Operations

The day to day challenges of running a business effectively and efficiently in the current market place are many. Our customers tell us that they include:

  • Day to day operations management issues
  • Increasing margin while reducing production costs and overheads
  • Finding ways to continually improve while maintaining quality and safety standards
  • Dealing with a fast changing market place
  • Keeping up staff moral in the face of redundancies, reduced hours and low training budgets

Plus you also have facilities to manage, shareholders to please and there are only 24 hours in the day – some of which you’d like to spend with the people you care about doing the things you love to do outside of work.

Your challenges:

Improving the bottom line

Whether you work in business operations, manufacturing, construction or facilities management, logistics, business development or sales, you’re probably under pressure to increase profits while cutting costs. On top of that customers have honed their requirements – seeking more for less.

Some questions you might want to consider include:

  • Q: What are the sources of cost efficiency which don’t compromise service?
  • Q: How are you ensuring business sustainability?
  • Q: If you are having to make sacrifices in the short time, what are the long term knock on effects of these?

Operational Efficiency & Effectiveness

In challenging times businesses must always ensure that they are operating efficiently and effectively, reducing the costs of occupancy and operation should form part of any organisation’s strategy.

Review all areas of your business, from existing to potential markets, Client relationships, materials supply, transportation, staffing, both for recruitment and retention, training and up skilling, through to key resources, are they in house or bought in?

  • Q: How are you involving all your staff in ensuring business sustainability?
  • Q: Who are the best people to be involved in process improvement?
  • Q: If you could eliminate the things you know are wrong with your business, what would you do with the extra capacity?

You may have considered a programme which includes Business Process Improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Continuous Improvement, Systems Thinking etc. These tools and techniques can be very effective when aligned with your overall business strategy.

Delivering the Business Strategy

So your business has a strategy and you’ve been charged with delivering it. And to use an American phrase – ‘the buck stops with you’.

  • Q: How do you ensure that everything you do is aligned with the mission, vision and goals of the business?
  • Q: How does your area of the business support the whole?
  • Q: How do you communicate business strategy to all levels of your organisation, so that people have purpose and passion for what they do?

Improving the efficiency of your buildings and systems

Whether it’s reducing the running costs of your buildings, or making the most of the space that you have, good management is key to effective operations. If you have fixed assets it’s about reducing running costs and getting the most out of your available space. If you work in an industry such as construction or engineering, you’ll need good facilities & systems which ensure your team can deliver on time and to budget often while based in temporary accommodation.

To make the most of your buildings, question fundamental areas of your business process management:

  • Q: What do you actually spend on providing and servicing your business space?
  • Q: Do all your staff need to be based in the office, each with their own allocated desk and storage?
  • Q: Could you accommodate more people in less space through a changed layout?
  • Q: Do you heat or cool your building too much for too long?
  • Q: Is electrical equipment and lighting adequately controlled and set to match demand?

Finding time to work on the business rather than in the business

Most operations managers and directors we speak to say that they are so busy dealing with the problems that come up and the challenges of day to day operations management, that they rarely have time to step back, plan and think. Yet your job is to do just that, to look ahead, plan and prepare and to remove obstacles before they cause problems.

  • Q: How do you make time to take a step back, reflect and work on the business rather than in it?
  • Q: What difference could you make to your organisation if you didn’t have to spend time fire-fighting?
  • Q: How do you make time for your managers and key staff to plan ahead, anticipate and innovate?

Solutions Focus

Our aim is to help you find long term solutions which you can implement to improve operations, increase production, reduce costs and overheads and solve all the issues discussed above.

Through this you will both improve your bottom line profit and be even more competitive within your existing and potential markets.

We understand that your problems are unique and that’s why we don’t all work in the same way. Whatever your needs, we have someone who can fit in, or challenge – depending on your primary business issues.

The nature of Consult Yorkshire means that we have a diverse range of experts who can support you with your specific problem. We come from backgrounds as diverse as construction, facilities, sales, HR, project, technical, and general management, across all sectors. So just as our backgrounds differ, so do the things we can do for you. If you want an off the shelf solution, we can provide that.

But if like most people, you have a unique problem with unique challenges we can work with you on that too.

If you would like to talk to us about the ways we can help you to address operational issues then please visit our contact us page and get in touch. We will be delighted to help.