Small businesses don’t produce a small amount of work and success, and more often than not it’s the opposite. Despite the success these small businesses enjoy, growth can take a little more time, and those big results don’t come so easily. If you find yourself treading water at work and want to see greater traction for your output, let’s review 7 ways to get big results with a small Workforce. Let’s get into it.
1. Consider a business coach
If you are not seeing the success you should be with your small workforce, you might need some outside eyes to assess your setup and provide some experienced advice. Maybe one team is over resourced and the other one is under resources, or perhaps you might need to rearrange some of the working formats to get a better split. Engaging a reputable business coach will be one of the best investments you make, and will change the lens with which you see your business. Also, don’t feel like you need to find a leader in your niche, as many look for business coaches in different disciplines so they can think laterally and avoid the tunnel vision we all get when we stay in one niche too long.
2. Get your payroll sorted
It’s one thing to plan for success, but it’s quite another to set up the infrastructure that will support success and growth. Signing on for payroll outsourcing in Perth will establish a compliant framework with modern technology you can leverage and apply to your business. With payroll processes changing and the award rates shifting regularly, you’ll sleep easy knowing you have an industry-leading team working on your business to ensure that each payroll delivered is correct, thorough and on time. Just think about how you can reallocate those lost hours slaving over payroll with total confidence that your employees are in good hands.
3. Monitor your expenses
Many businesses, small or large, won’t have a line of sight when it comes to expense tracking. This presents an opportunity for businesses to audit their expenses and decide whether these spends are still serving your business, or if it’s time to eliminate them from your budget. The natural life cycle of a business means that we ultimately shift our priorities and tools, so it’s definitely time to look at your outgoings. LinkedIn subscriptions are one that many businesses don’t realise they are paying for, as well as online media subscriptions that aren’t utilised, memberships and even loyalty programs that incur an annual fee. It might be that cutting these costs allows you some movement that equates to greater returns in the future.
4. Explore partnership opportunities
There are so many advantages to striking a partnership with the right business. It allows you to reach a wider audience, which is very valuable when you have a small workforce and can’t be everywhere. If you are strategic with your selection, you might be able to find a partnership with a business who is likeminded (for example, you both work in construction but in different arenas) to compliment your work, and can also explore a contra agreement. Contra means that you both trade goods or services, with both parties saving the expense, and is a fantastic way to serve a partnership.
5. Keep an eye on employee engagement
This might not be the first thing you think of when you explore growth opportunities, but an engaged workforce is such a critical ingredient for success. It also shows your team that you care about how they are progressing in their roles and can flag any issues that need to be dealt with before you have a retention problem. This is even more important with a small workforce, as bad energy and disengagement can spread quickly and have devastating results.
6. Take advantage of your size
You shouldn’t view your small workforce or business as a hindrance, you should treat it as an asset. There are so many small business grants available to those with a small employee base, and you might even find that the suppliers and clients you work with will actually prefer that you are this size. Businesses like continuity, and if you are dealing with these key stakeholders with the same friendly team - you might actually find that more doors open up to you. You can even communicate this on social media and website, showing that you are a small, and maybe even boutique operation that cares and appreciates the business received.
7. Review, rewrite and implement a business plan
Do you have a business plan, or do you have a document that was drafted once and stored away? A business plan should be a roadmap to success, with pivotal milestones mapped out, with headcount growth attached to these key events. If you are feeling like your business is a bit stagnant, then you might not have a business plan that is providing you with any value. Share this responsibility with your key stakeholders, and dedicate a planning day to actually articulate what you want to achieve - in measurable and time-specific detail. Countless studies have proved that business plans that identify and record their plan hold greater accountability and a higher chance of being achieved. Not to mention - this is a great tool to share with new hires, management, investors and potential partnerships.
