Some business owners see problems as barriers and an affront to the company; however, a wise organisational leader can see a problem as an opportunity for growth.
Knowing where a business’s strengths and weaknesses lie is crucial to its growth. Often, management chooses a strengths-focused approach, which can lead to increased motivation and performance among staff.
However, this often means that smaller, less urgent challenges are left unresolved, leading to sustained productivity loss and potential loss of profit. In an era where organisations are focused on doing more with less, and where every tiny advantage counts, it’s essential for businesses to be able to address those problems sooner rather than later.
Determining where problems lie quickly, while working to find a resolution, will save money and bring workflows back on track.
Konica Minolta has identified three key changes organisational leaders can fix today to improve the business for tomorrow.
1. Accuracy
When employees conduct manual tasks day after day, errors can inevitably creep in, despite workers having the best intentions. These errors may seem tiny and easily fixed; however, they can quickly add up to real costs. The amount of time it takes to fix errors when they happen multiple times a day takes employees’ time away from growth-oriented activities.
Data capture and workflow management solutions and automation can help minimise errors and improve accuracy. They can also ensure all relevant data is reviewed and stored safely.
2. Lack of relevant information for decision-making
When businesses can’t get instant, comprehensive, and accurate information to base decisions on, the quality of those decisions becomes questionable. Leaders rely on past experience, gut feel, or even erroneous data to make potentially game-changing choices for the business. While these decisions may not be catastrophic, most times they could be improved, and those incremental improvements can add up quickly and contribute to the bottom line.
For example, robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can span a host of departments including accounting, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and marketing. The right solution can bring these departments together, providing a single source of accurate data to drive integrated activities and, ultimately, better business performance.
3. Expensive and non-mobile legacy technology
In the past, many critical systems were created to be used internally in a business with no external access available for the safety of the company and its employees. In a world that not only thrives on connected relationships but has embraced hybrid working practices, these legacy technologies cannot provide the same kind of productivity success as they once did.
Legacy systems can cost the business money in terms of maintenance costs and lost efficiencies compared with modern, productivity-enhancing solutions. Organisations should look to replace these costly legacy systems with solutions that offer increased support and mobility for teams across the board and fulfil the goals of the modern business with greater ease.
Despite the daunting nature of addressing a business problem, those leaders that look to face a challenge head on and break down each issue into more manageable tasks will reap the benefits of a more efficient and productive organisation.
For more information on how an automated workflow solutions can benefit your business efficiency and customer experience, contact the team at Konica Minolta today.
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