In good economic times and bad, small businesses are under constant pressure to increase efficiency and cut costs.
Finding ways of doing more with less may be second nature for a business owner. However, to achieve real efficiencies that deliver improved service and cost savings in areas such as sales, customer service, energy use and general business operations, they need the rest of their team on board.
Small business owners set the standards, and their actions and behaviour create a climate of improved business efficiency.
First, you need to engage your team and share the need for efficiency, says David Robertson, executive consultant at business consultancy The Forum Corporation.
“Your employees need to know why efficiency is important, why now and what it means for the business. Then you need to engage them in finding opportunities to improve efficiency. Many heads are better than one and the team will be closer to the efficiency opportunities and challenges than the business owner or manager,” he says.
Taking simple actions – such as switching off lights when they’re not in use – can save small businesses over £100 a year, according to E.ON. Educating your team about the consequences of poor energy habits – or posting the successes of internal campaigns – is a big part of improving things, as is laying down the ground rules on what should be done and by whom.
People need to be encouraged to switch things off, and sometimes they’re not sure if they’re “allowed” to do it. E.ON has a package of help on their website, which includes downloadable posters for different sectors as well as advice companies can use around their sites to inspire and educate colleagues.
Kitchen furniture specialists Direct Online Services employs over 100 people. As an e-commerce business, efficiency in key areas such as customer response times and delivery lead times is vital to staying ahead of the competition.
Their strategy has been to fully engage their staff in the efficiency drive, from offering suggestions for efficiency improvements, to providing anonymous feedback on what they think is working well and what isn’t.
“We are building on that by developing a scheme that will offer incentives for the best money-saving or time-saving idea,” says director and co-founder, Will Rees.
Communication between staff in different areas of the business has been streamlined by the use of shared platforms, including task management software, web chat and support ticket software, which also enhances collaboration between different departments.
“The transparency of these platforms means that things cannot be left ‘undone’ easily, which improves team efficiency, as other members of staff can pick up on things if they see that an issue is not yet resolved,” adds Rees.
The more involved staff members are in the aims and processes of efficiency savings, the more effort they are likely to put into helping the business achieve its goals.
At Southport Road Dental practice in Chorley, Lancashire, the main areas of business efficiency include patient satisfaction, finance and marketing. All 14 members of the team are on board with the strategy for improvement.
This is partly because the efficiency and cost savings are measurable; efficiency performance figures are collated, reviewed monthly and shared with the team. But it is also because the staff are incentivised financially to strive for better patient service.
Practice owner David Hickey says: “We also have core values, which our team members were all involved in helping to build, and which are central to our business. We also make a point of spending time every month with individual members of staff to get their feedback on how well we are doing.”
Using team reviews to measure improvements in efficiency by tracking key metrics and regularly revisiting outcomes, and then showcasing the results, will undoubtedly motivate the team to help drive business efficiency.
Agreeing efficiency improvement targets and then providing training for the team to help them prioritise and address their efficiency challenges and issues, will engage them further still.
“In effect, they start to take on a continuous improvement approach to look for, evaluate and implement efficiency changes within the business,” explains David Robertson.
“If you do decide to implement a training programme, it is important that the leader also fully participates in order to demonstrate a commitment to continuous efficiency improvements and set an example of expected standards and behaviours,” he adds.
Sometimes the best way to get the team to focus on business efficiency is to do the opposite, and get them to focus on anything but.
That is the tactic used by recruitment firm Your World Healthcare; one that director Chris Osborne describes as unorthodox but vital in enabling people to perform at peak levels.
He says: “Our consultants focus intense periods of time on interviewing, research and placement. We encourage them to take regular breaks throughout the day and spend some down time in our games room and break out areas.
“By distancing themselves from the work environment they can switch off from work mode completely. Afterwards they return to their desks with new vigour, enthusiasm and energy that they wouldn’t have by simply moving from task to task without a break.”
However, not everyone in business subscribes to the idea of directly engaging staff in efficiency drives.
Serial entrepreneur Jamie True, founder of employee recognition platform WorkAngel, insists that business leaders shouldn’t be looking at their employees purely in terms of improving efficiency.
He says: “Numerous studies have shown that happy employees are the most productive employees. If you want your staff to think efficiently, you first need to make sure they are happy and engaged. For example, is their performance being appropriately recognised and rewarded?”
Business leaders face extra challenges during times of change, for example when roles have to be restructured, and staff can easily feel as if their contribution was not valued. This can potentially lead to them becoming disengaged and their performance suffering as a result.
Robertson adds: “As the business owner, it is up to you to promote involvement and dialogue around the changes you feel will deliver the desired efficiencies and cost savings.”
Content on this page is paid for and produced to a brief agreed with E.ON, sponsor of the Efficiency hub.
