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    • Action plan

    Measuring whether an internal process is fit for purpose

    High effort

    Medium impact

    Company bottlenecks and inefficiency are often caused by problems with internal processes. Perhaps client reporting is too time consuming or salespeople are failing to convert clients to a new product. At that point, you need to measure the impact a process is having to figure out what action you need to take.

    • We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
    • Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline
    What's involved? Ways to use this action plan Measuring impact
    1

    Look at company goals, forecasts and other data that can help you see the impact a problematic process is having

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    If you can identify the impacts, you can measure how a process is affecting the business. Perhaps, gross margin is being eaten away by wastage or you start seeing more cart abandonment because new ad campaigns aren’t being vetted.

    2

    Involve your employees in decision making by finding out what they love, like and hate about the processes they use

    Impact: high

    Why will this help?

    Employees that have first-hand experience using a process can help you understand the minutiae of why they do things that way. Their justifications should give you a starting point for measuring its effectiveness.

    3

    Calculate how much time staff members are spending on a process every week or month and estimate the salary cost

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    Knowing the time employees are spending on a task is a great way to spot inefficiencies. Understanding the cost can justify investing in new tools or processes.

    4

    Conduct a business health check to highlight issues with performance

    Impact: high

    Why will this help?

    If there are areas of your business that aren’t performing, you can think about the impact processes are having; are they adding value or could it be the root cause of bigger issues?

    Conducting a business health check

    A business health check is a simple way to evaluate the strength of critical elements like cash flow, systems and staff performance.
    5

    Pick two or three internal processes that aren’t fit for purpose and start making incrementally powerful changes

    Impact: high

    Why will this help?

    You need to prioritise what processes to fix and the steps that will start to make everything more efficient. For example, implementing marketing software to make reporting easier or a new type of meeting that can improve communication.

    Implementing a new system in the workplace

    Embedding a new system in your business takes careful planning. This checklist will help to make sure you complete the process in an effective way.

    What can I do with this Action Plan?

    Start this Action Plan

    Add some extra information to this plan and we’ll help you get it done.

    • We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
    • Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

    Download and print

    Get a printable template for this Action Plan, fill it in with some target dates, and share it with your team. Pin it on the wall where everyone can see it.

    Get the printable Action Plan

    Learning Groups

    We also run Learning Groups on these topics where you can join other leaders tackling the same challenges.

    Find a Learning Group

    How will I know if my action plan is working?

    Product or service margin

    The gross margin of the product or service you’re working on

    Why this metric?

    Processes have a direct impact on the cost of goods sold, including materials used and team time. Identifying and fixing poorly performing processes will increase your margins.

    How do I start tracking?

    Track the margin on products as changes are implemented.