An introduction to getting better at looking internally at your business
![look-internally-at-business.jpg](https://media.bethebusiness.com/original_images/look-internally-at-business_oX6lauD.jpg)
Most business leaders regularly keep an eye on the competition, which makes a lot of sense. It’s important to stay up to date with what others are doing in your market and trends that could impact your business.
When it comes to evaluating internal performance, however, it’s something that tends to slip down the list of priorities.
The State of Business Process Management 2020 survey found that while a lot of businesses are enthusiastic about the idea of improving internal processes, the lack of clear focus leads to attention being focused elsewhere.
The reasons for looking internally at a business were varied amongst survey respondents, which helps to demonstrate some of the potential benefits on offer.
Around 70 per cent of organisations are working on internal processes to reduce costs or improve productivity, while 30 per cent are making changes to improve customer satisfaction.
This guide will look at some of the main factors that influence how and when leaders look internally, plus common mistakes and quick wins for making internal reflection into a habit. The next step will be to use our action plan to direct your change and improvement.
What factors influence internal reflection on your business?
Having systems to track internal data
In order to understand how your company is performing and where there’s room for improvement, it’s important to spend time looking at internal factors rather than only benchmarking yourself against others.
That means considering how you can measure your own progress, from tracking how quickly you’re completing tasks to analysing how effective your sales and marketing strategies are.
Take a deeper look into how you can measure your own progress and success in isolation, as opposed to in comparison.
Being emotionally invested in the business
It’s normal to be emotionally invested in your business and team. The teams of smaller businesses in particular are often built using personal connections or friends, so you might have close relationships with your colleagues.
As such, it can be hard to truly have an objective opinion of how well things are going or where there are performance issues. Being aware of your potential personal bias is crucial when it comes to looking internally at your business and finding areas to improve.
Having the time to look at internal processes
Even if you have the best intentions of looking internally at your business, it will ultimately come down to cold hard numbers: how many hours are you actually putting in?
Getting better at reflecting internally can mean making some tough decisions about what you work on and what you delegate to others.
Can you dedicate some time to a leadership course or a training programme that will help you tackle internal improvements? How much time can you set aside on a regular basis to review reports and monitor progress?
“The leadership programme we attended was designed to support the scaling of a high-potential business to create opportunities for employees and value for shareholders. Undertaking the programme forced us to work on the business rather than just working in it.”
Mark Evans, founder and CEO of Adaptix
The cold hard facts
What impact does encouraging employees to use their strengths have on internal productivity?
Giving employees the chance to do what they’re good at on a daily basis seems like a no brainer, but it can have a huge impact on productivity too. Employees who exercise their strengths daily are eight per cent more productive than those who don’t.
Common mistakes with looking internally at your business
Coming from a reactive perspective
Consider what has made you want to start looking internally. Has something changed that has triggered this interest or response?
One of the mistakes that a lot of leaders make is only starting to internally evaluate their company when things either suddenly get very good – or very bad. While this is normal, particularly in smaller businesses where there are finite resources, it can be detrimental.
In order to get better at looking at your company, you need to dedicate time to this process on a long-term basis. Developing a deeper understanding and driving necessary change should be an ongoing process, not a knee-jerk reaction to a change, either internally or externally.
Getting distracted by the small things
If you’re new to dissecting and analysing internal processes, you’re quite likely to get caught up in the little things. You might overlook widespread issues, such as flaws in your basic strategy or capabilities, choosing instead to focus on the first issue that you discover.
While you’ll naturally want to fix every problem you encounter, if you allow yourself to get distracted by the small things that need changing at some point, you will never have the time or energy to focus on the bigger picture. It’s crucial to stop and prioritise what actually needs to happen.
![Dessislava Bell (2).jpg](https://media.bethebusiness.com/original_images/Dessislava_Bell_2.jpg)
“Everything in business takes longer than you think, so you always have to be working in advance. The power of prioritising business must-dos means giving the business the chance to thrive over the longer term.”
Dessislava Bell, founder of Saint + Sofia
The cold hard facts
Why is it so important to stay focused when looking internally?
Each time you get distracted by a small issue, you risk losing focus on what you’re trying to achieve overall. Up to 80 per cent of small business owners don’t keep track of their objectives, which makes it harder to enforce genuine, relevant change.
Quick wins for learning to look internally at your business
Talk to employees about their experiences
While you may be working on your own ability to look internally at your business, this is a target you can share with team members.
Set up a meeting with each department to determine where internal processes could be improved and how you can help them to work more effectively. Spend time setting goals together, such as meeting once a month to share updates on your marketing campaigns, or sales reports.
This provides a level of accountability, which is great for making internal reflection a regular habit.
Celebrate your discoveries
Looking internally at your business will bring to light a lot of areas that you may not have previously noticed, including positive ones.
A quick win that can motivate both you and your team is celebrating the successes you find along the way. Focus on your own achievements as a company and reward initiatives that employees have taken to improve how the business operates internally.
Meet up with a peer once a month
Joining online communities or speaking to other business owners is a great way to find out how others manage and prioritise internal reflection.
Meeting up with a peer or mentor once a month to discuss what you’ve done to work on your business can help to make reflection a consistent part of your schedule.
An external perspective can also be useful when it comes to solving issues you’re too close to or improving processes that have always been done that way. While internal reflection isn’t about comparing yourself to others, it doesn’t hurt to find out what another leader would do in your situation.
![Alex Dyer, Tutor House (1).jpg](https://media.bethebusiness.com/original_images/Alex_Dyer_Tutor_House_1.jpg)
“I’d recommend using a mentor sooner rather than later. You don’t have to be a business owner to benefit from one either – it can be for anyone who wants to improve in the workplace.”
Alex Dyer, CEO of Tutor House
The cold hard facts
How many organisations do you think are investing in technology to improve business processes?
More than half of the respondents to The State of Business Process Management 2020 survey indicated that their organisations would be spending more on software to support processes over the course of the next two years. An estimated 11 per cent would be increasing their spend by more than 100 per cent.
Now you’ve learnt about some of the factors that impact how and when you look internally at your business, use our action plan to direct your improvement efforts.