Business optimization aims to streamline the individual processes within a company to achieve the same end results in a shorter space of time, using fewer resources, less financial outlay or minimizing the occurrence of human error and bottlenecks. All of these inefficiencies can slow down your business, costing it valuable time and money, and optimization seeks to analyze your existing model and tweak it for improved performance going forwards.

1. AUTOMATE | TRANSFORM | OPTIMISE
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO ACHIEVING
BUSINESS OPTMISATION
10 STEPS TO
BUSINESS
OPTIMISATION

2. 1
10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
l Business optimization aims to streamline the individual processes
within a company to achieve the same end results in a shorter
space of time, using fewer resources, less financial outlay or
minimizing the occurrence of human error and bottlenecks.
l Trying to implement optimization on a business-wide scale can
prove to be a daunting challenge.
l These ten steps will break the practice down into easily
digestible chunks, which when performed diligently can provide a
blueprint for successful business optimization across your entire
company.
WHAT IS BUSINESS OPTIMISATION?

3. 2
10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
l Review your existing business model, including all of the
underlying processes for every arm of its operation. These
individual processes include things like recruitment, advertising,
sales and invoicing, all of which contribute towards the smooth
running of the business.
l Create a diagram or mind-map of the current processes
detailing every step of the way, no matter how small or insignificant
they may seem.
STEP 1 | MODEL

4. 3
10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
l After mapping out the individual processes, it’s necessary to
quantify what each of these costs in terms of time, effort and
expense. How many photocopies of documents are made in each
step?
l How many employees are required to work upon individual
facets of the process, and how many hours are they devoting to
them?
l After gaining a comprehensive idea of how the process works, it’s
far easier to identify weak points, common areas of concern and
human error hotspots.
STEP 2 | MEASURE

5. 4
10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
l Look out for steps in a process which are either:
- unnecessary (because they don’t contribute anything
towards the final goal)
- inefficient (because they take up more time, energy or
investment than they need to).
l Things to look out for here include an excess of bureaucratic
hoops to jump through, such as a disproportionate number
of authorization requests, or other profligate uses of time and
resources.
STEP 3 | IDENTIFY

6. 5
10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
With a clear view of which areas of the business suffer most from
waste and inefficiency, it can be difficult to know where to begin.
l Start out with a lean end-to-end process to facilitate things and
get the ball rolling.
l Analyze the potential impact of suggested changes, including
simulations of how much time, money and resources are expected
to be saved after implementation.
This will provide excellent preparation for moving onto more
complex areas of the business at a later date.
STEP 4 | START LEAN

7. 6
10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 700 ways that won’t work.”
THOMAS EDISON
With a clear view of which areas of the business suffer most from
It’s essential to remain agile when trying out new things.
l Constantly assess performance
l Pinpoint what is working and what isn’t
l Make the necessary adjustments to arrive at a better conclusion
next time round.
STEP 5 | BE AGILE

8. 7
10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
With a clear view of which areas of the business suffer most from
waste and inefficiency, it can be difficult to know where to begin.
l Take a digital-first approach
l Invest in technology to automate models
l For example cross-channel social media management, automatic
email responders and customer service bots
l Connect people with data more efficiently through effective new
B2B and B2C digital models.
STEP 6 | AUTOMATE AND INNOVATE

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10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
l Maximize their impact by empowering them to function as
effectively as possible.
l Support business-wide collaboration and open up your
enterprise to new and constantly evolving markets.
l For example the use of sales management apps can be invaluable
in coordinating all information in one centralized database, thus
facilitating the sharing and revision of data on-the-go
STEP 7 | EMPOWER THE WORKFORCE

10. 9
10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
Effective performance monitoring capabilities are a truly vital
component of the overall success of your project.
l Put in place a framework which allows you to keep track of the
impact that your changes are having in a tangible sense
l Gain access to statistics about the money, time and resources
that are now being spent on a project in comparison to those
expended before the changes were brought in
STEP 8 | ENABLE PERFORMANCE MONITORING

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10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
It’s essential that you make full advantage of KPIS by assessing your
company’s performance on a constant basis.
l Have an individual or even a whole department devoted to
analyzing the impacts of your changes
l Identify key areas which could be further improved
STEP 9 | CONSTANTLY MONITOR PERFORMANCE

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10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
l With new technological developments entering the market every
day and customer needs and wants evolving all the time,
l The optimization of your business is an ongoing process that will
always require work.
l Filter the results from step nine back into the beginning of the
funnel and strive to continually tweak your strategies as best you
can to meet the ever-changing demands of the marketplace.
STEP 10 | REPEAT

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10 STEPS TO BUSINESS OPTIMISATION
velocity-it.com
Delivering business optimisation to organisations globally
We believe that business optimisation touches every person
within and connected to an organisation. Everything we do, we
do it to help those organisations reach optimisation so that every
member of their team can achieve higher levels of productivity,
time management and satisfaction - and every customer can enjoy
a better customer experience.
LEARN MORE ABOUT VELOCITY
www.velocity-it.com