Category: Operations

Article Contributed by Cameron Johnson

Eliminating redundant and time-consuming business processes is critical to improving workplace efficiencies, reducing operating costs and simplifying how employees complete complex tasks. However, success always involves a willingness of all team members to be active participants in the process. In the end, it’s up to the company to make sure that everyone benefits from collaborative efforts.

Surprisingly, far too many companies ignore their business processes. These are the enterprises who are unable to define the high costs of waste. These are the enterprises that are unable to properly define the costs associated with repetitive business processes, ones that add time and create unnecessary backlogs. However, there are other enterprises who understand that eliminating these often laborious and prolonged processes helps to lower costs by creating clarity for the company’s workforce. So, what are some of the more popular ways to map out your business processes?

• Spaghetti Diagrams

When manufacturers look to declutter their shop floor, and reduce travel times between production cells, they turn to the time-tested strategy of spaghetti diagrams. However, this Six Sigma tool isn’t just mean for manufacturers. Hospitals, laboratories, research centers and businesses can all benefit from using spaghetti diagrams. The end results is a tool that helps you define unnecessary process steps and procedures that create delays and downtime.

For a manufacturer, the process involves laying out the shop floor and clearly defining each individual work station. Next, you draw a line from the beginning of the production process all the way to the end. You make sure to use sequential numbers to define each step of the process. Finally, you use a measuring wheel in order to define the distance and time traveled from one station to the next.

This exercise will help you identify backlogs, redundant processes and time-wasting procedures. After defining the natural flow of work, it’s common for companies to completely redesign their shop floor in order to reduce the time it takes for work to travel between adjacent work cells. Ultimately, this will help you define physical obstacles like pillars, beams and ill-placed machinery that obstructs the flow of parts across your shop floor. It will also help you identify work-related interruptions and delays where production employees are forced to wait for approvals, sign-offs, and or process checks before moving parts to the next work cell.

• Business Process Mapping

Our first example focused on how physical parts move from one chain to the next. This current example focuses on how paperwork and business information flows from one department to the next. A number of companies rely upon BPM software when doing this exercise as the changes need to be recorded and registered for future reference.

Business process mapping typically starts by defining an incoming customer request for proposal. Squares, rectangles, triangles and ovals are all used to define different decision making and workflow processes. Flow lines and arrow connectors designate how work moves from one internal department and one decision maker to the next. Backlogs and redundant processes are itemized and rerouted in order to simplify workflow and eliminate repetitive steps.

• Flow Process and Organizational Charts

Flow processes are more geared towards defining the individual process steps in manufacturing or processing of a given finished good. They clearly outline human operations and human decision making steps relative to machine operations and machine-related decision making steps.

Organization charts aim to provide clarity to a company’s reporting structure by clearly defining the interdependent relationships between employees, managers, and stakeholders. Again, various shapes such as squares, rectangles and triangles are used to designate different roles, departments, business functions and individual responsibilities. This is an idea tool for new employees, ones who must come to understand the company’s internal reporting structure and how best to navigate the company’s inner workings.

Each of these three aforementioned business process mapping tools are geared towards eliminating time-consuming delays and labor-intensive operations. They are excellent tools to familiarize new employees with the company’s reporting structure, while also helping to define the roles and responsibilities of management and direct reports.

About the author: Cameron Johnson is a business consultant and entrepreneur. Over the course of his career he has conducted case studies on both social media optimization and non-profit marketing. Cameron has also had the opportunity to speak at international business conferences and was recently recognized as one of the world’s top 100 advertising experts to follow on social media.

When setting up a payments system for your business, it is important to do your research. Not only is it critical for you to get paid for your products and services, you also need to know how each potential option affects your bottom line. Interchange plus pricing and tiered or flat rate pricing both have their benefits, but it is also smart to understand how each works so you can make the best decision for your operation.

Interchange plus pricing is traditionally reserved for large companies and has the lowest possible costs for accepting cards as a form of payment. Fees applied to transactions are upfront, with rates determined on a per-card basis. Tiered pricing is the most common form of pricing for credit card processing services. This is also known as “bucket pricing,” and prices are usually high enough to cover fees.

Working with an experienced payment processer will allow your organization to find the payment and pricing solution that is best for your business.

Money Go

Article Contributed by Ritesh Sanghani

Time constraints have become a 21st Century phenomenon! No matter, how well we try to manage time; we always end up with a never-ending to-do list. This long and never-ceasing to-do lists can become a headache; especially, for top management executives who have to devote quality time to carry out their entrepreneurial duties; rather than on the administrative things.

