulk packaging materials to reduce costs, and negotiating lower shipping rates with carriers. From steps 1 and 2, a system can be established.
- Test and learn. Improvements and progresses must be kept on track. If the system works, key staff have to be trained to ensure everyone is clear on their roles and responsibilities. If the system needs improvement, it can be refined until it achieves the desired outcome.
- Involve your team. Your team members are the ones who will be using the business systems on a day-to-day basis. Involve them in the development process to ensure that the systems are user-friendly and meet their needs.
- Analyse the result. System One should be able to help process orders more efficiently, reduce errors, and improve customer service and satisfaction by delivering orders faster. It should also allow the business to handle more orders as it grows, enabling scalability. When the business finally fine-tunes System One, it can simply be rinsed and repeated.
Business systems benefit productivity, processes and returns.
We cannot emphasise enough how business systems are important for success. Effective business systems are critical for organisations as they establish a framework for operations, ensuring harmonious and efficient coordination of the diverse moving pieces of a business’s operation.
By implementing a well-designed business system, your business can improve your workflows, reduce inefficiencies, and increase productivity. This can help you deliver products or services more quickly and with higher quality, leading to better customer satisfaction and increased revenue.
Business systems can also provide you with a wealth of data and analytics that can be used to inform critical business decisions. This data can help you identify trends, forecast future outcomes, and make more informed decisions about expenditure, human resources, marketing, and other key business areas.
If your business belongs to a regulated industry, then you need business systems to stay compliant with laws and regulations. These systems allow you to protect your business from work, health and safety issues, legal issues and financial penalties.
If you’re looking to expand, you need those systems to scale. You need to have solid plans to handle increasing demands. A scalable system can help you manage growth without sacrificing quality or customer service.
There will always be room for improvement. A well-designed business system includes feedback loops that enable you to monitor performance and identify areas for improvement. By constantly analysing and refining your processes, you can optimise your operations.
Building your own business systems
There’s no one-size-fits-all template when it comes to creating your own business systems. But, there are ways to determine what types of systems you can create.
Find out what you want to streamline or systematise in your business. Start with one process at a time. List them down. Map out the steps involved in each process and identify any areas where you find inefficiencies or bottlenecks.
Next, identify the tools, team members, time and skills required for these systems. Determine whether tasks can be grouped or eliminated, or if additional resources or tools could help.
Implement the system, record the progress and observe the results. For the most crucial aspects of your business, develop policies and procedures that govern how your systems will be used. If the system works, train your staff and ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. If the system needs improvement, refine it until it achieves the desired outcome.
Wrapping it all together
Business systems are a collection of repeated processes with a specific goal. These systems offer advantages such as enhanced efficiency, productivity, clarity, consistency, and control. If you’re looking to improve certain aspects of your business, then establishing business systems is necessary.
Aspects of your business you can create systems for:
- Payroll
- Personnel/Staff
- Accounts
- Inventories
- Strategic management
- Marketing
- Sales
- Operations
- Administration
- Cashflows
- Management
Don’t know where to get started?
Debbie Roberts can help. Debbie Roberts is skilled at analysing business operations, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing effective solutions including custom-tailored business systems. She has a deep understanding of the critical role that systems play in driving business success. You can book a power session with Debbie by contacting debbie@debbieroberts.com.au or calling 0477 999 796.
