The Cost of Being Disorganized
So many businesses are losing money every day due to their lack of being organized. It may not be immediately evident just by looking at the books, it may mean taking a look at the way that employees manage their time.
It is not enough for the business owner be organized. Teaching your employees the value of being organized at the office will directly impact your success in business. Throughout my time in Corporate America, I’ve experienced extreme differences in the manner that employees are “allowed” to handle their time in the office. I’ve had every experience from being micro-managed to the point that I had to log in and out to go to the bathroom – to working with employees the continually showed up late, took long lunch hours, left early most days and yet, for some reason, kept their jobs. I believe that there has to be a happy medium. Both scenario’s affect employees moral, organizing and ultimately, your business as a whole.
The cost of unorganized employees will affect your business’ overall function, financial status, ability to expand your business and cause an enormous amount of stress and anxiety. Setting expectations leaves nothing to chance. This, along with effective communication, can help build your business, even in a down economy.
Statistics say that the average employee spends 1 hour a day just looking for something – typically paperwork. What does this means to you, as the business owner? One hour of lost time a day – or 2 weeks a year. Can your business afford to give your employees an extra 2 weeks of vacation per year? The answer is probably not!
I remember one of my favorite jobs. It was with a financial planning company and I was actually hired by his wife who also worked with the company – and had been there for over 10 years. He was retiring from a successful military career and needed someone to be his assistant as he stepped into the role of a financial planner. We had some very specific ways of keeping his business organized and he became company Rookie of the Year the first year of business (which was actually only 8 months). I know (and he does too) that part of his success was the I also took ownership of his success. The main difference in his/our success, was that we stayed organized by: communicating each week and tracking the following information: Phone calls for prospects, clients that needed an update, confirmations for the week, follow-ups and paperwork that needed to be sent out, outstanding business that was waiting for an action from the client and what needed to be scheduled in order to complete the sale. One of our main goals also was to have 100 appointments on the books every month – and when we met that goal, it meant $$$$ in my pocket. Needless to say, we met our goal most every month.
We had a plan of action and we stuck to it. We motivated each other to ensure that financially he was successful. And, my concentrated effort to time management directly affected his success as a Financial Planner. It is now almost 15 years since we started working together and he is still an awesome agent. Once again, our keys to success were: communication, planning and building a business relationship that achieved the desired results and specific daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly goals that we tracked frequently.
The cost of being disorganized – whether your lack of organization or your employees lack of organization – can cause you to close your doors. Make changes now to stop losing money every day. Motivation, positive reinforcement and accountability are important for your employees. Staying on top of business and keeping each day organized will help you, not just stay in business, but also grow your business and make it productive.
To Your Success…
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