Fact: workplaces have to be more flexible than ever before.
This may be for pre-planned purposes, such as a job share arrangement that fits with employees’ lifestyles and family commitments. Or perhaps your team works remotely, yet needs to work seamlessly and efficiently.
Or there are unscheduled instances of staff having to cover for each other, due to illness or a need to self-isolate.
How do you build this flexibility into your workplace, so things run seamlessly? <h2>
It’s naïve to think that a business won’t be disrupted; it’s far smarter to anticipate a need for workplace flexibility.
In order for that to happen, processes need to be documented and stored in such a way that the whole team – whether office based or remote based – can access them at any time.
The very old fashioned way of doing this was to have business processes written up and printed in a bound folder. This is no longer viable in a world where employees work from home, and team members are located around the country (or globe).
Many businesses have processes written up in a Word document, which is then stored either on someone’s computer (making it inaccessible to the rest of the team), or on a shared drive (which everyone tends to forget about). These processes aren’t referred to or updated often, so they quickly become irrelevant.
In order for business processes to underpin a flexible working environment, they need to be:
- Easily accessible to the team, wherever in the world they’re based. Online is good – an app is even better.
- Enable workflows, team working and collaboration. That way, everyone knows what they’re doing, and who the task is with right now.
- Be easy to update, so the process is always relevant.
- Integrate with other systems in your business, such as your CRM, project management, or accounting software.
How do you build this flexibility into your workplace, so things run seamlessly?
It’s naïve to think that a business won’t be disrupted; it’s far smarter to anticipate a need for workplace flexibility.
In order for that to happen, processes need to be documented and stored in such a way that the whole team – whether office based or remote based – can access them at any time.
The very old fashioned way of doing this was to have business processes written up and printed in a bound folder. This is no longer viable in a world where employees work from home, and team members are located around the country (or globe).
Many businesses have processes written up in a Word document, which is then stored either on someone’s computer (making it inaccessible to the rest of the team), or on a shared drive (which everyone tends to forget about). These processes aren’t referred to or updated often, so they quickly become irrelevant.
In order for business processes to underpin a flexible working environment, they need to be:
- Easily accessible to the team, wherever in the world they’re based. Online is good – an app is even better.
- Enable workflows, team working and collaboration. That way, everyone knows what they’re doing, and who the task is with right now.
- Be easy to update, so the process is always relevant.
- Integrate with other systems in your business, such as your CRM, project management, or accounting software.
Does this kind of system exist?
Yes, this kind of system exists - and it’s called Process Street
Best of all, the Free Forever option lets you get started so you can if it’s a good fit for your organisation, without needing to hand over any payment details.
There’s a Process Street app, too – and that’s free as well.
But I don’t have time to set it up…
If you like the sound of all this, but don’t have the time or headspace to dig into new software, we can take care of that for you.
Empower Business can project manage your policies and processes, and set up one workflow in Process Street so you can see how it works, and how it would benefit your business.
We’re experts in creating and mapping processes, so even though this work is chargeable, it’ll be a lot quicker and more streamlined than for a business owner starting from scratch with their processes and software. Contact us for a chat to see if this is right for you.
Other benefits of documenting your business processes
Documenting your business processes has many benefits, beyond workplace flexibility, job sharing, and remote working:
- Knowledge isn’t lost when someone leaves the organisation.
- New starters are able to get up to speed far more quickly.
- Staff training and employee onboarding is simplified, because the process is already there and documented.
- Improved customer service, from onboarding through to sales and customer care programmes.
- Compliance benefits.
- It adds value to a business: if you ever consider selling your business, as an exit strategy, it is easy for the new owners to settle in. This not only increases the value of your business, but also its desirability, making it faster and easier to sell.
Next steps
Contact Empower Business for a free one-hour consultation about your business processes, and whether Process Street is the right solution for you.
