“Systemise the predictable so you can humanise the exceptional.”
Running a business can often feel like a chaotic juggling act, with numerous tasks and processes competing for our attention. In such situations, it becomes crucial to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and maximise productivity.
That’s where ActionCOACH’s 9 Steps of Systemisation come into play. These simple yet powerful steps provide a roadmap to transform your business into a well-oiled machine. In this blog post, we’ll delve into each step, offering practical insights and tips to help you implement them successfully. So, fasten your seatbelts, because we’re about to embark on a journey towards business success!
Step 1: Vision
Imagine the future of your business – not just in the next few years, but over the next century. Define your long-term vision, considering where you want your business to be when it’s fully realised. Embrace ambitious goals that align with your passion and purpose. This visionary perspective will guide your decisions and inspire you to aim high.
Step 2: Mission Statement
Craft a mission statement that encapsulates your business’s purpose, how you’ll accomplish your vision, and what sets you apart from the competition. Identify your target market, understand your customers’ needs, and highlight your unique value proposition. Your mission statement serves as a compass, guiding your team’s efforts and ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Step 3: Culture Statement
Define the values that shape your company culture. Start with your four most important values as a leader, followed by your team’s values and your customers’ values. These values create a strong foundation for your business, influencing decision-making, behavior, and interactions. A positive and aligned culture fosters collaboration, employee engagement, and a sense of belonging.
Step 4: Goals
Set SMART goals that align with your vision. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals create a roadmap for success. Start with the end in mind and break down your goals into actionable steps. Goals provide direction, focus, and momentum, propelling your business forward. Regularly review and adjust your goals to adapt to changing circumstances and stay on track.
Step 5: Create an Organisational Chart
Design an organisational chart that reflects your business’s structure, positions, and reporting lines. Anticipate future growth and consider career pathways for your employees. This chart provides clarity, defines roles, and ensures accountability. It becomes a valuable tool for decision-making, delegation, and identifying areas that require improvement.
Step 6: Positional Contracts
Clearly communicate expectations for each position within your organisation. Develop job descriptions and detailed contractual agreements that outline responsibilities, deliverables, and performance expectations. This clarity ensures that everyone understands their role and helps to avoid ambiguity. Positional contracts promote accountability, performance, and a sense of ownership.
Step 7: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Establish key performance indicators for each position. Choose 5-10 metrics that measure individual contributions to the overall success of the business. KPIs provide visibility into performance, enable tracking progress, and facilitate data-driven decision-making. Regularly review and communicate KPIs to keep your team focused on achieving targets and driving business growth.
Step 8: How-to-Manuals
Document your core processes and procedures in manuals and standard operating procedures. These detailed guides provide step-by-step instructions for various tasks, ensuring consistency and efficiency. Manuals facilitate employee training, smooth onboarding, and create a reference point for day-to-day operations. Regularly update and refine these manuals to reflect changes and improvements within your business.
Step 9: Management Systems
Now that you have all your business systems and processes in place and the business is working perfectly, you might be close to putting your feet up or jetting off to your favourite location. But before you do, create an overarching management system including these three parts:
A dashboard, which typically includes a maximum of 10 objective facts that indicate the health of the business, usually including profit, marketing effectiveness, productivity and customer satisfaction.
Rewards and consequences for the team, for achieving or adhering to the business systems and processes. Make sure staff are aware of rewards and consequences.
Scheduled meetings that perform specific functions to be held regularly, such as work-in-progress, half-yearly planning or even a daily huddle. These meetings need to be consistent and have a specific agenda.
In summary, the less about your business that is undefined, the fewer people will have to rely on you to answer their questions and help do their job every day.
Developing systems for your business is absolutely vital to keep things running smoothly and efficiently. And if you really want to take things to the next level, consider implementing business process automation to streamline your operations, minimise errors, and save precious time and money. Whether you’re in the business of offering products or services, having a crystal-clear vision, a mission that drives you, a culture statement that sets you apart, and SMART goals that keep you focused are the keys to achieving success.
So buckle up and get ready to revolutionise your business processes in the friendliest and most effective way possible!
Want to know more about the 9 steps of systemisation? Contact us today to talk to Scott about how we can help you!
