Small business start-up – how to build an efficient workflow

As the owner of a small business start-up, one of your main challenges is ensuring the workflow of your new company is efficient. After all, once the fundraising, planning, hiring and other setting-up jobs have been completed you’ll be looking to get on with running the business as profitably as possible. The actual day-to-day running of your business does of course need as much preparation and planning as all those other elements that came before it. The vital skills needed to take a business forward from the start-up stage include knowing how to expedite the work it has been set up to do.

Whether a company is a one-man band or a large corporation, having an efficient workflow in place is the only way you can be sure everything that needs to be done is being completed as and when required, and without any unnecessary delays.

Routine

A routine is essential so that work in progress has the right amount of time allotted to it, and everyone involved in the project knows what they are meant to be doing and when. Settling into a routine is not something that can be expected to be achieved from day one. Nevertheless, if you get things right from the start it can mean you can avoid readjustments further down the line that might interrupt your business operational capacity and negatively affect productivity.

Delegate

Workflow management involves delegating tasks, whether that is to an outside third party such as

Invoice Home to help streamline financial affairs, or to other workers within your own organization. Assigning tasks to the relevant people lies at the basis of good delegation, but clear lines of communication and a talent for motivating others are also essential elements.

Prioritise

Working out the order in which tasks are undertaken is also vital for efficient workflow. There’s no point in being highly efficient in one area if later completion of another task puts everything out of kilter. A clear understanding of when things actually need to be done by and making sure everyone involved is aware of the importance of sticking to the timeline is another basic requirement of your planning.

Kanban

The basic aims of a workflow are to track tasks, organize time frames and have a visualized overview of the many different processes that may be going on at the same time. Many different organizational systems have been developed over the years and one of the most simple and effective for small businesses is called ‘Kanban‘. First developed by Toyota in the 1940s, the system visualizes workflows through a series of columns with individual tasks flowing through them. For instance, a simple form the system would take could be a series of three columns named ‘To do’, ‘Doing’ and ‘Done’. This basic set up would allow the progress of any number of tasks to be ascertained at a glance.

Automate

In today’s business environment, we are lucky enough to have a multitude of tools to automate basic mundane tasks and free up workers for other more productive jobs. Software solutions for clerical and accountancy work can save time and money and prove to be very cost effective over time, even if they incur some initial outlay.

Technology

Likewise, today’s technology for businesses allows you to do things that simply would not have been possible only a few years ago. Storage via the Cloud means that you or any of your colleagues can access data from wherever you are located, allowing a flexibility in working patterns that can be incorporated into workflow planning to great effect. The ability to have video calls can mean meetings don’t need to be face-to-face in one location, cutting down on both travel costs and wasted time.

Overview

Having a good overview of your business is an essential factor for success, but similarly a well-crafted workflow can help give an insight into exactly where everything and everyone should be at any given time. Being able to quickly identify any specific processes or other aspect of your business that are currently slowing the work down means that you can act swiftly and decisively to enact solutions.

Having this type of information is vital in the fast moving modern world of commerce, and that is why an efficient workflow is such an important thing to put in place right from the start.