Even the most effectively managed small businesses are going
to encounter problems from time to time. These could be problems from staff or
issues with attracting the right type of clients. Figuring out a way to solve
these issues in a way to prevent future similar problems from happening is
imperative. Problems that are not dealt with only compound to create larger problems
is the source of the issue is not addressed. The following are issues that
small businesses commonly encounter as well as information on how to solve and
prevent these issues in the future.
Lack Of Staff Cohesiveness
Putting a mass chair that offers kneading massage in the break room will have staff congregating there during breaks. Cohesiveness of staff is important as it improves things like communication and morale. Teambuilding exercises are also important as you want staff to understand each other’s working styles and how to deal with one another. If there are people that are being negative this has to be dealt with as there is no room for that type of talk in a small business as it impacts everyone’s attitude. Take the person aside to discuss this with them, if it continues a public reprimand is in order. You have to show everyone that the negative talk and behavior has no place at the company.
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse can be very prevalent in a startup as the
work hard and party harder lifestyle is one that many younger professionals
adopt. You have to look for the signs of this as not all drugs are as easy to
spot as others. A regular drug testing program should be implemented as a
person with an addiction could end up ruining client relationships or stealing
form the company. The best indicator of substance abuse is a drop in production
without any reasoning.
Time Theft
Time theft is when a person is on company time and is doing
something not even closely related to their job. March Madness is when quite a
bit of time theft occurs with the US economy losing billions of dollars during
the NCAA basketball tournament. Time tracking software is the answer to this
problem as you will be able to see if an employee was on Facebook instead of
making client calls.
Scaling Processes For Growth
Processes need to be scalable if you are going to grow the
business. The last thing that a small business wants is to sign a huge client
only to find out that their processes break with a large enough order.
Automation is a popular option for many companies as it helps improve
productivity through saving time and eliminates human error. Take the time to
sit down and look at processes that would be strained if a large client were to
sign a contract. Freelancers are a great way to scale certain things as they
help save money without impacting the quality of work in a large way.
Small businesses need to solve their problems before it
impacts the business too much. The luxury of throwing money at a problem is not
available for many smaller companies so set a plan to solve issues in a budget
friendly manner.