On today’s show, we discuss the value of optimizing your organization.

Anne Hill a certified Director of Operations, a business owner, wife, and mother. She took her experience building processes, teams and businesses in the healthcare space and started her own. And while she started as a Physical Therapist and Rehab Manager, she now spends her days rehabbing and restoring businesses. 

For the last 10 years, she has helped entrepreneurs set their business up for success by building teams and processes that work…even when they are not around. She helps people feel less pain and more joy as an entrepreneur (isn’t it funny how life can take a turn, only to come full circle again?). 

She can help you create realistic SOPs…or hire a kick-ass team…or figure out how the heck to build the business you’re dreaming of…so you can step away – whether it’s for a morning off or desperately-needed family vacation. 

Key Takeaways:

What contributes to lack of efficiency and effectiveness of a business?

Growth causes communication issues and role changes. Businesses have to evolve and adapt processes as they grow.

What are some preventative measures businesses can take as they scale?

Company-wide training helps to make sure everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goals.

What are some tools to help create that alignment?

Leadership should first be aligned in business goals and values. Then, they will more likely hire people aligned with those things and train them in that way.

What are some symptoms for a larger company to identify that may mean there is a problem?

• Revenue will plateau.
• Team members won’t be as motivated or feel like they bring value.

How does a company know where to start with improving?

• Identify the big areas by looking at the metrics to determine where things are stagnant.
• Talk to the team members to get their impression.

For cross-departmental changes, is it harder to accomplish change?

Every aspect of the business affects others. Start with one and then gradually bring in the others. Ensure that fixing one area won’t negatively affect another area.

How do you determine what the future state of the business should look like?

It’s about learning what the vision is from conversations with the leadership and the team members. Then we can reverse engineer processes that will get the company to that future state.

How often should a company review processes for optimization?

Annually, pick different areas of the business to focus on as a phased approach.

What is the biggest pitfall?

The biggest pitfall is when a business focuses all its energy on putting out fires rather than taking the time to really look at ways to improve.

Teams with structure are more efficient. To operate effectively, a team needs to know:

• Where to find things
• Where to get information
• How to communicate
• What the expectations are

Process documentation is important at any company size. It’s vital that the documentation provides an overall framework while still allowing for creativity for employees.

What about KPIs?

Every department should have KPIs. If we don’t track things, they won’t get enough attention. For the business as a whole, we should limit them to 3-5 to stay focused.

3 Top Takeaways:

• Remember who you are as a business and why you do what you do.
• See how what you do fits into the big picture of the business.
• Focus on communication. Make standards and expectations clear.

Connect with Anne Hill:

Website: https://hilltopoperations.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annehill/