Business operations, no matter how small or big, should be smooth-running 24/7. By functioning like a well-oiled machine, businesses can deliver the goods and continue the cash flow for the benefit of everyone. This is easier said than done but not impossible.
If you own a business, whether a startup or an established one, you should be mindful of everything about it. From safety precautions to efficiency matters, you have to always be on top of everything to foresee potential disruptions and proactively act on them quickly.
Here are seven simple tricks that you can do to ensure smooth day-to-day operations:
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Conduct annual workplace inspections.
According to the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplace inspections are done to discover and correct imminent hazards to employee safety, receive worker complaints about workplace hazards, take note of workplace injuries and illnesses, and other matters that concern safety at work. For these reasons, you must conduct yearly inspections of your worksite premises, review safety protocols, and other actions that would guarantee a zero-accident workplace.For example, you must hire a professional to conduct an annual boiler inspection if you have such in your facility to ensure that it is in perfect condition. You can order similar inspections in other facilities that you have where accidents could occur.
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Have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP).
Not all business owners have the foresight to create a working Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in preparation for different scenarios that could cause disruptions in their operations. These may include fire incidents, flooding, earthquake, financial crises, and the like. When drafting such a plan, you have to make it as scientific and realistic as possible, preferably supported with historical data on various natural disasters and human-induced crises that affected the locality where your business is located. It should also be treated as a living plan, meaning that it should not be considered as set in stone but rather flexible.
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Enforce strict workplace safety protocols.
Accidents at work do happen no matter how careful you may be. However, such a fact is not an excuse to let fate decide the safety of people working in your office or worksite. Instead, you should use the possibility of workplace injuries as your driving force to enforce safety protocols. This way, you can avoid injuries that could cause your operations to shut down for a while or put your reputation in question.
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Back-up your critical data in the cloud.
If your business relies heavily on data, then there’s no way you should continue operating for a day more without backing them up in a secure cloud server. This is all the more important in a pandemic situation in which remote work could be the only means to continue operating. With all your important data accessible from any internet-capable device, your workers can work in the comfort and safety of their home in the same way they would in your office.
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Have remote work options readily available.
Speaking of remote work, you should put systems in place that would allow for such setup in case of a disruption. If your workplace is not safe for anybody to work there, then you should ensure that your employees will have everything they need to work remotely. They should have laptops or tablets pre-installed with the apps and programs that they need, a reliable internet connection, and other essential items needed for smooth offsite work.
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Organize and train an Emergency Preparedness and Response Team.
Your workplace should have dedicated personnel who can handle workplace emergencies such as fire or accidents. The people comprising your Emergency Preparedness and Response Team should be properly trained and equipped to address every imaginable emergency. They should conduct regular drills and be trained by licensed trainers on workplace emergency response and preparedness, so they’ll be fully capable of handling any untoward incident in the workplace.
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Simplify your processes and invest in workplace productivity tools.
Your daily processes should not take rocket science to perform nor should they include unnecessary steps that waste valuable manpower and resources. Make sure that your processes are as straightforward as possible, so things can be done quickly. Additionally, find ways to incorporate workplace productivity tools such as project management programs and collaboration apps. Many of them are for free, so you won’t have to spend anything just to increase productivity in your business.
Ensuring smooth business operations requires some hard work on everyone’s end. But, with these tricks, it should not be hard to achieve.
