By Andrew Stepanov
For any small business, growth is good – but it’s a challenge, too. When your team gets bigger, you have more opportunities and more capacity to sell. But it takes time for infrastructure and workflow to catch up. If you can’t adapt fast enough, then the benefits of growth will soon melt away.
In this post, we’ll take a look at how to quickly streamline your workflow so that you don’t miss out on the opportunities that a growing team brings.
First of all, your needs will vary depending on how your team grows. For example:
- A family business adds external employees
- A small team hires remote employees to cover more countries without raising costs
- A small business with strong growth creates a marketing department
In each situation, the workflow will look different and require different tools. Let’s get into it.
Daily Scrum Meetings
A scrum meeting is how you always imagined meetings should be. Instead of sitting for hours while people discuss the same idea endlessly, a scrum meeting is 15 minutes maximum. Gather your team together, tell them today’s goals, and then get back to work. If your team is spread across different sites, you can still hold scrum meetings using online conferencing.
Create an Online Knowledgebase
One of the biggest challenges for an expanding team is onboarding. Even though you’ve carefully picked the best candidate for the job, they still need training. But you can cut training time massively if you give all your staff access to an online “library” of essential info. Once your knowledge base is set up, use it to keep everyone’s training up to date.
Depending on the type and volume of information you handle, you’ll need different file sharing tools. Capterra is a good place to search for apps with specific features, such as file encryption or electronic signatures.
Design a Custom Workflow
Your workflow covers every aspect of the business, from beginning to end. It’s how you make sure that every task gets completed, correctly, on time.
Break down projects into individual tasks, and set specific deadlines for individual employees. It’s best to keep your workflow “open”, so that everyone can see each other’s tasks. That way, it’s easier for employees to coordinate and keep their co-workers up to date.
There are lots of workflow tools on the market, depending on the specific needs of your small business.
- Check out the list of affordable solutions to select among cheap-and-cheerful options.
- Read this list if you previously used MS Project, but want a more user-friendly platform.
- Look into Gantt chart software if you want maximum efficiency and collaboration.
Build a Pro-Productivity Environment
Last of all, remember that software isn’t everything. Happy workers are productive workers!
Find fun ways to motivate your workers. Create an environment that encourages employees to develop a growth mindset. Try productivity challenges, if you have a team of competitive people. Celebrate every achievement as a team – from completing a specific project, to improving productivity in general. One really good way to motivate workers is to ask what challenges they see for productivity, and what rewards they would like to earn.
As well as designing your workflow and tracking deadlines, make sure that you support your team as it grows and changes. Create a positive atmosphere, where the first question is always, “How can I help?”
Featured photo credit: Depositphotos