The truth is, of course, that no matter how hard you work, there are just so many hours in the day. And they are not best spent on doing things that divert you from developing and building your business. Delegate effectively, however, and you can hugely expand your productivity where it really counts.

So where do you start?

Delegate the day-to-day

It helps to know the tasks you spend time on to see which ones make the best (and worst) use of your skills. Begin by writing down everything you do in a day and keep this going for a week or so. Then check the list to see how much of your chargeable time is spent on those day-to-day administrative operations that would be better, and more cost efficiently, done by someone else.

The next step is to see how these could be carried out more cost efficiently – by reallocating them among existing personnel, recruiting a new member of staff or, if existing resource is already at capacity, considering an outsourced solution.

Remember the key decision here is to clear the delegation hurdle, and let go. Take an honest look at what’s really going on in your business and you’ll move from being a frustrated owner who struggles to do everything to a budding entrepreneur with expanding horizons.

The Sanderum Centre offers a range of administrative and secretarial services on a permanent or ad hoc basis to support your business. Check them out here.

Microsoft needed to get it right first time with Windows 7 and initial reports suggest that this is what they have achieved. Windows 7 is based on the Vista interface with significant improvements in terms of speed, accessibility, compatibility and security.

Highlights

• Improved Interface – Windows 7 features a similar interface to Vista, along with a number of much needed improvements. The task bar has been completely redesigned which may take some getting used to but is worth the effort. Accessing your favourite programs is easier than ever and handling multiple instances of applications is simple.

• Improved speed – Microsoft has implemented a number of changes to improve interface speed in Windows 7. It will run on far lower specification machines and most users should have no problems installing it on their current hardware.

• Improved Compatibility  – Windows 7 features a number of new compatibility options meaning your old legacy software should run fine on the new operating system (O/S). Microsoft has also introduced a new ‘XP Mode’ which can be used to run software that will only work in XP.

• Increased Security – Windows 7 builds upon the improvements made in Vista to bring you the most secure O/S to date. Windows 7 won’t win the security battle overnight but it’s a step in the right direction.

Welcome to the Sanderum Centre, Chinnor

Following the much-admired refurbishment of our Thame Centre reception,  our Chinnor centre reception was next to get a brand new look.

We’re thrilled with the result and feel the bright and welcoming design perfectly matches the warm and friendly welcome clients and visitors are sure to  receive at The Sanderum Centre. Why not come along and see for yourself?

Come in and say hello

You're guaranteed a warm welcome

There’s a saying in management circles – ‘what gets measured gets done’. If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it and if you can’t manage it you can’t change it

Why is it important to select the ‘vital few’ KPIs for your business?

With so many things that could be measured, it’s important that measurement doesn’t take too much time and burn resources. Monitoring a few, well selected KPIs will enable you to keep control of your business. If results month by month are not on plan, you will be able to identify problems. Then you can focus on developing action plans to solve the most pressing problems.

What parameters should you monitor?

In business, all key functions need to meet targets to deliver a profit. So it’s logical to think in terms of the functions:

• The Managing Director/General Manager must deliver shareholder value which will be driven by profit.
• The Sales Director must deliver top line revenue and gross margin.
• The Technical Director must deliver new products on time.
• The Operations Director needs to deliver products and services to customers on time, at the right cost and to the specification.
• The Marketing Director needs to deliver market share within a budget.
• The Finance Director needs to deliver profits by controlling costs, expenses and cash flow.

Most of the KPIs will be measured in monetary terms but you should also have a few that aren’t. These are often to do with people. For instance:

• Customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Employee motivation and satisfaction
• Employee turnover
• Brand awareness
• Market share
• Shareholder satisfaction

How many KPIs should you keep track of?

There are no rules – it’s your choice. We would suggest, as a minimum, one for each key function plus one for customer satisfaction and one for employee motivation. So for a business with five key functions the minimum would be seven. The optimum would probably be two for each key function plus one for customers and one for employees i.e. around twelve. Any more than twenty is far too many.  However, remember the saying: ‘spending too much time weighing the pig doesn’t make it fat!’

How will KPIs help you to improve business performance?

Keeping track of a few KPIs will enable you to identify problems before they become critical. For instance, if you don’t carry out the right prospecting activity this month it could impact profits and cash flow in a few months time. When a KPI shows a negative gap between actual and the target, this becomes a problem. Once the problem is clearly defined, it’s easier to get people working together to develop solutions and translate these into actions. Training your people on problem solving techniques is a great way to develop teamwork and quality processes. It’s also cost effective – your own people do the work and feel ownership of the process. The team work together until the performance gap is closed.

