Operational Efficiency — A Quick Start Guide to Rapid Advancement

Have you been cutting costs but still aren’t seeing an increase in profit? Are you looking for ways to reach greater profits with the resources you have? 

All businesses want to manage their costs. But more often than not, cutting costs just doesn’t cut it. That’s because operational efficiency isn’t just about reducing costs. 

To optimize, You’ll need to find integrated harmony among the primary business elements including people, protocols, processes, products and profits. And let’s not forget about information and technology. 

Ready to find that integrated harmony for more time and financial freedom? To get you started, below is a quick start guide on operational efficiency for rapid advancement. 

What’s Operational Efficiency?

Simply put, operational efficiency is a business’s ability to deliver quality products or services with fewer resources. 

If your company can maintain high levels of operating efficiency, you can bring in more profits with the same amount of resources. Faster, cheaper & better, right?

Operational efficiency focuses on internal and external processes within organizations. It looks at the methodologies and how functional workflows create the best and most efficient practices. The result being, elimination of inefficiencies with smooth systems and streamlined processes.

Refine Your Business Processes

If you want to improve your business’s operational efficiency, you’ll need to start with strategic mapping to refine your processes. 

All operations follow processes. Step back, pause and take a closer look at how throughput is organized within your organization. Seek to understand the day-to-day operations. Map it from start to finish. Performing this periodically helps illuminate where improvements can be made.

Doing this enables you to eliminate obstacles such as non-billable work and ineffective workflow structures. For example, you can pinpoint possible redundancies and identify repeatable duties to automate them. There’s dozens of tools and technologies available to you to help automate what’s cutting into your budget — use them! 

Give Team Members the Support and Recognition They Deserve

No matter how great your business processes are, they’ll never amount to anything if you don’t recognize and support the people behind them. 

First, it’s essential to keep communication open with your team. Create a safe environment for them to come to you. Encourage open dialogue. This way, you get a better idea of what processes and procedures are working well, versus what’s affecting your operations. In turn, you’ll begin to spot leaks or gaps that need throughput optimization.

Another way to support your team is to ensure you’re allocating resources properly. Do your employees have enough to do? While you don’t want to overload them, not having enough to do can also negatively affect project budgets and productivity. Positive pressure is a plus! 

Other methods to maximize operational efficiency are through measurement of individual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Properly using measurement systems analysis helps strengthen employees’ morale by recognizing, acknowledging and celebrating wins regularly. Individual KPIs can build positive pressure to help develop creativity, accountability, increased effort, and communication of clear objectives. Create dashboards to stay on top of current KPIs.

Develop a Winning Financial Strategy

One of the key components to improving your operations is having a great financial strategy. Below are a couple tips to help you maintain a consistent healthy bottom line.

• Decline Low Margin Projects 

There is an all too common belief that accepting low margin work helps build relationships with clients. However, it’s rarely true, if ever. It also negatively affects your business’s team morale and financial profits. Instead, opt for clear project costing analysis to zero in on the top tier projects and high quality client partnerships that work best with operational efficiency in mind. 

• Land More Short-term Projects

Short-term projects (sprints) need less planning, financial commitment, and administrative work. They have minimal phases and you will have less risk for cost overruns because they require less time to complete. More completed projects in tighter condensed timeframes, helps build team confidence. 

Side note: for urgent projects, charge more for your premium services! 

Are you seeking tips for rapid advancement in your business? These are just a few of the many proven principles and guidelines that can improve your operational efficiency. For additional ways to give your operations a boost, reach out to us for a free consultation today.