And it is here that the concept virtual assistant steps in – A partner; an associate in almost everything; a virtual assistant or VA provides assistance for all administrative tasks; that eventually eats up all your valuable time; which you can devote to the area of your core competencies.

So, is hiring a Virtual Assistant on your cards? – Excellent decision – However, before, actually jumping on to a conclusion and finalizing a VA; you need to take several factors in account. In this article, we shall focus on some of the tips for a successful VA hunt, which will make it easier for you to get the right resource and avail optimum advantage.

• Know Everything Before Your Hire

Sounds very cliché; however, it is always advisable to do a thorough background check. To a virtual assistant, you will be entrusting your info, sometimes, sensitive and confidential, so make sure you take referrals – from your friends, colleagues or even check out social media groups like LinkedIn or Google+.

Always, prefer interviewing the virtual assistant; in case you are hiring an individual. Moreover, for VA owning independent businesses focus on knowing about their business; so to get an insight into their way of dealing and doing business (it will make it easier to pick up the right option).

• Ensure You Built an Excellent Rapport From The Very Start!

Always remember – every VA might not possess the same experience and skills, you are looking for and need.

Therefore, you need to first of all, find the one who can understand your requirements well – Start with a very insightful ice-breaking session to build a good rapport – This bond will help you to easily convey your requirements as well as make them understand what exactly you want.

Also, don’t overlook something really important; i.e., training. Keep one thing in mind that you know your business processes better and no one else can get it immediately; you have to take out some time to make the other person know what exactly defines your business operations. And therefore, training becomes sort of mandatory; if you really want excellent results.

Let us get this point clear with help of an example; you hire a virtual receptionist – This person might be proficient in answering phones, but you need to provide some training beforehand about some specific types of call that is very unique to your business.

• Make Everything Clear about Payment Beforehand

Virtual assistant business structures vary greatly – right from individual entrepreneur; there are small multi-VA practices as well as large employee-based virtual assistant companies – and no surprises, they all their own pricing models.  While you might want to go for an hourly pay model; it may not always necessarily be the most cost-effective option.

In short, get the structure very clear in your mind, before you finalize anything to avoid any hassles in the later stages. Moreover, always keep this thing in mind – cheaper is not necessarily better. The more skilled and experienced workers will for obvious reasons charge you more, which apparently it always ends up being worth.

• Communication is THE KEY

Communication is a crucial part of any relationship; even if it is something not-so-personal like business. And it becomes very important when it is virtual in nature – It’s difficult to explain things lucidly when one is not physically present. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure excellent communication; for successful performance.

Remember, when the VA doesn’t complete the task successfully, poor communication is somewhere the root cause. So spend a bit of extra time and effort to ensure communication is flawless and is not hampered at any point of time.

Virtual assistants for hire are definitely going to reduce your burden; but when you cannot find the right one; it backfires. Top Outsourcing Services provide best virtual assistants – you just keep aforementioned tips in mind.

About Ritesh Sanghani

Ritesh Sanghani is a Director at HabileData for the past 15 years. He has worked with several international clients and has executed BPO projects of varying scales and complexities.

For most of the growing firms, an excellent business storage solution can prove to a great asset. Whether it is office equipment, inventories, important documents, choosing a right storage system is an utmost necessity. Many companies that struggle with the shortage of space, commercial and business storage systems offer the perfect solution. A large number of self-storage solutions have cropped up over the years and in such a situation, it becomes imperative to equip your storage space with top-notch security, adequate space, right temperature control and excellent cleanliness. Here are some of the prominent tips you can use when handling your storage space:

Security

A world class security must be your topmost priority when scouting for the perfect storage solution. It is important for your storage space to have the most advanced security gadgets such as the fire alarms, video surveillance cameras, biometric sensors, theft alarms and so on. You can look for business security systems at ADT and have these equipped in your warehouse. Beside these gadgets, make sure that your facility must also have the security guards safeguarding the building of the unit. If the essential safety requirements are missing, then it is vital that you must hunt for another unit that guarantees the safety of your priceless possessions by offering the high-end security measures. Ensure that your warehouse inventory is secure.