One of the characteristics of quality companies is that they set themselves the task of continuous improvement. However, if you have no objective measures of performance it’s impossible to achieve improvements year on year. Selecting a few Key Performance Indicators and managing activities to ensure the targets are met will focus resources and help ensure success.

If you would like to explore how Key Performance Indicators might help you, please get in touch with John Champion at EBS Management Resources by phone (01844 211084) or by email (johnc@ebshr.co.uk)

But the aftermath – if it is that – of the downturn may well have left your staff ill equipped to step up and meet the challenge of brighter times ahead.

Much of this has to do with increased stress in the workplace and its direct effect on productivity levels. Recent research shows that 38% of UK employees complain of more stress than a year ago; correspondingly, productivity fell by an average 3.3% over the second and third quarters of 2009.

Doubling up responsibilities in the wake of staff cuts is not the way to sustain a productive and stress-free workplace. Instead, get your business working smarter.

Sit down with your staff and review each function according to SMART principles:

S is for Specific: Define the work objective

M is for Measurable: Chart the course

A is for Achievable: Agree the goals

R is for Realistic: Quantify the resources required

T is for Timely: Set the schedule to completion

 
Look to outsource administrative tasks that might otherwise be a burden and a distraction to key staff by checking out the cost effective and flexible support available from The Sanderum Centre.
 
By analysing each role in this way, your staff will feel involved rather than put upon which should result in a step change in attitude and performance.

When, as a result of the refurbishment of our Thame business centre, we had some old furniture which still had plenty of life left in it but was surplus to our requirements, we approached our local furniture supplier to see if he knew of anybody that would be able to make good use of it. 

He explained how he volunteers for the RSPB and thought that they would be delighted to receive it, and sure enough, he was absolutely right. We were so pleased to receive a lovely letter back from them thanking us for our kind donation, which means they’ll be able to spend the maximum funding on conservation work as opposed to buying furniture to fit out their office: 

RSPB Thank You Letter

What a great result for the RSPB and a job well done for The Sanderum Centre’s ongoing reduce, reuse and recycle campaign.

Bright, modern, welcoming

The Sanderum Centre have welcomed in 2010 with a brand new look for the reception area of our Thame centre, and clients and visitors are thrilled with the results.  Bright, modern and welcoming,  feedback is overwhelmingly positive, describing it as the perfect mix of professional and personable.

We’d love to welcome you here sometime – feel free to visit and see what The Sanderum Centre has to offer. Why not check out our latest special offers while you’re here?

Professional and personable

Come and see what we've got to offer

Located in our prestigious Chinnor centre, this large open plan, air conditioned office will easily accommodate up to 7 people and is available for immediate, ‘ready to go’ occupation.  Along with all the usual benefits of a serviced office, such as a truly all-inclusive price (with everything except phone calls, broadband and contents insurance covered) our Chinnor office is just 4 miles from the M40 and 5 miles from the main line railway station into London.

 

Call us today on 01844 211080 and quote B10 to snap up this one-time only birthday special

The usual price of this office is £1945.00 per month, but for our one-off birthday special, it’s available for:

HALF PRICE:

(£963.00 per month + VAT) for your first 6 months

THEN 25% OFF:

(£1444 per month + VAT) for the next 6 months, based on a 12 month contract.

No small print. No hidden charges.

Happily, serviced-office clients of The Sanderum Centre are able to boost their green credentials just by sharing joint facilities such as meeting room facilities and kitchens. But if you want to do more, then check out these energy-saving housekeeping tips.

SWITCH IT OFF
Don’t leave equipment powered up when not in use, or when rooms are unoccupied. Switch off air conditioning units, computer screens (when out at lunch, for example), the meeting room LCD screen (don’t leave it on standby) and room lights. Use the photocopier’s power save button when you’ve finished and switch it, and your PC, off completely before going home.

KEEP WARM, STAY COOL
Ensure radiator heat isn’t blocked by furniture and set thermostats no higher than 19°C. If it gets too hot, turn them down – don’t open a window.
 
Make sure doors and windows are closed in air conditioned areas.

IN THE KITCHEN
Only boil the water you need for tea or coffee and de-scale the kettle regularly to keep it energy efficient. Run the dishwasher with a full load and on the economy wash setting.