Management

Creative Business Systems

By Justin Davies, 29 Jun 2007.

Are you as creative in your business systems as you are in the way you run your business?

There are loads of opportunities to apply your natural creativity - ways that make it fun for clients and for your staff - which helps you to retain both.

Part of the key involves the transactional processes within your business - frankly the boring stuff. Things like invoices and statements, answering phones, tracking documents. Yet here is a vast opportunity to improve your processes and efficiency - and deliver better customer service as a result.

So, how do you start?

Firstly have a look at the various business processes involved in dealing with clients in a step by step fashion. Draw diagrams of flows, consider the information needed for each step and who is involved. Then analyse the exceptions to the process. This is important as it often provides the best opportunity to save cost and reduce risk. Imagine never have to “put out another fire”! Then, put on the creative hat and think about how you could do it differently.

Current web technology allows for some seriously cool ways of sharing, displaying and interacting with information. A software system can help with locking your clients into your services offerings as well. Then take a look at some of the online technologies that can be easily - and cheaply - incorporated into your business. Look at basecamphq.com for project based extranets, 88miles.net for online timesheeting, and Google your way by typing your business type plus software into the search box. I think you will be amazed at what comes up….


This article was written by Justin Davies.

Justin is the Regional Director of the Consulting Division of Ross Human Directions. In this role, he assists businesses to improve the effectiveness of what they do through IT Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, Business Case Development and Application Development and Support through a team of over 45 people. He also writes a blog, The Smell of Good Business which covers a range of business tips and ways to use technology for business improvement.


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One Response to “Creative Business Systems”

  1. Bill James-Wallace on July 1st, 2007 8:50 am

    Good article. Eventually the web will begin to expose many opportunities for streamlining and cost management simply by the synergy of minds. The “4 Hour Work Week” (Tim Ferriss) is a case in point.
    While I don’t think we should educate our kids via Google (ref: Lilliana Ravlich) finding things out and discovering new solutions via the web can be a great way to work. I searched Google for Consultant Time Management and discovered some great websites.
    Thanks Justin.

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