 

Consider Racking Systems for Storage Space

Dealing with storage capacity is a very important consideration, and it highly depends on how much belongings you have to store. If you have plenty of items to store, then give a thought having a warehouse racking system installed. Warehouse Storage Solutions Limited offers a variety of pallet racking systems which increases the storage capacity of your current business space. It helps business owners stock their inventory and stay organised in a more efficient manner.

If you have to deal with large inventories, you would definitely want to have a look at possible mechanisms to increase your existing storage capacity to avoid incurring additional costs.

Reviews

In this age of the Internet, all the information you need is available with just a click of a mouse. A good storage unit will definitely have website containing key information about the facilities, services, costing and other things. Make sure that you go through the website of the facility and check the customer reviews. If most of the people are happy with the services, then it is crystal-clear that you are dealing with the right unit.

Contract

It is important that you must have the habit of reading the terms and condition mentioned in the contract before taking any decision. If you’re looking for a facility, the need and the time period that you will rent the space will go on to determine the monthly cost. Remember to go through the small print and if you find anything that was not mentioned or promised earlier, then get it rectified immediately before it evolves into a big problem. There are several things to consider in evaluating a storage facility contract.

Cleanliness

It is certainly not a very easy task to keep the important documents or files in an excellent condition when you keep them in a roof cavity or a cupboard. You can never predict what could happen to them from the pest attack or dust. Keeping this in mind, you must focus on keeping your storage space very clean; and use adequate measures to control the pests or rodents from getting into your space. 

First Impressions

Last but not the least; never enter into an agreement with a storage company without visiting the premises first hand. This will help you to find out whether the company actually offers the facilities or services mentioned in its website or it was just a fake promise.

Therefore, freeing up some time from your busy schedule and researching about the best commercial and business storage solutions, will certainly provide you a great peace of mind and most importantly keep your belongings safe. Great luck!

You know how important it is to do what you love. So what do you do when what you love makes you really successful? Do you stay a one-person (or one location) operation? Of course not.  You expand!

Well, it isn’t exactly that easy. Deciding that expanding is a good idea and actually making it happen for your sweet little enterprise is something else entirely. Still, if it’s what you think is best, here are some tips to help you do it.

Look at the Numbers

There’s a difference between doing well and doing well enough to expand. A lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners move too quickly with this. They think that a few months of ending in “the black” means that they are ready to take on the huge expense that is opening another business. Don’t make this mistake! Instead, wait until your business has built up enough of a reserve to keep your current operation afloat for at least a couple of years as well as fund the building, staffing and marketing and running of a new location for the same amount of time–yes, even before you try to talk to a bank about loans.

It’s a good idea to talk to your accountant as soon as you make the decision that you want to grow and expand your location. You can start setting aside funds for expansion. This way you won’t be tempted to spend them building your current location.

Find a Location

Sometimes it’s a good thing to start small–opening a second location in the same town but a different neighborhood is one way to do that and it’s what a lot of entrepreneurs and small businesses do.

It’s better though to go to where your customers actually are. For example, you’ve obviously put your business online by now and are likely taking orders for your products through your website. Where are those orders going? Do you have a huge buyer base in another state or city? Look into setting up a second location there. Another option is to look for locations that are offering tax breaks to new businesses. A lot of states have tax incentives to help bring in new and expanding businesses. It might be more profitable to open up a location where you can run your business with reduced taxes or even tax-free for a while to help build up your profit margin.

You might, if the numbers are right, even consider expanding your business internationally. Going global is something that a lot of entrepreneurs dream about. And remember: even if you’re based in Grand Rapids and decide to open a location in Toronto, it still counts as becoming an international operation!

Plan the Move

Opening a second location means things like finding office or shop space and then filling that space with inventory, furniture, etc. Many small businesses will supplement a new shop with overstock from their original location. This is easy enough to do when you are running two locations in the same town. If you’ve expanded to a different city or state, though, you’ll want to work with a logistics coordinator. This is particularly important if you are going to be expanding into another country. You’ll need to work with a coordinator who can facilitate air cargo carriers, customs, and other issues that, to put it bluntly, you cannot do on your own while simultaneously running your business.

Get Used to Traveling

Your new location is going to require a lot of your attention. This is true even before it is officially opened for business. You’ll need to scout physical space, hire a location manager, help with the hiring of employees and oversee all of those “getting up and running” details that you took care of when you first started your business. A lot of entrepreneurs choose to move, at least temporarily, to the new city so that managing the details is easier.

Expanding a business is a great and important and ultimately complicated process. Go slowly and resist the temptation to skip steps!