Recently, our Boss Lady had a family emergency. That same week two other employees had similar situations. For a smaller agency, having three employees away from the office could lead to disaster (For you math wiz’s that is a fourth of our employees). Did our clients feel neglected? Nope.
In fact, #Team834 rallied and made it a priority to make sure each and every one of us were nailing deadlines and prepping ahead. Yes, we have rock star employees that take initiative, but we also have a road map that we use each and every day to ensure that no client is left behind.
Company procedures and policies are essential.
These lay out the structure to keep your business going in good times, and in bad. You must prepare for the worst, because chances are, in our industry, shit will hit the fan. At 834, our master of all things is our “SOP” or Standard Operating Procedures. When all else fails, reference the SOP to get you the answer. As the team’s internal project manager, I reference our SOP daily in order to keep our workflow consistent and timely.
We’re grown ups, so shouldn’t we know how to act?
Yes, but our inner five-year old self still makes an appearance from time-to-time. It’s not expected that you’ll be on task 100 percent of the time, or that you’ll know every single answer, and that’s ok. Having quality procedures in place will help you even on your shittiest of days (Sadly, hiding under your bed and stuffing your face with chocolate is not an option). Having processes in place help us streamline our day-to-day goals and allows us to be more productive even on ‘those’ type of days.
Never underestimate the power of a check-in.
Conducting regular check-ins can benefit businesses of all sizes. At 834, we conduct check-ins at least two times a week in order to foster a transparent and collaborative work environment. This helps us organize our own workloads, prioritize our to-dos, and uncover new strategies both internally and for our clients. Don’t underestimate the power of a five-minute, regular team check-in.
Our life-line: Basecamp
To stay organized with our clients’ projects we use Basecamp, a stellar project management system, which allows us to work from anywhere. Basecamp allows all of our communication to be stored in one spot to ensure remote meeting services or collaborate from different locations. Whether your child has a snow day, you get the flu or there’s a sudden family emergency, don’t sweat it, you don’t have to work in-office. Overall, our SOP guidelines reflect our remote work schedule and transparency.
For more information on organizational tips, including project management success and on-boarding procedures, visit our Boss Lady’s blog: smallbizmusings.com
