Consider all of the intricate, essential business functions that need to work seamlessly in order for your company to rise above the rest. If you have an extensive list of internal functions, that means you pretty much have a substantial list of ways to improve your ROI. Target your internal business functions to vastly improve your performance, and really see your business soar!
What Are Internal Business Functions?
Think of internal business functions like the organs in your body. Each separate function is a key component of your business. Collectively, they form the entire body of your company.
For example, consider acquiring revenue and sales in your business as breathing in air. Air is great! But without the internal functions to actually use that air, your body wouldn’t survive. Finances and bookkeeping is an essential internal business function — almost like your business’ lungs, passing oxygen into the bloodstream and circulating it throughout the body.
That’s just one example. There are tons of internal business functions — such as project management, team management, hiring, operations, etc. — that all play a part in keeping your business alive and healthy.
Of course, you need to keep a close eye on each of your internal functions to ensure your business is meeting its full potential. (And I don’t mean simply observing as you would fish at the aquarium!) Use your data to Measure & Maximize each of your business functions to help them improve.
How to Increase Your Team’s Productivity
Ever scratch your head wondering how to improve your team’s output? Whether you think your team members are doing well or not, they can be doing even better with more effective business functions and data resources at their disposal.
Check out two avenues to increase productivity on your team.
Streamline Your Business Functions with Project Management Tools
Your business functions will benefit tremendously when you remove obstacles that are slowing things down. (After all, the quickest point between A and B is a straight line!)
To start, make sure you’re using a project management tool to manage your team and easily delegate tasks. This will help you save time by removing any guesswork about who is responsible for what (and when).
Rather than scrambling around the office or via email to report responsibilities and new assignments, all tasks will streamline through your chosen management software (like Asana or ClickUp).
Related: 8 Business Mistakes To Avoid In Order To Be More Successful
Consult Your Project Management Data When Making Decisions
Project management tools offer a lot of detailed reporting and metrics that will help you analyze your team’s performance and make sure that they’re spending time on the right things.
Make sure to review those reports often and streamline or eliminate projects that are negatively affecting your profit margin!
But don’t go it alone if metrics management isn’t really your specialty. Join us in Measure & Maximize to learn more about your priority data and how to steer it in the right direction.
How to Better Handle Your Company Finances
You shouldn’t leave the financial health of your business up to chance. But figuring out which profit-steering business functions require your immediate attention takes some careful investigating.
Leverage these tips to make sound financial (cha-ching!) choices for your business.
Utilize a Bookkeeper or Bookkeeping Software
You may be hesitant to add another expense to your list, but the benefits of a bookkeeper or financial software far outweigh the costs. You’re likely to make more money (with greater peace of mind) with financial-planning support.
Make sure you’re working with a bookkeeper and/or using a tool like QuickBooks Online to track and categorize all of your business expenses:
- Technology
- Travel
- Software
- Payroll
- Rent
- Insurance
There’s a lot to think about! It pays to get it all in one place, managed by one person. If nothing else motivates you, consider the countless minutes you’ve spent shuffling around for receipts—that’s time you could be spending on your next big marketing project.
Pull and Analyze Monthly P&L Reports
Put together monthly profit and loss reports to make sure that your business is maintaining a healthy profit margin. Analyze these reports to identify areas of improvement (like reducing expenses that are no longer needed).
Intentionally placing your profit and loss figures beside each other makes it easier to evaluate the financial health of your business. And inside our signature Measure & Maximize program, you’ll learn how to use your metrics to calculate your monthly figures down to the penny for optimal control and targeted financial goals.
How to Improve Your Hiring Practices
There are several business functions that play into who you choose and how you hire new team members. Your teammates are the building blocks of your business! Of course, they deserve your utmost attention from the second they stumble across your job description.
Consider a couple of ways to improve your business functions for hiring.
Create a Team Hierarchy Chart
The larger and more specialized your business becomes, the more challenging it is to keep your team organized. Create a team hierarchy chart using a tool like LucidChart to figure out what roles are currently being served in your business and what roles still need to be filled.
You can include helpful details and notes about each person on your team. For example, note contact information, special strengths, weaknesses, and information to help inform your business plans. What’s more, a general version is incredibly helpful to new hires who need a roadmap of who to call for what.
Optimize your business structure by hiring missing links and strengthening each area of weakness on your hierarchy chart!
Use Personality and Strength Tests to Make Sure You Hire the Right People
Use tools like the Kolbe-A Index and the Enneagram to make sure that you’re actually hiring the right people for your team. A Kolbe-certified consultant, like Eryn Morgan, can help you make sense of your teammates’ strengths (or superpowers!) and get them in the best position to help them (and your business) succeed.
Personality or skill tests help reveal bits of information about each of your team members (new and old). Not everyone thinks or works the way you do, so an outside assessment can seriously help you make sense of their abilities for an overall happier, more efficient workspace.
When you take the time to figure out which business functions are working well within your business (and which are not) you increase the odds of your success. And you don’t need to solve the riddle by yourself! Sign up for Measure & Maximize to make the most of your metrics journey.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for tips, resources, and insights into all things metrics and business data.
Check out these posts for more tips on running a successful business:
- 5 Essential Steps To Build a Strong Business Mindset
- How To Systemize Your Business and Boost Productivity
- Why Is Measuring Business Success So Important For Online Business Owners?
- How to Improve Your Sales Funnel Strategy By Using Your Business Data
