We all depend on people to help our business run smoothly—knowing how to ensure that your dependencies run safely and efficiently could make or break your company.
The “human” part
The continuous operation of your business is dependent on many variables, including: technology, systems, vendors, staff, and yourself. Managing these dependencies minimizes the disruptions, outages, or disasters that can affect your business. In this series, we will be going through various techniques and countermeasures to minimize risks your startup may face.
No matter how sophisticated your business is, manual processes managed by people are still core components of your daily operations. In this guide, we will look at managing risks that can be introduced by your dependency on people, and how to minimize or mitigate those risks.
Heads are not a reliable storage medium
You may begin by looking at certain knowledge that is stored in your head or someone else’s. Think of a recipe of your restaurant’s bestselling dish, or the small touches a craftsman makes to polish a specific product—even a password you use to view specific information on your system.
Always simplify your processes and document them as measurable, simple steps every single person can perform.
In both the short and long run, having such details buried inside the brain of a single person may jeopardize operations, especially if this person is not around for some reason. Always simplify your processes and document them as measurable, simple steps every single person can perform.
You will have additional control over your secret recipe or technique, maintaining a competitive advantage to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. KFC’s secret recipe survived for 85 years by maintaining it in a vault in the company’s headquarters and producing it using two different facilities to make sure that the full secret was not leaked.
Who can back who?
When designing a business process, make sure that your employees (yourself included) can back up each other in case someone is not available. Having the right documentation and training for everyone and shuffling people around even for short periods can save your business in case of emergencies.
Do you know how annoying it is to wait for a supermarket supervisor to perform a simple task for the cashier?
Depending on the size and criticality of your business, assigning people to back up each other may be extremely beneficial, if combining their functions will not harm the business. Do you know how annoying it is to wait for a supermarket supervisor to perform a simple task for the cashier? Why not assign someone else with partial responsibility to do simple things and keep the ball rolling?
Dependency on you
I know that this might be a gloomy subject to talk about, but what happens to your business and the livelihood of your family if you suffer from an illness that prevents you from working? This is especially important for young entrepreneurs with dependents who will not be able to back them up if they are unavailable.
Having a backup arrangement with a partner may help. If you’re working alone, it would be wise to protect your business and your family with an insurance that can provide them with the possibility to remain afloat.
