Foundation Work For an SMB: Planning To Succeed

When you start a company the focus is how to increase revenue and other, similar, hard numbers (directly measurable concepts such as units sold or the cost per month of renting a photocopier). The soft numbers (concepts that are more difficult to measure, such as the cost of a sick day or the value of a new innovation) take a backseat and are usually approached in a fire extinguishing way – instead of preventing fires, they are put out once they appear. This is quite natural as with fewer people involved, tasks get done quickly and you can chat about them over the watercooler. But once the company is established and starts to grow, many issues crop up that could have been avoided completely by having a solid foundation of procedures and routines.

Issues like intra-department collaboration and communication, consistency in work, and infrastructure shortages are matters that could have been dealt with before they happened. Just a simple thing, such as having a project management software set up before taking on new staff, could save you a lot of headache down the road.

Let’s explore 5 areas where solid planning can save both time and resources if done properly during the early stages of a company.

Infrastructure

Having a centralised file storage and a solid internet connection are of paramount importance once the company grows. Once more people are involved in the tasks and projects, it’s no longer viable to store information on your workstation or laptop, both for convenience and security reasons. Hard drive failure is not an uncommon issue, and when that happens you will be eternally grateful that you stored your files in a central location. As an in-house server might be too much of an investment, a cloud storage solution is a perfectly viable option.

Remote work

With the millennial generation strongly establishing themselves in workplaces around the globe, telecommuting, and the option to work remotely is a strong deciding factor when searching for a job. It’s more and more expected to have the option of working remotely as a part of your schedule. Be it for sickness, taking care of a child, or just to minimise commuting, working from home is considered to affect health and productivity in a very beneficial way. Establishing a company culture that focuses on results over absenteeism, and implementing the tools needed for remote work, are imperative in the early cycles of a modern company.

Collaboration

As with the option of remote working, collaboration software is an important part of the modern workflow. Easy document sharing, group feedback and communication are key for any project. Increase productivity with smart solutions to communication issues, such as different geographical locations or odd working hours. Use email for information and collaboration software for open and clear communication.

Task and Project Management

Setting up a clear and structured project plan will increase productivity while minimising errors when multiple people are involved. Scheduling, task assignments and tracking are all steps to achieve the goals set before deadlines. When using email for these tasks it’s easy for staff be excluded from conversions, or for overlapping work to conflict, and both of these issues are solved by an organised project plan.

Having all these areas set up and planned will definitely make your journey to success much smoother. Attract exceptional people, increase productivity and communication while at the same time minimising confusion; these are just some of the benefits a well-structured company gain. Once a company is successful and experiences growth, it’s hard to find the time for routines and procedures to be implemented and it’s easy to zero in on only hard numbers. By laying a solid foundation these tasks shrink in scope, and only require small adjustments to stay up to date for as long as the company is in operation.