How to Improve Operational Efficiency

Competitive Advantage

Slick business operations that are perfectly aligned to deliver to your customers’ demands and expectations are and excellent way to build value in your business and create competitive advantage. Business owners should seek continual improvements in their processes and operations to not only stay one step ahead of competitors but also to improve profitability. However, as a business grows, inefficiencies may emerge organically (and largely unnoticed) that can reduce profits, so it’s imperative that managers engage with their team regularly to identify how operational weaknesses can be addressed – or even eradicated - to save time and money. This can often occur when businesses outgrow their operational processes and structure as our recent case study demonstrates.

Business Process Improvements

How To Improve Operational Efficiency

Secantor’s Operations Directors will help you identify and implement operational improvements to increase your productivity and reliability.

Planning

We’ll first help you create a strategic business plan. Next we’ll turn this into a detailed operational plan that delivers key objectives in your strategic plan. We’ll turn your plan into a series of actions and assign responsibility to you and your management team for completing them with support, advice and guidance from our executive. We will regularly review progress team to ensure the plan is delivered.

Create a Financial Budget

Our Finance Directors will help turn your business plan into a financial forecast that represents your vision in sales, profits, cash and balance sheet value. We’ll then help you monitor actual financial performance against budget and take corrective action alongside you to ensure targets are achieved. Part of the budgeting process is identifying ways to reduce costs in your operations.

A team planning together around a table

Put the Customer First

It might seem obvious, but it’s important to ensure your processes are designed with the customer in mind. Being independent we bring a fresh pair of eyes to this.   We’ll help you take a step back and ask, “are we easy to do business with?”.  We’ll help you develop your team to put the customer first in everything they do by building a culture of customer service excellence.

Optimise Processes

It’s important to regularly audit your processes to scrutinise where improvements could be made.  Again, our independence is helpful here and we bring experience of best practice from other businesses to help improve yours.  We’ll help you optimise our processes and create standard operating procedures for your team to follow.

A team working on a shared task

Smart Use Of IT

IT can improve the quality and efficiency of your business operations but make sure you choose carefully otherwise you’ll waste money on solutions that don’t add value or worse still, are disruptive.  We’ll help you to clarify your requirements and support you to source the right IT solutions

Implement KPIs

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are essential for monitoring the performance of your operations.  We’ll help you choose measures that are relevant for your business and set targets.  We’ll set up systems to report performance against targets regularly and aid you in monitoring the results.  Our Executives can also help you assign responsibility to your team and hold them to account in achieving targets.

Invest In Your Team

Every business owner needs a strong accountable management team to take operational responsibility.  We’ll help you select and develop your team, agree objectives and set these out formally in job descriptions.  We’ll also help you monitor and improve individual performance.

Eliminate Waste and Inefficiency

Improving your business operations ensures that inefficiencies are rooted out and eliminated, so no money is wasted on unnecessary or ineffective procedures.  At Secantor, our experienced executives can help your business to improve its efficiency, thereby increasing profits and protecting it against the challenges of the uncertain market.

To find out more about our services, please get in touch today.

A hand holding a pen writing a business plan

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Ways Secantor Will Help You

Free Business Review

No two businesses are the same. This is why we offer a free business review. We can arrange an initial chat with one of our experts to get things started. Then a couple of our team members will visit you to listen to the story of your business. From this meeting, we’ll be able to provide you with some interesting insights into your business from our independent experience. This will allow you to see how we work and help us to select the right expert for your business. Contact us to book a free consultation.

Why not read one of our short case studies to learn about Secantor's impact.

“We will never forget your huge contribution to Montezuma’s and your constant support, encouragement and all the board room laughs. Thank you for everything!” - Helen Pattinson, MD & Co-founder of Montezuma’s Chocolates

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