It’s hard to think about best practices when a business is small. Afterall, it requires thinking big when the business is not. In other words, thinking about the most efficient way to complete repetitive tasks as those tasks multiply and grow over time.

Best practices are defined by websters dictionary as procedures that have been shown by research and experience to produce optimal results and that are established or proposed as standards suitable for widespread adoption.

Executing one-off projects with one or two employees for a few customers may work when starting out, but that strategy doesn’t hold up as a company grows.

Business owners want to ensure that key procedures, workflows, and tasks are being performed properly and efficiently – leaving as little room for error as possible.

Maybe most importantly, they represent a framework for training that establishes consistency, and incorporates quality standards.

Where to start

• Start by looking at key daily processes that likely revolve around fulfillment of product or service to customers. As the business grows, and takes on additional customers, this is likely where bottlenecks will occur, and quality will suffer most.
• Determine how to build efficiency into each step of the fulfillment process, while determining and maintaining critical quality standards.
• Document and practice new procedures. These documented processes become the training manual for new hires, and they provide a handy reference when covering for a staff absence.
• Review on a regular basis. Changes such as product offerings, staff capabilities and technology may result in adjustments to practices.

By repeating the above steps, teams will feel empowered to scale – ensuring they’re efficient enough to build capacity into systems as the company expands. The best part is that business owners can have confidence that the company is functioning optimally while delivering the quality standards that got them off the ground at the start.