Since they don’t have enough resources, most small businesses have ad hoc systems. That’s another way of saying that they rely on temporary processes. Whatever works, works. But setting up systems and processes is a crucial part of planning for small businesses.
In this guide to systems and process planning, we will define the concept, share its benefits, and explain the important ones you should integrate into your business.
What are systems and processes in a small business?
Systems and processes are a series of established steps and protocols to accomplish tasks and achieve specific business objectives. They specify the roles of individuals and units and lay out a framework for getting things done in the most efficient way.
With systems and processes, you’re simplifying planning for businesses and improving the efficiency of workday process management. Everyone will have clarity on their roles and responsibilities, which will go a long way in delivering consistent results and optimizing resource allocation.
Where can you set up systems and processes in a small business?
If you’re a solopreneur or small business owner, you can set up systems and processes across multiple domains in your business to increase efficiency and generate better returns. You could have a system and process for:
- Generating leads
- Sending proposals
- Onboarding clients
- Processing bills
- Managing payments
- Day-to-day administration
- Social media management
- Answering customer queries
- Managing stock
- Onboarding employees
- Shipping products
- Gathering customer feedback
As you would have noticed, these cover almost all the important aspects of a small business. While you may not need systems for each one of them, depending on the needs of your business and the stage it is in, you would benefit from most of these.
What are the advantages of systems and process planning for small businesses?
When you implement systems and process planning for your small business, you will have a set of standard operating procedures for various tasks, which will help you in the following ways:
1. You can assign responsibility
You would know who’s responsible for what task in your business. Whether it’s taking orders or raising invoices, there will be no need to haphazardly assign responsibilities. This saves you time and helps build expertise in your team.
2. Your business will be able to run independently
With robust systems and processes in place, your business won’t need you to manage each and every aspect of it. You can take care of your larger business goals and leave the rest for others. This translates to less micromanaging and more impactful work.
3. You will be building an asset
Investors love businesses that have systems and processes. It shows that your business has a functional code of operations to acquire and serve customers, generate income, and manage its employees. These will add value to your business in case you want to sell it.
4. You can expand your operations
Systems and processes liberate you from the tyranny of being a hands-on manager who always has to manage routine chores. Now you can concentrate on creating new products and services and identify more customer segments to grow your business.
5. Your business will be more consistent
Whether you work alone or manage a small business, systems and processes allow you to deliver consistent experiences. All projects would have well-defined frameworks, resulting in consistency in product and service quality and delivery.
6. You can reduce costs
By implementing systems and processes, you will discover redundancies in your business. You might realize that technology can handle most repetitive and mundane tasks. This helps you reduce the number of people you would otherwise have employed.
7. You can improve efficiency
When employees know precisely what’s expected of them, you will save time and improve the efficiency of your operations. Since they have an established way of doing things, they won’t have to repeatedly reach out for clarifications.
8. You will have a better work-life balance
Systems and process planning for small business helps you automate several tasks and allocate responsibilities more efficiently. This reduces your workload and stress. Since you spend less time overseeing tasks, you will have a greater work-life balance.
Systems and processes for small businesses
These are the core systems and processes that small businesses can benefit from.
Project management
To ensure that employees work toward a common goal and accomplish their tasks on time, small businesses need project management systems and processes. While large enterprises would have adequate resources, smaller businesses need to optimize their existing resources and this is one of the most efficient ways to do it.
With an advanced project management tool such as Heycollab, your small business can have easier communication, streamline information flow, have better control, and create greater synergies between individuals and teams.
This helps you avoid needless interruptions in your project cycle. Your business will also become more flexible and agile, empowering you to be competitive and innovative.
Communication
Whether you’re a solopreneur or a small business owner, communication is crucial for business growth. The ease with which you can communicate with your employees, external associates, and clients will influence the quality of your projects.
While communication has always been important, it’s become crucial with the spread of remote and hybrid work. Small business owners cannot rely on mere face-to-face communication to brief employees, give access to resources, and share necessary inputs.
With a dedicated communication tool designed for small businesses such as Heycollab, you can bring all your conversations to one place. Now you will have a single channel that streamlines communication and improves collaboration.
Marketing and sales
Every business needs to market its product or service. Implementing a specific system and process for marketing organizes the process, reduces costs, and helps you discover efficiencies. The right system will also unearth the most efficient marketing channels for your small business.
Once you have a system in place for marketing, you would know what kind of content you need to create and develop a process for that. With social media management tools, it would be easier to post your content across platforms.
By customizing marketing to the needs of the audience and sales funnel, you will also make it more effective, without having to make additional investments. The process also saves you time.
Accounting
Managing money is an important aspect of running a small business especially when you consider the fact that you won’t have a team to help you with that. You need to identify which projects and clients generate higher returns, implement ways to increase revenue, reduce wastage, and improve your margins.
There are several tools that allow you to automate accounting and finance processes. These enable you to raise invoices, track profits, and check whether payments come on time. Some will also send automated reminders to clients for pending payments.
By creating a system and process for financial planning for small business, you will have a better idea of the financial health of your business. It will also make it easy to calculate your various taxes and pay them on time.
Human resources
Unless it’s a startup with a unique product and investor interest, it’s difficult for small businesses to attract top talent. As a business owner, you won’t be able to offer the salaries and perks that large businesses would offer. But by creating systems and processes, you can make it easier to interest the right people to work with you.
You can create a system for building brand equity for your business. By identifying effective job boards and channels, you will be able to get your business in front of the right talent. Finally, when you have an established set of questions and frameworks to assess candidates, it saves you time and money.
Your small business can also automate onboarding. Regular reviews and frequent feedback through dedicated channels will help you understand your employees’ concerns and make it easier to retain them.
Customer relationship management
Acquiring customers is one thing but managing them well enough to grow your revenue and profits requires a different set of skills. By implementing systems and processes for customer relationship management, you will keep your customers engaged and increase their trust in you.
A customer relationship management (CRM) tool will help you categorize your customers, discover up-selling opportunities, identify pain points, and optimize your communication with them.
The CRM tool you choose should align with your workflow and be easy to use. You shouldn’t have to hire an IT team for its implementation or maintenance.
Heycollab comes loaded with advanced features such as docs, chat, calls, time tracking, and more. Your workflow will be smoother and more efficient. Sign up now to experience the ease that Heycollab brings to collaboration and productivity!