What Are FAQ – BCINC Canada Process Improvement Questions

What are FAQ – BCINC Canada – Process Improvement questions are a compilation of real questions from clients often posed to us. They are constantly updated as new ones are asked. If you have a specific question not addressed in this list, contact us.

FAQ 1: What types of businesses do you work with?

Small to mid-sized businesses — especially trades and service-based companies that need cleaner workflows and stronger systems.

FAQ 2: Do you work with companies that don’t have processes documented?

Yes. In fact, that’s often where the fastest improvements happen.

FAQ 3: Will this disrupt daily operations?

No. Our approach is designed to be practical and non-obtrusive while improvements are implemented.

FAQ 4: I am a Start-up business. I don’t need Business Process Improvements, or do I?

In order to successfully set up your business, you need a business plan and necessary supporting process documents for your operations.

FAQ 5: We are constantly hearing about the need for a Business Plan. Is this necessary since we have been operating without one for the past 3 years?

Your Business Plan serves as a GPS guide that navigates your business from start-up, through growth, and maturity. Without one, you are essentially “winging it”! You can also use a business plan to “course-correct” if the business is struggling and you don’t know what to do.

FAQ 6: Developing a Business Plan wastes a lot of time and can be very expensive. Is this true?

Not if you know how to get the work done quickly and efficiently with a clearly defined work scope. Some owners initially like to get started with a generic template – which can only help so-far.

We are a small business. Is it possible to to find a simple package of standard SOPs that will save us time as we try to re-organize our processes in-house?

BCINC Canada offers a robust SOP Template package for small businesses. Contact Us. Furthermore, we recommend that you use an inexpensive tool we employ to compile all your SOPs (when completed into a single e-book manual.- Check our Resources menu for additional information.

FAQ 7: I’ve heard about “streamlining processes”. What does this mean? Can I do this myself?

FAQ 8: What does it mean “to optimize my processes?”

The word “optimize” means to make something as good, efficient, useful or as functionally possible. Business process optimization will therefore help businesses reach their full potential. It is like getting a “tune up for your car” to increase and maximize its performance.

FAQ 9: Can I optimize my processes myself?

This is more difficult to do yourself. Most of us cannot tune up our vehicles ourselves – we take it to the mechanic. Similarly, a process improvement expert will need to conduct optimizations for you. For more in-depth information refer to the article The Process of Optimization – Benefits

FAQ 10: We think we need a small business CRM but don’t know where to start because there are so many vendors on the market.

Go to the Homepage of this site and download the e-book “Choosing the Right CRM for Your Business – A Do’s and Don’ts Guide to help you get started. Check the Resources page if the download is no longer there.

BCINC has worked with several clients to comparatively evaluate several CRMs for various small businesses in different industries. We can save you hours of research and demo viewing by ensuring selection of a CRM that suits your business priorities. For assistance:

Managing documents in my business is a daunting task; We constantly have problems finding documents; many computer home screens are littered with icons and folders, and we often recreate documents whenever we cannot find them quickly enough. How do we resolve this problem?

You need a document management system which is a key system of any business. This will require a document naming convention, filing framework, version control etc. A process specialist like BCINC can help you develop a document management system.

We frequently have unexpected equipment downtime and it is costing us a lot of money and time even though we have an Equipment Manager. On a few occasions, it resulted in the loss of the contract. How can we reduce our equipment downtime?

Planned downtime costs your business money. However, unexpected and unplanned downtime whether caused by a malfunction, failure of a required equipment to arrive, or other causes will cost you more money. We help you address Equipment Downtime through process improvements as an Equipment Management Plan. The goal is to reduce and save money on lost time, reach your sales goals, and reduce employee turnover due to frustrations. For assistance:

Are audits useful for my business? I only have 4 employees?

Internal audits are useful for ANY business, no matter the size. It helps you identify gaps or inefficiencies, areas for improvement and areas where you may not be complying with regulatory and safety standards.

An internal audit can help identify processes that are not working properly or are bottlenecks in operations that need to be improved so that you can target corrective actions to these areas.

Personal productivity is a major problem for me as a business owner. I am constantly overwhelmed with how much I need to do each day and don’t seem to have enough time. I’ve tried all kinds of scheduling tools, templates, software and even taken paid courses and workshops but always end back at square one a few months down the road. As a leader and owner, I find that I frequently snap at employees. I am totally frustrated. How do I break this cycle?

There is no short answer to this inquiry. Let’s chat to better address your concerns.

What is a business health check?

A business health check is very much like a health check up at the doctors office. It provides a snapshot assessment of key business areas and structures in place to see what is working well and what is not. For assistance:

Is a business health check the same as a business assessment?

A business assessment analyses and evaluates 2-3 years of past and current business performance, assesses potential risk and recommends solutions to mitigate risks and increase overall performance. On the other hand, a business health check is a snapshot overview of key business areas and structures at a point in time to see what is working well and what is not.

A root cause analysis may take time. Must a business always conduct one to find a solution to problems?

A root cause analysis is a great tool to use to fully understand the cause of a critical or a recurring problem. Good examples are, frequent equipment downtime, recurring customer complaints, frequent product returns, or delayed product deliveries. Once the true cause is identified, the appropriate solution can be applied.