Can Your Business Survive Without You?

I was talking to a client the other week about how they’ve been in a state of confusion since one of their staff went off sick. They’re a relatively new and growing business and are in the process of moving over to automated systems but at the moment a lot of the information is held in people’s heads or on scraps of paper. Little things get forgotten, the odd order gets missed. When a business is small, this isn’t too much of a problem as most things can be recovered or sorted out at the last minute but as a business grows it needs to be more organised.

If you or one of your key staff got hit by the proverbial bus – would your business continue without you/them? How much information is the sole domain of just one person?

While not everyone needs to know everyone else’s business – important information shouldn’t be in people’s heads or on scraps of paper. Have a way to keep track of what goes in and what goes out – whether it’s paper or computer based and can cope as the business grows or when you’re busy.

Having documentation or at least trackable systems and processes also makes it easier to delegate tasks and particularly at this time of year, might even mean you can allow yourself to go on holiday and relax.