Career change in the Greek Labor Market (episode 08)
Focusing on: Building own internal operations’ workflows and processes.
On episode 07 of our series, we talked about the business operating model, one must build in order to have his professional service or company going. Central concept in that blog post was that a business model must simulate the actions of the company or the individual, that are performed, in order to serve the customers.
So…What does this mean?
Internal Processes and Workflows
At this point I can provide a very interesting statistic, that is defined by my 22+ years of business acumen & experience.
The majority of the greek companies in the Greek Economy do not have a clue of what SOP means.
No clue, of how we create an SOP or how we record business procedures and processes, and also they do not give a dime about it.
My honest opinion: regardless of the size of a company or a single person freelancing entity, having your own processes and procedures designed and recorded, has so many benefits.
Benefits of the SOPs
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) offer numerous benefits, including improved efficiency, reduced errors, and enhanced consistency by providing clear, step-by-step instructions for tasks. They also facilitate better training and onboarding, preserve organizational knowledge, and help with regulatory compliance and quality management.
Operational benefits
Increase efficiency: SOPs streamline workflows and minimize wasted time by eliminating guesswork and redundant steps.
Reduce errors: Clear, step-by-step instructions ensure tasks are performed correctly and consistently, which lowers the chance of mistakes.
Ensure consistency: They create a standardized way of performing tasks, leading to predictable and reliable outcomes for products or services.
Employee and knowledge management
Improve training: SOPs act as a training tool for new hires and a reference for experienced staff, shortening the learning curve and ensuring everyone is taught the same way.
Preserve knowledge: They document critical processes, preventing knowledge loss when employees leave the company.
Aid performance evaluation: SOPs provide a clear benchmark for evaluating how well employees are following established procedures.
Compliance and quality
Meet regulatory requirements: Documented SOPs serve as proof of adherence to industry and government standards.
Enhance quality management: They provide a framework for consistent quality control and can help in identifying and fixing process issues.
Improve safety: SOPs can include safety checklists, helping to mitigate risks and create a safer work environment.
Conclusions
Generally, there are also consequential benefits from having a written procedures framework for your business:
A) Clarity and help in the event of a need to establish a GDPR framework.
B) Clarity and help in the event of a need or obligation to build a standard reporting framework for your company.
C) Clarity and help in the event of a need or obligation to establish a Human Resources “Against Violence at Work” framework in your business, and so many more.
Thank you so much for reading.
IV