Spring clean your business

Apr 20 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

SPRINGTIME is well and truly underway. Long bank holiday weekends, (complete with sunshine) can put a spring in your step. At the start of this new financial year why not clean away the cobwebs and prepare for the year ahead?

Ask yourself how often you walk the floor in your office and see your workplace as others see it. Are you as efficient as you could be?

Giving the office environment a general clear-out by sorting boxes, stationery and file cabinets will give you room to breathe and clearing out the clutter can give you a real boost.

It is, however, about much more than taking time out to file those loose papers. To really benefit you need to adopt rigorous business disciplines and review your policies and procedures which will help you identify if you are duplicating tasks and creating unnecessary paperwork.

Taking time out to regain your focus by mapping out your activities will help you to identify any gaps in your resources and provide an opportunity for you to set your objectives for the year ahead. Digging out your business plan and giving it a good dust-off will help with this.

In this difficult economic climate it is important that you communicate your objectives with those around you and ensure a consistency in approach right across your business.