“I don’t know why we do it like that! That’s just how it’s always been!”
Sound familiar?
This is something we hear all the time when we are helping businesses to build efficient processes. They have often inherited ways of doing things & haven’t taken the time to stop and think about a better way.
But we also hear that these businesses are struggling to find enough hours in the day to actually take on the amount of work they need to grow their business. This could be because jobs currently take too long or there is inefficiency in the process somewhere.
When we start working with a new client, we take them and their processes on a journey. Investing in process software is a great opportunity for them to go back to the drawing board and develop a process that WILL work for their business. It also allows them to enjoy the growth benefits that efficiency will bring.
So how do you get out of operational gridlock and improve your processes?
First establish what your existing process is
Finding the answer to this might involve going out on site & shadowing a member of your team to establish how the work is currently getting done. The key to continuously improving your processes is to identify any areas of waste that you see. Is there time spent doubling up on tasks? Are your team actually following your process or are they modifying it? Are there hazards that you didn’t know existed? Make a note of all of these areas.
What standards do you have to adhere to?
If standards drive your processes, what are they and how can you adapt to them? If you are a standards driven business, you will fully appreciate the power of standardised work in creating consistency and compliance. If you want to improve your processes and scale your business, you are going to need certainty that your team is following your processes to the letter, Rugged Data can help you do this.
How are your forms improving your processes?
Using a form is one of the most common ways that organisations can ensure consistency of the process. In paper-based systems, this can be harder to control and sometimes lead to inaccuracy of data. Not to mention that post job reporting relies heavily on manual processing and between the two can cause a real efficiency nightmare.
To make real change to your process, it is a good idea to periodically check over the forms your business uses to make sure that the logic is still sound and it still works as intended. Look out for things like:
- Are the fields in a logical order? Does it match the way your employee carries out the job in real life?
- Could parts of the form be grouped together differently so that is easier to fill out?
- Does the form layout encourage your team to be efficient as they go about capturing data?
A real example…
We worked with an inspection and assessment organisation who had a variety of tasks to carry out at height and others at ground level. Upon reviewing their process form we could see that it had him up and down ladders constantly, wasting his precious time.
We amended the form by grouping together the tasks he carried out at height so that the assessor was able to complete all of those before coming back to ground to do the others. You can imagine the hours we saved from making that change!
Simple? Easy for us to say!
When you’re working hard IN your business, like you are each day, it can often be difficult to see the wood for the trees. (No pun intended). If you knew what you wanted your new process to look like, the chances are you wouldn’t be reading this blog?
Of course you could spend your day with a white board and pack of Post It Notes & figure it out eventually, or you could come and have a chat with us. Working with a company like Rugged Data can have lots of benefits when it comes to being able to improve your processes and scale your business.
Why should you work with a process improvement specialist like Rugged Data?
Access our experience and expertise
You can enjoy the benefit of our cross-sector experience and take advantage of some of the things that work in other industries. We have established and proven methods for things you might not have even thought of.
Enjoy an unbiased viewpoint
Like we said at the start – ‘you’ve always done it that way’ – and there may be internal politics as to why that is the case. Bringing along a specialist can be a great way to get problems solved, free from internal bias.
Stick to what you do best
Worrying about processes all day is our job, it doesn’t need to be yours. Let us carry the can for a bit while you focus on running that fabulous company of yours. By doing this you also stand to get results faster & can get on with implementing your new processes straight away.
Avoid costly mistakes
An external business analyst might help you avoid costly mistakes that could occur, pointing your decisions in the right direction.
Leverage the benefits of technology
Enjoy the benefits that come with implementing technology like Rugged Data into your business, rather than outdated paper based processes. Technology is a huge driver for success in your industry. Let’s explore this in more depth.
So how does technology help you to improve your processes and scale your business?
If we gave you 30% more time to use in your day, what difference would that make? A huge one probably! With technology like Rugged Data, the benefits are significant and can really help you to take your business to the next level. How?
- By facilitating better processes that drive efficiencies, increase the number of jobs you can get through in a day, freeing up time to take on more work.
- By enabling you to store information electronically so that you don’t have to sift through mountains of paperwork to find the information you need.
- By reducing the time spent preparing reports, or handling data. One of our clients told us that a report that used to take 2 hours to do, now only takes them 15 minutes.
Have we convinced you yet?
What’s the cost of doing nothing?
What does the future look like if you don’t improve your processes and scale your business? What happens if everything stays exactly as it is?
If you can answer that question and be happy, then perhaps Rugged Data is not for you, but if you think that now might be time to invest in technology to support your business growth, then our team is ready to help you.
Of course we understand it can be a daunting leap of faith for people who have not invested in technology before, and there is a lot to consider about how ready you are to make change happen, but let’s start with giving you a free demonstration, and take it from there.
To book your demo with us call 01202 122691.
