Systems
Most of us know how to drive a car, but there are probably only a select few who know how the car actually works. Think of it as a bunch of systems all working simultaneously, to allow the smooth, comfortable and fast operation of your car.
Now, what happens when one of those systems fails? The car stops working, becomes less comfortable, drives more roughly or loses speed. What happens if there are no systems? We are back with the Flintstones, and our feet are producing the engine power.
This is the same in our business. If we have great systems in place, then our business operates smoothly, comfortably and fast! If these systems fail we lose this, and if we don’t have any systems at all, we definitely are back with the Flintstones!
Systems enable businesses to grow beyond the owner or founder of the business. A system should be created for every process, task or undertaking that is completed more than once in the business. When you create a system, it allows the process to be carried out by anyone within the organisation.
As an organisation grows, generally, so does the number of employees. It is therefore necessary to ensure we have clearly communicated systems for completing all aspects of the business. Employees that have clearly communicated systems in place perform better, to a higher standard and feel they are contributing at a greater level within the organisation. The absence of systems creates uncertainty for employees, as well as a greater number of mistakes being made or poorly performed tasks, and also increases the likelihood of items being forgotten completely.
Businesses that have great systems typically perform much higher in the areas of sales and service. Systems ensure that a higher percentage of leads are converted to paying customers, systems also ensure paying customers are taking advantage of all services and increase average spend per customer.
Using technology is one of the best ways to create systems. Technology can duplicate many repetitive tasks and processes, without needing human intervention.
Who has the best systems in the world? The most obvious is McDonald’s…however, let’s use Subway as an example here (yes, I am biased!).
The system we recognise in Subway has allowed a single sandwich business in the 1960s, to have over 40,000 restaurants world-wide – the largest franchise on the planet.
Every task performed in this franchise has a system/procedure to allow for this function to be carried out to the same standard across 40,000 restaurants world-wide. From functions such as how many olives go on the sub to how many grams of lettuce, how to wash your hands, how many employees should be rostered at any one time, at a particular time of the day. There is a system for EVERYTHING. This is what you buy when you purchase a Subway franchise, the value of what you are purchasing is not in the fixtures and fittings, it is in the system you are gaining. Think about it, the systems allow you to serve first-class products to your customers every day. They attract millions of people to the brand, and the system continues to build your business.
This is what you need to do in your own business; create a system for EVERY process that is repeated. Create your procedures with the end in mind and you will not only make your business world-class, highly efficient and incredibly robust, but you will also make your business highly valuable.
The videos below will guide you through the many elements of Systems in relation to your business.
