Every business has the ambition to grow. However, while many share this aspiration, only a selected few make it past the initial phase of growth.
Most companies fall into the trap of believing that if something worked before, there is no need to change it. After all, it was those processes that resulted in the first breakthrough. Sounds familiar? Unfortunately, it’s not the right approach.
What many fail to recognize is that with growth come new challenges. Additional staff, clients, and resources mean more paperwork, data, and expenses. And sadly, most of the traditional workflows are not sustainable in the long term. The thing is, if you are stuck in the old ways, you’ll quickly hit a ceiling that will keep you from growing any further.
Do you want to avoid making the same mistake? Good choice. We’ve got just what you need. Scaling your business is the key to avoiding this fate. Adding scalable operations in your day-to-day processes ensures smooth running even when the growth is rapid.
If you’re unsure how to get started or what scaling entails, don’t worry – we have your back. We’ll walk you through the benefits of scaling your business, give tips to ensure you reach your goals and discuss the best processes to scale. Enjoy the read because this blog will surely set you up for success.
What are scalable processes?
Firstly, let’s get on the same page regarding what scalable processes are. Scalability in business refers to something that can be easily adapted to changes in a working environment. For example, in the case of an increased volume of documents, people, orders, etc.
Imagine having a normal working week, but suddenly, instead of your usual 30 customers, you got twice as many. Can you handle it without spreading yourself too thin? Actually, yes, if you have scalable business processes in place. Instead of frantically searching for more people or calling your suppliers in a panic, you are able to focus on what matters the most – your customers.
How? These kinds of processes are set up in a way that they work the same regardless of the rise of employees or clients. Meaning you remain as efficient and productive and keep delivering top-notch results without breaking your back while you’re at it. Scaling can be achieved by employing more effective software, improving delegation and decision-making processes, or creating new standards that can withstand higher volumes.
Essentially, most processes can benefit from scalability. But the ones that require a lot of creative input or personal connection might be more difficult to scale. Your best bet would be to look for areas where technology can be used to streamline or speed up processes.
Why your business needs operational scalability
We won’t get tired of bringing that up. Having a scalable business model is absolutely crucial if you’re planning to keep growing. It enables you to adjust to any changes in a timely manner. This way, you can expand your company without compromising on the quality or speed with which you deliver your products or services to customers.
If you start now, you get to benefit from growing your business without adding extra operational costs once the processes are set up. Having the infrastructure in place to handle rapid development can help you prevent any bottlenecks that arise for companies that are not scalable.
Look at it this way. When your business is not scalable, you become rigid. New data security standards that cannot be easily implemented, paper records that take a lot of space and are not mobile, a very long onboarding process, and frustrated customers… doesn’t sound like your dream future, does it?
Let’s see how you can approach company growth from the right angle. Read on for tips on how to scale your business and come out on top.
Top 5 tips for scaling a business
Despite all the benefits, scaling business processes is not for the faint of heart. Only 22% of companies succeed in scaling. To achieve long-term success, you need more than a few fancy apps. The question is, how can you create a process that will be effective now and still be efficient when your business grows? Luckily, we have the answer. Here are the top five tips for scaling your business.
Evaluate your current processes
Before making any decisions about how you can scale your business, take stock of your current processes. Even if you are a visionary, you can’t improve what you are not fully aware of. To start off, list all processes that are relevant to how well your company operates.
Think in terms of creating accounting records, paying bills, onboarding your clients, or introducing new people to the team. Describe the full process and write down what employees/teams are responsible for it. Identify how often it happens and how much time it takes.
Simplify and standardize
By now, you’re likely beginning to recognize which of your operations may not be suitable when you double your normal volume. A good starting point would be understanding how you can simplify and standardize them. Look at the processes with too many steps or feedback points and make it your mission to make them simpler.
Find a way to remove the steps that do not benefit anyone but take way too much time. And make sure that there is a consistent decision-making flow. Remember, what works for a team of 15 people will not work for a team of 150. Bigger teams and bigger volumes call for standardization and clear instructions.
Eliminate unnecessary manual processes
Make a decision about what tasks can be fully automated. The more processes you can automate, the easier it’s going to be in the long term.
Smaller teams can easily handle some manual processes, but when the workload grows, it’s much wiser to automate the process rather than hire 10 more people for the same repetitive task. Plus, that way, you can focus on the tasks that are actually vital for your company’s growth.
Make all information easily accessible
You really can’t call your business scalable if someone has to go through multiple parties when they need to access a certain document. Digitize your archives, relevant documents, or work procedures and use trustworthy cloud storage. Set up an automated system for authorization instead of handling it case-by-case.
