Do You Really Need Systems In Your Business?
If you wanted to go away for a few weeks, how easily could you hand over the process to someone else?
If it’s something that seem impossible, that could be a big problem. Not just for [your] recharge time but also for the output is the same each time. This changes if you have a set of systems that work.
Why do you think you can get anyone to work in McDonalds and still get the same output? That’s right -their systems or process is so tight that after some training there is no variation. MacDonalds take pride in knowing that BigMac tastes the same everywhere — for better or worse!
Here is what lack of systems means
Let’s look at what happens when there are no systems in place.
There is a massive waste of time
I run a separate company which is [deliberately] a small one-person shop selling physical items. You might think that the systems are not required for this type of business — the one with no other people. However, this cannot be further from the truth.
Every time I had an order, I started packaging it and every time I would almost start from scratch.
Yes, it was nice to experiment with different ways to present an item, however, it would take me about 30 minutes to one hour to pack everything. That’s on top of everything else that I had to do.
Did customers love it?
Noone raved about the packaging. I concluded that it was a waste of time and decided to implement a process where I create batches and have a standardised way to pack items. Now it takes me 5–10 minutes, max. That’s a saving of 20 minutes per item.
As well as saving time, I also know how much this task will take, enabling me to plan my time efficiently. And I massively reduced waste from the ‘experiments’.
How much can you save?
There is an issue with cognitive overload and memory
Without systems, any eureka moments are likely to be forgotten. You might be like and write down the eureka ideas on a Post-it, just to end up with too many of these at the end of each month. And none of them make sense.
By documenting the eureka and implementing it into a system, this moment will live on benefiting the business. Not sexy, I know but the time saved beats sexiness in this case.
Having a well-thought-out process stops cognitive overload, where the out brain has to always be on. We have around 4 hours of good brain time per day. Why waste it on something that can be done by following a simple checklist?
Lack of systems hinders automation
There are many AI, robotics and other tools available to help with automation. This number will only grow in the future. Without a system or a process that is followed each time, it won't be possible to automate tasks.
Continuing to do something manually might keep you or your team busy. But is it the best use of time?
Remember if you are not using automation, your competitors are.
It’s difficult to hire people and give them the same experience
There are two areas here:
Have you ever joined a company and your initiation was chaos? I know I have and it left a really bad impression. None of this would have happened if there was a simple checklist for new starters.
Another aspect is training new hires.
You want the right people to make decisions in your business. For many areas, this comes from experience in the role. Experienced hires should be setting up a process which can be followed by everyone so that decisions are made at the right level.
This will stop juniors from making decisions they are not [yet] qualified to make. In addition, it should make it simpler for them- without a weight of expectation to do something above their pay grade.
Most important: your customers expect the same experience
We cannot leave out the most important person in the business- the customer.
They expect the product/service of the same quality as they previously experienced. After all, that's why they came back, right?
Imagine if you bought something for a second time and the product was much worse than the first. Would you come back to purchase a third time? I definitely wouldn’t.
If you have a process with 5 steps, and each one changes by 5% each time, there could be as much as 23% variation in the final product. Imagine you make a process which narrows the change per step to 1%. The total impact would be 5% across the 5 steps, compared to 23% before. That’s massive.
It’s nearly impossible to achieve the same quality without a process and a system in place. Without it, everyone does their own thing and inevitably the product turns out different. This might not even be deliberate- after all everyone has good and bad days.
So what is a system
A system doesn't have to be complicated. A bunch of systems made a process. It is how something is done and is meant to be repeated for each task.
Let's think of my packaging example earlier:
- I receive an order. My task number one is to check the size of the item
- Then I pick the box of the right size. I only have boxes of a few sizes to narrow down the choices
- I pick all the other items from where they live on the shelf
- I wrap the item in wrapping paper, and ribbon and include a thank you a message. These are all standardized (except the person’s name).
- I put the items I used back in the exact same place
- I go to the post office at the same time each day, when I know it's quiet.
That’s pretty much it. I know it doesn't seem like much and it isn’t. It’s just a way for me to get predictable outcomes and know how much each task will take.
Look, I get it.
As a busy entrepreneur building a system might be the last thing you want to do. It's possible that you are better at selling or making whatever your business is than the boring operational stuff.
I’m not telling you that systems, in the beginning, are more important than selling, marketing or product.
But as the company grows you will need these to get ahead. After all, your customers expect the same quality every time and you will be reliant on other people to follow what you want them to to. This will be difficult without a system in place.
If you are not using them, your competitors are.
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