What Are FAQs - BCINC Canada Process Improvement Questions
What are FAQs - BCINC Canada - process Improvement questions often posed to the business? Actual questions from clients have been compiled below and will constantly be updated as new ones are asked
Yes you do. This is the best time in your business to ensure that you are set up for success by putting in place the necessary structures at the foundation level - Business Plan, Systems, processes and SOPs (standard operating procedures.
It can however be overwhelming for a business owner at this stage to identify what systems and procedures are required. BCINC will develop a customized Start-UP Systems Overview Framework customized for your business at minimal cost and enable you to develop only those procedures you need. For assistance:
A Business Plan is your roadmap or GPS to success and details how you will run your business. Without one, it is like driving with your eyes closed. Your Business Plan will help eliminate many problems you currently encounter, otherwise, you will work inefficiently, waste time and money as you push your way towards an unknown goalpost. Lack of a business plan or failure to use one you developed several years ago is probably the reason for the current chaos in the business. A business plan - whether a short or long version will provide you with the following benefits.
- A clear statement of your business mission and vision
- A set of values that can help you steer your business through times of trouble
- A blueprint you can use to focus your energy and keep your company on track
- Simple metrics you can use to track your performance and make mid-course corrections
- A clear-eyed analysis of your industry, including opportunities and threats
- A portrait of your potential customers and their buying behaviors
- A rundown of your major competitors and your strategies for facing them
- An honest assessment of your own business strengths and weaknesses
- A roadmap and timetable for achieving your goals and objectives
- A description of the different services you offer
- An explanation of your marketing strategies
- An analysis of your revenues, costs, and projected profits
- An action plan that anticipates potential issues you may encounter
No business can afford to be without one. It does not have to be a big document, but it must address the elements above. A business plan is a deep dive into the business. Take a simple Business Health Check to understand the current state of your business. For assistance:
It does not have to be, especially for a small business BUT there are standard steps required for its development. Cost is dictated by whether you require the business plan for financing or simply growth.
A business plan for financing requires a lot of financial calculations and will definitely be more expensive - and , it does not have to be 200 pages long! Similarly a 2-pager business plan may not adequately address all the requirements of a business plan as well as a 10 or 30 page plan.
Note, the number of pages in a business plan is determined by what is needed to create adequate content. To check on the health of your business with a Business Health Check Template, OR for assistance:
BCINC Canada offers a robust SOP Template package for small businesses. 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 the Resources Tab. For assistance:
Some processes involving cross-functional departments may be duplicated and overlap because each department has its own “procedures” they follow.
Even Solopreneurs are guilty of this, or they fail to document processes, thereby causing different process variations to be executed.
Duplicate procedures can cause bottlenecks that drain valuable resources such as time and materials (money) which can seriously affect the bottom line.
The solution is to Streamline Processes to have only one method in use.
Yes you can streamline processes yourself, but there are steps you must follow. It can however get very cumbersome, so if you would prefer to get this done quickly and efficiently, contact us below
The word “optimize” means to make something as good or as efficient, as useful or as functionally as 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. For assistance:
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
For assistance:
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:
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 is required to assist with developing a document management system. To self-assess with a Business Health Check to understand how well your business is doing, OR Contact Us,
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:
Internal audits are useful for ANY business, no matter the size. It helps the business identify gaps or inefficiencies, areas for improvement and areas where they may not be complying with regulatory and safety standards.
An internal audit can help identify processes that are not working properly and need to be improved and any bottlenecks in operations so that you can target corrective actions to these areas.
BCINC is Lead Auditor certified and can help you train your team. Simply self-assess with our Business Health Check to understand the current state of your business. We use this to assess if an internal audit is required. For assistance:
You need to learn to manage yourself first BEFORE you manage others. Personal productivity is multi-faceted, involving bad habits, time management , focus and concentration, distraction, procrastination, delegation etc.
We conduct a personal productivity assessment to characterize the type of productivity issue BEFORE a solution is suggested.
For Process Improvement of Personal and Team Productivity
For assistance and to Contact us about our programs :
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:
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. For assistance:
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. For assistance: