How to get away from the "routine" and finally tackle strategic tasks

Organization current events management, or operational management, is a necessary part of project work. This includes, for example, daily interaction with subordinates or immediate response to all incoming tasks. But this brings real benefit only if the work is built on the basis of a well-thought-out and approved strategy, which the owner of the enterprise should be doing. Otherwise, it is an endless, chaotic process that consumes all resources.

In any textbook on management activities, it is written how to properly organize the work: design, implement, and then delegate the system of operational management of the company to top management. But in practice, everything turns out to be much more complicated. Before introducing a new management system, it is important to create the necessary conditions.

Train staff

In order to get away from the "routine", tasks must be delegated. And to do it so as not to be constantly distracted by control.

For the company to flourish and the owner to be able to engage in strategic tasks, the team must have proactive leaders and conscientious performers.

There are many employee typology systems, but all of them, one way or another, boil down to the fact that motivated and interested people should work in the company. Therefore, at this stage, it is very important to conduct a high-quality assessment of personnel. The best ways to solve this problem are ways in which the main criterion is performance, not competence. For example, you can use the "360 degrees" method - this is an assessment of an employee by his colleagues, subordinates, management, clients and himself.

What to do with those who have proven to be ineffective employees? To begin with, we will try to "fix" them, that is, to motivate them. Here you need to identify those who are inspired by achievements: they will work more fun if they are promised a prize. But those who are motivated by punishment, and those who do not react in any way to stimulation (this is even worse), need to get rid of. It is important to make this process step by step and not obvious to the team. Otherwise, you have every chance of ruining the company.

To the rest, you need to clearly convey the idea of what you expect from them, or rather, what you are giving out your salary for. An employee must understand that his actions bring such a profit to the company, which is why he receives such a salary and such a bonus. In other words, implement a transparent system of material motivation based on performance indicators - KPI (Key Performance Indicator).

Deal with finances

So, the team was sorted out. Let's move on to the most burning topic for any businessman - company finance.

Sometimes, especially during rapid growth, the owner and top management forget about the most important thing - the economics of the project. In order for you to clearly understand how money comes and goes, you need to carry out a number of procedures.

Calculate the unit economics of the project - the profitability or loss of one unit of goods or services per client. This will allow you to understand which products need to be strengthened, and which ones should be abandoned altogether, so that the business as a whole remains profitable.
Identify and promote the most marginal product. Be guided by the principle: to strengthen the strong in order to develop the weak. If there is no profit, you simply will not have resources for new directions.
Check the payroll (payroll) for appropriateness. You will be surprised, but with the correct calculation of the project economics, it may turn out that "two and a half excavators" will be enough for you. Sometimes, instead of keeping three employees, it is better to distribute (for an additional payment) an additional part of the tasks between two employees - this will significantly save the payroll.

All this must be done in order to prepare the environment for the transfer of the built-up processes to the top management of the company.

Standardize processes

Let's move on to tactical actions. Ever wonder why employees in fast food restaurants are so fast? Because they have clearly defined processes: they know in what order to put burgers, how to move around the kitchen so as not to hurt a colleague, how many grams of sauce to add to a particular dish. The same should be done with any process in your company.

You can start with the same staff: write job descriptions. Just do not download from the Internet, but write exactly what a specific employee in your company should do. Also calculate the KPI system - we have already talked about the need to use this technique. It is better if it is approved for all employees.

In sales, be sure to implement a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system so as not to miss a single client and not to work around the standards and checklists.

It is necessary to regulate all processes: from the simplest tasks to complex management decisions. Of course, sometimes rules can be broken, but thanks to a clear coordinate system, you can not worry about what is happening at this or that level of the company.

Implement automation

During the standardization process, you will identify those zones that can and should be automated, that is, eliminate the need to repeat the same type of actions. For example, upon receipt of an incoming request, a manager enters customer data into a CRM system, then copies the information for a customer service specialist to Excel, and for marketing transfers the information to Google Sheets. All these manipulations can be avoided and thereby significantly increase the efficiency of employees and the production process as a whole.

You will be surprised how much time and effort you can save if you do not use the labor of a manager for standard calculations, but spend once on a smart operational solution. Such systems now exist for CRM in sales, and for accounting tasks, and even for recruiting.

Automate whatever you can. So you will avoid endless mistakes due to the human factor, optimize processes and, possibly, save on the wages fund.

Establish operational management

So, you are surrounded by motivated employees who know what they need to do in order to get a decent result. You have a clear financial model, and you have an idea of where to move in order to constantly increase profits. Processes within the company are standardized and automated.

Now you need to delegate operational control. Important: do not tie processes to one person, so as not to put yourself in a position where your business is completely dependent on a hired manager. Having removed operational management from yourself, do not create another pole, but try to divide tasks into several different areas: for example, entrust all monetary issues to the financial department, and work with clients - to the service department.

Now you can engage in strategic management with peace of mind. But be sure to check at least once a quarter whether the tactical part of project management matches the strategy you are implementing. After all, reasonable control is the key to stable and long-term work of the company.