Nonprofit organizations are vital to the communities they serve, but they often face significant challenges when managing workflow processes. Unfortunately, nonprofits are often equipped with limited resources, which makes it that much harder to prioritize creating a workflow system that works. Today, Businessing Magazine shares some insights to help you manage your workflows and create the sweet spot that your nonprofit needs for success.
Figure Out the Problem
If your workflow isn’t going the way it should, you have to figure out the problem. This will take time, but you can help stay on task with a project kickoff checklist. Your first priority is to define the problem as well as what you consider success. You’ll also want to spend the time looking at each employee’s strengths and weaknesses so that you figure out who’s the best person to spearhead each specific aspect of your project.
Identify Bottlenecks and Inefficiencies
Now that you’ve identified the problem and you know how you want each leg of your project to look, you can dive deeper into your workflow to identify individual areas that need assistance. Are there unnecessary steps in your processes? Do your teams continually duplicate efforts? Are there issues with how your departments relay information to one another? If your issues fall into the latter category, Workzone shares insight on how to encourage better communication.
Efficiency from the Start
While your nonprofit will have workflow issues unique to you, a great piece of advice across the board is to prioritize efficiency right from the onboarding process. Efficiently onboarding new employees is essential to help them adjust to their roles and to integrate with your company’s culture. A well-designed intake procedure can reduce turnover rates and improve employee retention. Importantly, when your human resources department has a guide they can follow, your existing employees will operate more efficiently.
Eliminate Multitasking
Even if you have team members that take pride in handling multiple fires at once, enact policies that reduce the need for multitasking. According to the 15Five blog, trying to focus on more than one thing at a time can actually lead to more mistakes, which has the domino effect of creating more work. Instead, to encourage productivity, set specific and measurable goals that require your employees to handle each step of their respective work separately.
Eliminate Unnecessary Meetings
We’ve all been taught in business that meetings are crucial to a company’s success. However, we’re finding out more and more that this isn’t always the case. Meetings can actually reduce productivity. Rings Central explains that when you cut your meetings back by 40%, productivity jumps by more than 70% and your employee satisfaction ratings boost by 50% or more. Instead of calling everyone into the conference room multiple times each week, maintain an open line of communication throughout the day. It can also help to have a collaborative workspace online that allows your employees to ask questions and build off of each other’s knowledge in a way that’s both productive and unobtrusive.
Ultimately, the goal of your nonprofit is to be able to channel as much money, time, and effort into your cause as possible. To do this, you have to start by ensuring that your workflow processes are efficient. Begin by identifying problems, and then look for ways to solve problems. This might mean encouraging more communication between your departments, reducing the need for employees to multitask, or simply holding fewer meetings. Remember, each step you take now to create a better business puts you that much closer to ensuring that your nonprofit can channel your time and energy on its goals and mission.
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