Your goal should be to maintain the same turnaround times, even when half of your team is working remotely. You simply can’t afford to have delays that could have been prevented by scaling this aspect of your business.
Set up workflows
When you’ve optimized all your processes, you have to ensure that everything works together seamlessly. Set up a workflow that is easy to follow and clear for all parties. Include such stages as idea generation, decision-making, development, feedback, approval, reporting, measurement, etc. Then, attach the processes you’ve optimized to a part of the workflow.
Once you’re content with the flow, go for it. Test it. See what works and what doesn’t. Remember, it’s not once and for all. It’s always a good idea to keep up with the market developments and the needs of your company. Stay flexible.
Top 5 scalable processes
We hope that by now, you’re sufficiently inspired to make your company scalable. Now that you know what scaling entails and how to get started, let’s dive deeper. In the next section, we’ll go over the top 5 scalable processes to empower you on this adventure.
Client onboarding
You have probably been in the shoes of a client who is incredibly frustrated with how long it takes to get on board with a new company. Remember your feelings the last time you were standing in the queue or signing a lot of forms? We’d wager a guess that you don’t want your customers to feel that way.
Scaling your onboarding process is a game changer. It can bring back your time to onboard a new client by at least 70%. With Klippa’s automated identity verification solution, you can set up a full-proof identity verification process that can be completed in minutes instead of hours by doing manual checks. It’s a win-win for both you and your customers.
Customer service
There are more ways to scale customer-centered business processes. You can significantly reduce the number of calls and emails to your customer support by curating up-to-date FAQ pages or implementing chatbots that are equipped with all relevant information.
However, when your customers actually call you, make sure that the informational accessibility we discussed earlier is in place. Customer support officers will be able to help much faster if they can access all needed data in one click.
Data entry
It’s well known that humans are prone to making mistakes. The good news, you can avoid human error by automating everything that’s connected to manual data entry. Less time spent, more money saved, fewer mistakes made. Ain’t that the goal? We think so.
By automating such processes, you immediately increase your scalability. With the help of IDP (Intelligent Document Processing) platforms like Klippa DocHorizon, the growing number of documents you need to process does not negatively affect your overall efficiency and productivity. Such solutions can recognize any document in seconds, extract the relevant data from it and categorize it in the way that your company requires.
Human resource management
The clear indication that you can no longer postpone scaling your operations is the growth in the number of new employees. The more people join your company, the more difficult it is to keep track of their individual roadmaps.
To set HR processes on track, you can shift everything that needs a signature to a digital format. Or create your own information hub. Even better if you can organize a fully digital onboarding journey. You should be aiming for an onboarding process that can be set on rails without the constant presence of your HR.
Accounting processes
You probably can predict what’s going to happen if you don’t have your accounting sorted before the growth spurt hits you. Pure chaos. Fortunately, if you start to make your accounting processes scalable now, you have a great chance to avoid it. There are many digital solutions for financial management, such as Klippa SpendControl.
These solutions allow you to manage your expenses and purchase invoices in one digital environment. When your accounts payable process is automated, you get a much better overview, save a lot of time and money, and minimize the risk of fraud. No more manually searching for an invoice you were sent a year ago or apologizing to your suppliers for not paying on time. It’s also a handy tool to manage your employees’ expenses even in rapidly growing teams.
Increase your corporate scalability with Klippa
At this point, you should be equipped to make your next important decision: what services can you use to make your business processes scalable? Well, we’d be honored to be the ones to help you. To make your search easier, here’s how you can scale your business with us.
With Klippa DocHorizon, you can forget about manual data entry. This product is developer-friendly and properly documented, so you are able to easily integrate some components into your existing software.
- Scan, extract, and categorize data from the majority of document types or objects (e.g. utility meters or price tags) with a sophisticated mobile application.
- Digitize all types of documents within seconds with our IDP (Intelligent Document Processing) solution to never again sort through piles of paperwork.
- Save up to 70% of your time with automated document processing. We support a wide range of documents in various languages, such as invoices, receipts, ID cards, passports, driver’s licenses, and many more.
Klippa SpendControl is your go-to if you want to scale your expense and invoice management processes.
- In just a few clicks, you can add, process, and approve your expenses and invoices through the mobile app or on the web.
- Sit back and relax because Klippa’s software will automatically detect if any of the submitted invoices or receipts are fraudulent.
- Enjoy seamless integrations with your accounting software of choice. Also available in White Label with your own corporate identity.
Depending on your needs, we can find a perfect answer by offering you a ready-to-use product or by working on a custom solution together.
Curious to see us in action? Book a free demo in the form below or reach out via the contact form!