Getting your franchise up and running is only the first step of effective franchise management; for your business to be successful, you need to increase the efficiency of your operations. No matter what industry you are operating in, your processes must run efficiently. A business that fails to improve efficiencies risks damaging customer relations, revenue and bottom lines.
Review Current Practices
The effects of inefficiency can be devastating for businesses; research has shown that it can cost a business up to 30 per cent of their revenue each year. To safeguard your business against the potential threats of inefficiencies, you need to review your business operations. It is vital that business owners try to distance themselves from their franchise to gain and clear and impartial viewpoint by which they can review the efficiency of business processes. When you are reviewing for efficiency, you must consider every aspect of your business. Not only should you consider the operation but also your location, your technology, your staff, your management and your business goals. You should aim to make all of your business processes as up to date, simple and effective as possible.
Outsource and Automate Wherever Possible
As a franchise owner, you want to make sure that your employees are spending the majority of their time on productive tasks that are going to contribute towards building a successful business. To ensure that your staff can work as efficiently as possible, you need to automate or outsource routine, mundane or time-consuming tasks. Examples of processes that can be outsourced include:
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Employee Onboarding
Employee onboarding software is designed to increase the efficiencies of the hiring and onboarding processes. For example, Zenefits' employee onboarding software automatically connects with the rest of your HR systems, including benefits, payroll and scheduling. Not only will onboarding software cut the time employers spend onboarding by 50%, but it will also increase efficiency related to staff turnover. According to the Harvard Business Review, up to 20% of staff turnover within the first 45 days of employment, which wastes a business's time and resources. An onboarding process is essential to combat this high turnover rate.
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Chatbots
Chatbots have been found to increase the efficiency of customer services teams hugely. Chatbots are there to give customers contextual AI-driven support and can answer routine customer queries. Not only does this enable staff to concentrate on more demanding tasks, but it improves customer relations as chatbots run round the clock to offer constant support. According to a study conducted by Accenture, 57% of executives say conversational bots deliver larger returns on investment with minimal effort.
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Accountancy Software
Accountancy software enables you to track your accounts receivable and accounts payable to gain a clear understanding of their profitability. There are many different types of accountancy software out there, all of which have been designed to cater to different industries and business sizes. Accountancy software can range from system bookkeeping systems to advanced accounting systems which manage your accounts, ledgers invoices, taxes, salaries and assets. The up-to-date insights that this type of software offers will allow you to track expenses and more easily identify drains on your resources.
Focus on Your Goals
Improving your business efficiency does not only come from reviewing your current process but looking forward, to your goals. It is recommended that you regularly review your business plan, in particular, your aims and targets. You should consider your goal completion date to determine whether you are on the path of achieving these goals. If you are not set to meet your targets, it is time to concentrate on streamlining and prioritizing processes. It can also be helpful to set benchmarks so that manages can more easily chart progress.
