Start Small Win Big: Your Week 6 Action Plan

Step 6: Put systems into place to keep your staff focused. When you’re just starting out a business, generally things work a little ad-hoc. There’s not much of a need for systems because it’s likely just one or two of you working together and so it’s relatively easy to keep track of everything. Also, it’s hard to set up good systems until you really know what you’re dealing with. But, as you mature and grow, good systems can be the difference between a well-run company and a disastrously-run company.

So for this week’s homework assignment, I’m asking that you think about how your company works, and put some systems into place which will keep all of your employees focused on the right goals.

Here are some suggestions of things you can implement:

Have a “daily check-in” with your managers who can in turn have the same with their direct reports. My old boss Tracy Randall who runs Cooking.com says that by going this, she’s able to keep a handle on what everyone’s doing and is able to ensure they’re on the right track. Once a day, she meets with people to find out their three top priorities for the day. Then, once  a week, she has the same meeting but focusing on what they’re trying to accomplish that month. This takes just minutes, but can save tremendous time on the back end.

Document your processes. You should have a systematized way of sharing knowledge. If one of your employees was not able to come into the office, would you still be able to operate? If not, you have a problem. So, you need to come up with a way that people can explain their jobs so someone else can somewhat easily step in and take over.

Are you sharing your company’s successes and failures? People are more motivated to work hard when they understand the results of their work. But, when we’re busy running our businesses, sometimes we forget to share these results. So, systematize this. Perhaps have a meeting once a month where you go through all of your key metrics so that your staff can share in the excitement or share in the brainstorming to turn things around.

The point is not necessarily to implement one of these specific ideas. This week’s assignment is to take a moment to evaluate what you can systematize in your work environment and share your innovation with the group.

Editor’s note: This is the sixth of eight installments for SUCCESS’s 2nd annual Start Small Win Big entrepreneur challenge. If you’re not signed up for Start Small Win Big, it’s not too late. Visit SUCCESS.com/winbig to join.

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84627 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fblog.success.com%2Fweek-6%2FStart+Small+Win+Big%3A+Your+Week+6+Action+Plan2013-02-25+22%3A41%3A30JJ+Ramberghttp%3A%2F%2Fblog.success.com%2F%3Fp%3D8462 to “Start Small Win Big: Your Week 6 Action Plan”

1. Claude says:

   March 3, 2013 at 10:58 pm

   Currently we are a two man operation so communication is relatively easy. We met once a week to review our schedule and make sure everything is on point. When one person isn't pulling their weight we politely remind them of the need to focus on the prize and we review the flowchart we created that identifies our progress so we can get back on track.

   Sometimes it becomes necessary for one person to pick up the slack but overall if communication is there all the other problems are easily resolved.

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2. yordis says:

   March 2, 2013 at 9:08 pm

   The goal of Nursesofftheclock.com is to build an active membership of over 20,000 nursing professionals in the first two years.
   Each employee of NOTC is interviewed by me personally. At the time of interview, I explain the mission of NOTC and its short and long term goals. I also, ask each employee to articulate their long and short term goals; how their goals align to that of NOTC and how they could marry the company’s goals with theirs.
   NOTC systems to keep employees organized and focused on predetermined goals are:
   1.We will have staff meetings via Skype every two weeks to get feedback from employees on what is working, and what is not working. The agenda for the meeting will include reviewing the company’s goals and to have each employee articulate two things they have done over the past two weeks that have moved NOTC closer to reaching its goal of 20,000 members in two years.
   2.Each moderator/blogger must have at least 12 articles written and filed away in the event they are unable to come up with an article/idea for a given week; they will be use an article from their "reserve file"but they must also to commit to writing two new articles to take the place of the one they used.
   3.Each forum will be assigned three moderators. In the event one moderator is unavailable there are two remaining moderators who are familiar with the forum's content and are able to carry on. Having more than one moderator will also prevent them from feeling burnout and overwhelmed. It also makes it easier for moderators to detect, and clamp down on spammers when there are more than one.
   4.Moderators/bloggers must post a response to members’ questions or concerns within 24 hours of their postings to keep the forums/blogs active, and to prevent members from losing interest in the site.
   5.Staff will be rewarded for coming up with innovative and creative ideas that bring traffic to the site resulting in an increase the conversion rate of visitors to active membership.
   6.Last but not least, the site will have a full Website & Database Backup System for its Blog, Marketplace, & Ad sections of the site. In the event – God forbid! – one or all of these critical areas of the site were to go down or get hacked, the content will be remotely saved! This is a safety net that will give me and my staff peace of mind!
   7.A ‘teaching video’ on the basic operation of the site including uploading articles, responding to members etc. is available to all employees 24/7 for easy reference.

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3. DorisVela says:

   March 1, 2013 at 6:31 pm

   Implementation of Systems:

   Hello everyone,

   In the world of education, it is very important that we implement rules, policies, schedules and procedures, and "follow" them. These are the components of a school system. If the system is not followed by all (parents, students, teachers/staff) it could be caotic. I believe that the Principal/Director needs to make sure that it is clear that these procedures are followed constantly – all the time, not only only some times – by everybody.

   The most difficult aspect I found is to mantain employee motivation high at all times and make sure that they also envision what I see and expect of the business.

   My goal for this year, as a manager, is to identify the key people and the people who do not share our vision ASAP, and take action accordingly.

   Best,
   Doris Vela

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4. Carmen Falcon says:

   February 27, 2013 at 7:50 pm

   Teamwork, communications, and meetings are essential.
   Without structure, training, or feedback, a company cannot function properly. By orienting and advising your co-workers on the essential steps to take to keep your company running, train other new employees, or temps, you will prosper and achieve results with greater productivity.

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5. Mary Vinnedge says:

   February 27, 2013 at 12:58 pm

   Communication and documentation are vital in any enterprise–keep up the good work!

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6. @traklight says:

   February 26, 2013 at 2:57 pm

   I agree. I always say that I hate routine but I love process. I am just about to interview someone to help with partnerships and sales to specific channels. I am happy that we have set up life cycle marketing processes in our CRM and also that we have documented the steps and variations of partnerships. I spent over 20 years in a corporate job and my motto was to create enough of a trail that if you won the lottery, no one would miss you (also always tried to work myself out of a job by setting up processes). We too are a software as a service company and IT back up and disaster recovery is critical. That is an area that we did from the beginning. I am going to start a new process today of organizing my files and collateral on my desktop as that is the biggest time waster right now!

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7. Flootie says:

   February 25, 2013 at 6:15 pm

   You are very, very correct. Systems are what will save you when chaos ensues (and it usually does at one point). Ours being an Internet Based Art Marketing Sysytem http://www.flootie.com (Just launched on Oct 2012 so you are correct on the "one man show" right now). 1. We have a primary programmer, if he falls sick we have another company familier with the code who can stand in. 2. We have an Internet Security Consultant who has major experience with Microsoft and Amazon and how best to protect our site. 3. We have a "virtual server" with the keys to a dedicated server in the event we need more space. 4. We have a daily backup for both code and content that keeps backup for a week. 5. We have a test site that mirrors what we have on the real site so we can test new features and deal with any "bugs" before we go live. We are very young and growing and adding features on a regular basis. I/we really look forward to hearing feedback from others on their startup ventures as well.

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