Top Tips to Optimise Workflow in Your Small Business

Running a small business can bring on entirely new levels of stress that you never even knew existed. Staying on top of everything that needs to be done and organised and maintained and planned can feel like a nightmare, especially when you’re working with a tiny team (or even running a one-man show). 

However, there are ways around the chaos and frustration. Taking some time to organise and optimise the workflow in your small business can yield huge results in getting things together and even increasing your profit margin. Here are some tips to take into consideration.

Use The Tools Available To You

Not taking advantage of technology is quite simply shooting yourself in the foot. Over the last few decades (and especially since Covid-19), thousands of apps and tools have been created with the sole purpose of making your business run smoother. 

You can make use of cloud-based apps for data storage, collaboration tools to communicate quickly and clearly with your employees, Visio software for project management – the list goes on and on. If you have a business problem, rest assured that the Internet can fix it. 

Assess and Reassess

If you feel as though your workflow is inefficient, there might well just be a glitch in your system. The only way to find and eliminate this glitch is to assess what’s going on – thoroughly. Take a long, hard look at all of your existing workflows and figure out what needs to be changed, upgraded, eliminated or flipped upside down. 

Ask your employees for feedback about the issues and find out where they think things might be going awry. Once you’ve identified a problem (or two), you can start working at trying out different solutions. 

Prioritise

An important part of this entire scheme is knowing exactly what’s going on in your business. What needs to be done? Who needs to be doing it? By when does it need to be finished? Is it an ongoing task? How important is it really? 

Oftentimes, we and our employees find ourselves wasting precious work hours fiddling with “busy work” – the stuff that feels productive but ends up getting us nowhere. Knowing what your highest priority tasks and projects are in your business, and putting them first in line, will help you to progress. 

Keep Learning

Sometimes workflow is stunted by a lack of knowledge and experience – and this is where training comes in. It’s crucial to ensure that you and your employees are properly clued up and trained for your roles and responsibilities within the business. 

This extends to using software and systems, communication and other general business practices. Schedule regular training to make sure that everyone is on top of things and constantly learning and improving – your business and your bank account will both thank you for it. 

Keep Checking

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fit it” doesn’t necessarily apply here. Once you’ve found a system that works, that’s great. But keep in mind that things could always be improved, so try to view workflow optimisation as an ongoing process and implement annual or quarterly reviews.