Discover VisiPoint’s top seven business centre efficiency tips!
A good business is like a well-oiled machine – it works all the time and the more efficient it is the better. Unfortunately, many businesses are currently pretty wasteful, losing approximately £28,000 a year because of inefficiency. With this in mind, we’ve put together the following tips so you can improve your business centre efficiency:
Identify what works well and what doesn’t
The first thing to do when focusing on business centre efficiency is to take stock of where you are. Review your existing setup and try and identify which processes are working well and which could be improved. To do this, try and step in the shoes of a potential investor and look at things through their eyes. Keep the overall objectives and values of your business centre in mind and check that all the systems and processes in place add value. Create a map to help you accurately identify the links between each stage in the production and data flow -vital for identifying how you can make your business more efficient by eliminating waste.
Make technology work for you
There is a whole world of technology out there designed to improve business centre efficiency and much of it is quite inexpensive. Simple measures, such as setting up a cloud-based system, such as Dropbox or Google Drive to enable your team to share projects and reports and collaborates in the office or in a remote location can really make a difference. Time management software, social media marketing, group chat apps such as Slack that make it easy for working groups to keep up-to-date and on track with the day’s tasks – there are numerous business apps from which to choose. If you aren’t technologically minded, this can all seem pretty daunting, and if this is the case, it is well worth seeking assistance from a service such as VisiPro who can identify the right technological tools for your business so that you can perform a range of tasks from scheduling meetings to maintaining customer contacts in the most streamlined manner.
Use benchmarking to help you improve business centre efficiency
Benchmarking involves researching local competitors and assessing their performance compared to yours and is a useful exercise in all industries from finance to education. Committing to a continuous improvement plan is an ongoing exercise. You might want to:
- Set some key priorities and assign a team to deal with specific issues
- Create a formal suggestion system for employees to anonymously give their views and set a time each month to check and review
- Source some outside help to identify weaknesses and monitor results – outsiders can look at your company objectively.
Engage your employees in the move towards greater business centre efficiency
Your employees are more likely to be tune with how things operate at ground level and it is always worth seeking their engagement and asking for their input in how systems could run more efficiently. It’s a fact that companies who listen to their employees and take their opinions on board are more likely to achieve long-term benefits from attempts to improve business centre efficiency. Asking consumers/clients for feedback is also a good idea – and could well result in a valuable source of data to be utilised to help you streamline your business model.
Aim to make small changes to achieve long-term gains in business centre efficiency
Small changes that can have a disproportionately large impact on a business. A simple measure such as switching to online buying as opposed to sourcing material from local suppliers can have multiple positive effects. Time is freed up that can be used on other matters; you are no longer restricted to using local suppliers but can potentially have access to a global market; costs are probably reduced – and there is almost certainly less paperwork!
But don’t change just for the sake of change!
Sometimes companies with serious cash flow problems and insecure management feel the need to drive change without considering all the implications. This is inadvisable and could be extremely costly. When instigating changes, make sure you and all your team have a full understanding of what you are trying to do.
Finally, a visitor management system is perfect for making your business centre more efficient by speeding up the sign-in process and freeing up more time for your reception and administration staff.
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Contact VisiPoint today for more information about how you can make your office-space work more effectively.