As a smaller business, keeping an organised office is crucial in ensuring that your business runs as smoothly as possible. A one-person show, generally, operates very effectively as you can only hold yourself accountable to get the work done since the business is yours and you want it to succeed.
However, as your business grows and you pick up more clients, the one-person show can easily turn into a small business, hiring multiple people to help you handle the workload. For business owners who fail to prepare for this eventuality, chaos can ensue quickly so it’s important that you put measures in place early on to stay in control.
Once your SME gets to a point where you must hire a team, it’s vital that you manage your team well to ensure maximum productivity. Even if your business appears to be in good order, there is always room for improvement. Hiring the right people to join your company, having protocols in place to deal with the unexpected and, providing the right training, having essentials such as rostering software will all help to ensure your business runs smoothly and efficiently going forward.
Continue reading to learn how you can keep your business organised and avoid letting your company fall into chaos.
Take Inventory
Finding areas where you can make improvements in the office is the first step to organising your team. For example, you can exchange outdated attendance rostering with SME job scheduling software so that your staff are always up-to-date with the latest work schedule. Go through your office processes thoroughly and experiment with different ways that tasks can be made more efficient. It might take several weeks of investigating and researching every aspect of your business from storing information to saving money but once you have completed the process, you will be able to put a plan in place to move your business forward.
Escape The Paper Trap
One of the biggest things that contribute to chaos in the workplace is our over-reliance on paper. Paper clutters up filing cabinets, bulletin boards, mailboxes, and even our desks, creating an inefficient and chaotic work environment. While the printers and hard copies are not obsolete, finding ways to use them sparingly can go a long way to helping you minimise this chaos in the office. That is why it is really important to understand the different types of copiers in order to choose the best possible option for you.
Simple ways to declutter include establishing a “print only” policy for important documents. Move from hard copy timesheets to scheduling software to reduce the endless amount of paper that mounts up over time. You can also consider moving hard copy files to electronic storage in order to update and modernise your record-keeping system. Keeping records through an online system or on a portable hard drive is one of the safest ways to keep your information secure and your office organised.
Use Scheduling Software
Scheduling software can save your business a huge amount of time, money and hassle when it comes to your staff. Many of these programs have apps that perform a variety of useful business functions that will ultimately make your business run more efficiently. For example, payroll officers no longer have to spend time sorting through stacks of documents and inputting payroll information manually. Also, with the reports generated by scheduling software, it is easier than ever for business owners to schedule staff appropriately based on the needs of the business on a particular day.
Use Cloud Computing
Cloud computing allows businesses to share documents and perform various business tasks from anywhere in the world, as long as you are connected to the internet. Having the ability to access and share information with anyone, at any time and from any location in the world will ensure that your employees always have access to the data they need. If your business has more than one office, cloud computing is an efficient way to centralise your business information and avoid your employees having to scramble to find the information they require to complete their work.
Moving Toward Organised Chaos
Your office is essentially a small ecosystem with many moving parts and it’s important that you keep all of these parts moving in unison. Everything and everyone in your business has a purpose. If everyone understands their role in the business and what is expected of them, then this will lead to a more organised and productive work environment. Being organised will allow you and your team to stay in control, no matter how chaotic the workday gets.