At one point or another all companies seek growth, but that mission can be stifled too easily by staffing, time, and other constraints.
Successfully tackling additional projects means having the right team in place at the right time. Scaling up quickly might seem intimidating, but there are some strategic ways to do it without burning out your team or breaking the bank.
Sandesh Joshi, president and co-founder of global outsourcing company Indovance Inc., a business that manages outsourced projects in architectural design, mechanical and civil engineering and publishing, sees businesses facing this challenge daily. He has seen numerous success stories that result from companies taking a strategic approach to tackling more work, and here he shares some effective techniques:
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1. Streamline the process
Productivity is one of the buzz words a business leader never gets out of his or her head. Historically, productivity was thought of as being efficient and managing schedules to perfection, but in today’s competitive global marketplace, productivity goes well beyond time management. In order to stay profitable and grow, companies must create new strategies that allow them to take on additional projects, increase sales, or expand the scope of current assignments.
Increasing output from your existing team is obviously the most cost-effective way to equip a company to take on more work, but it’s much easier said than done. Creating systems that streamline day-to-day processes is a great way to minimize efforts repeatedly being put into the same type of projects.
It could be as simple as designating one team member to draft a timeline for a campaign, rather than multiple people, so the team can spend more time on collaboration. The most important thing to remember is not everything can or should be streamlined. Start with identifying what can be and let your team be part of the process. Change can be hard to embrace for some employees, but if they’re involved, it becomes much easier.
Additionally, consistently re-evaluating your team’s skillsets is vital, as some employees may be able to knock out certain tasks quicker than others — and that could change week to week. It’s crucial to know the current individual strengths of every person you employ so you can reallocate job roles as needed and truly leverage those abilities to help reach — and surpass — your bottom-line goals.
2. Think outside the box
When it’s time to look outside your existing team for help, for a short-term or specialty project, for example, one of the quickest yet most cost effective strategies is outsourcing external assistance. This can help eliminate or bridge immediate workload needs instead of creating gaps from a long hiring process. It’s also a very successful tactic for jobs that are short-term or require very defined skills.
Hiring external help is becoming a more prevalent business practice thanks to an ever-growing competitive landscape, but it is still fairly new to some companies. Fortunately, a wide variety of services can be outsourced ranging from marketing, accounting, human resources, customer support, engineering, and more. Most recently, computer-aided design has become one of the most outsourced services in the world across multiple industries.
The most obvious benefit of outsourcing is the ability to add additional bandwidth in a short period of time, allowing you to scale up and down whenever appropriate. Keep in mind, an external team can start helping immediately, supporting or eliminating the time it takes to hire internally. Another valuable incentive for companies is cost efficiency: your company can save money by eliminating the need to recruit, conduct on-the-job training, or cover overhead costs. With the right partner, outsourced work can be equal to or even higher quality than that of work completed internally because the outside team is able to focus on the specific task at hand.
3. Keep everyone in the loop
No matter which route you take to tackle additional projects, communication with your employees is vital to the overall long-term success of the company.
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Some people are naturally resistant to change and may have concerns about job security and added work arising when projects are outsourced or workload is shifted to increase productivity. However, studies show with early communication and transparency, your internal team will be more likely to accept and even welcome the change or addition. The biggest selling point in doing so is pointing out the benefits to them personally, such as reduced pressures.
Be sure not to overlook employee morale, as it drastically impacts productivity and the success of any project. Making sure communication is clear during any major change will ensure a smooth transition for everyone involved.
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