Page 25 - Australasian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2022

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Ben Fewtrell is the author of the Business Exceleration Blueprint, is a sought-after advisor, speaker, podcast host and trainer. He has mentored and coached hundreds of business owners in dozens of industries, including collision repair. Visit Maxmyprofit.com.au
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business doing mundane time-consuming work you could delegate to someone else. How much time do you spend develop-
ing new marketing strategies, analysing results, instigating relationships with oth- er businesses and the host of other neces- sary activities that make the difference between a successful business and an av- erage (going broke slowly) business.
Systems aren’t just for
large corporations but are a key success
factor for small business.
How do you free up your time and turn your business into a well-oiled ma- chine? The answer is simple – systems.
Systems aren’t just for large corpora- tions but are a key success factor for all small business. The benefits of being systemised are many. Firstly, it ensures operational integrity in that everything
fits into place and on time, thereby of- fering efficiency and cost minimisation. Secondly, it gives you the confidence to be able to delegate and enables you to take time away from your business and finally, its streamlined smooth function- ing increases employee satisfaction and therefor morale.
BUILDING EFFECTIVE SYSTEMS
We can break this process down in the five easy step.
1. Identify routine, repetitive tasks.
2. Document them step by step.
3. Test the documented procedure by get-
ting a relatively ‘unskilled’ person to
navigate the instructions as recorded. 4. Check the quality of the outcome.
5. Adjust documentation to improve the
outcome until it is at the required level. How do we identify the start and end points of key processes, and how do we work out which business processes
should be supported by a system?
1. Take a sheet of paper or work on a
white board.
2.Draw a circle in the middle of the pa-
per. This circle is the business. The circumference of the circle is the boundary between the business and the outside world.
3. Draw a stick man (or woman) and un- derneath write down their relationship or role in relation to the company e.g. client, supplier, accountant, cleaner, staff member etc. In this way you will identify ALL the people or entities that have a relationship with the business.
4. Take each character and against each list the following:
WHAT QUESTIONS DOES THIS CHARACTER ASK YOUR BUSINESS?
It may be as simple as a client asking, “When can I pick up my car?” or more complicated “Can I have a quote?”. Whatever it is, this question represents a trigger mechanism that causes the com- pany to perform a task, or a series of tasks to answer the question, or fulfil the instruction issued by the client.
WHAT RESPONSE DOES YOUR COMPANY GIVE THEM?
It is important to identify what the ex- pectations are of the party that has asked the question. To deliver excellent service there must be an understanding of the expectation in the mind of the ‘cli-
ent’. If you do not understand what this expectation is, you cannot work out how to fulfil it reasonably or extraordinarily. Knowing this information enables a business owner to design their business processes (and their systems) to deliver high service standards and to under- stand when a task is truly complete.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS INTERACTION TO THE PARTIES INVOLVED?
Developing systems and fine-tuning a pro- cess takes time and resources. When you start to put systems in place in a business, it is worth prioritising which processes are of most value to the company. The work of systemisation can then be focussed on the tasks that are being done most often, that are involving most staff or those that add the most value to your business.
You should now have a complete, pri- oritised list of questions and responses. This represents the service capability of your business. This is a simple way to start to understand exactly what your business does, to whom and what mat- ters most. Identify questions and trig- gers that cause some kind of response or action within the business.
Track the actions step by step within the business (or outside if third parties are involved) until the service or product is delivered. It’s important to understand the boundaries of your business because your business is a system itself. Within your business there are many systems and they each interact with each other like mini businesses working coopera- tively. The exercise above can be applied to each of the different areas of responsi- bility within the business and can help identify the relationships and dependen- cies between them e.g. the system where all stock is monitored, accounts are held, staff appraisal notes are kept.
A 10% improvement in the efficiency of this system will have a similar effect in all the systems that, in turn, depend upon it.