You’ve observed, analyzed, and identified the things that waste time in your business. You know what must stay and what should go. Now comes the hard part: execution. The annual spring cleaning tasks oftentimes focus on the physical, but the ritual provides an opportunity to make actual improvements. Forbes, HuffPost, Square, and The Balance suggest a combination of the following:
- Update your website and social media. Most business runs on the internet these days. Go deeper than surface improvements to rewrite, add, delete, and replace content and images. If you don’t have an editor on staff, hire one. A professional editor will review not just what is written, but how it’s written so your company avoids unprofessional faux pas. If you have someone on staff who’s a social media whiz, consider reassigning that person as your social media marketing experts.
- Shuffle responsibilities and staff. Review the tasks that run your business and see who among your existing staff can fill them. Redistributing responsibilities and staff may result in redefining roles, opening new positions, or even eliminating outdated roles. You may find that existing staff have skills and interests you never knew about. Take advantage of these previously hidden talents and invest in the training of staff who have real interest, if not the expertise you need. Studies show that employees stick longer with companies that invest in them—and you’d prefer to avoid the high cost in dollars and reputation of employee churn.
- Update data management. Whether it’s establishing file naming conventions or the installation of new and/or improved software, get everyone on the same page and ensure they all have adequate training. A coordinated effort will minimize downtime and lost information and optimize customer service and efficiency.
- Plan ahead for the holidays. Whether it’s doing your best to schedule staff vacation requests or making sure you have an adequate supply of greeting cards on hand, take a little time to prepare well in advance of absences and to recognize predicted benchmarks.
- Dump what you don’t need. Whether unsubscribing from unneeded and/or unused accounts or jettisoning obsolete passwords, bookmarks, software, and paperwork, decluttering what people do as well was what people use makes for a more efficient workplace. For physical items, such as desks, filing cabinets, and the like, consider holding a “garage” sale, donating them to a charity, or selling them at a consignment shop.
- Reorganize systems and processes. Don’t let familiarity tempt you to stick with old processes and protocols that work, but not necessarily efficiently or effectively. Do the hard work of revising them so your business functions better.
Revisit business plans and long-term goals. Use the renewed enthusiasm that spring brings to review and update your business plan. This means comparing the existing plan to current progress and adjusting as necessary to produce an ambitious, yet still feasible, route for growth and success. This is also a good time to dust off your company’s vision and mission statements and revise them if they no longer quite apply. If the direction your company is taking no longer fits the stated mission and vision, you must then decide whether a course correction is needed or whether the vision and mission must change to suit the company’s new direction.
The Heggen Group helps businesses identify and adjust processes to optimize their operations. Contact Jayne Heggen for more information.
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