Think of implementing best practice initiatives within your organization as a project you would manage just like any other project. Research your options – there are lots of businesses within and external to your industry who are already using best practices – and definitely do not shortchange the planning process.
Follow these tips for a successful best practice implementation:
Do your homework: Research best practices of companies both inside and external to your industry to learn how they get things done – whether it is hiring employees, providing customer service, or managing cash flow.
Communicate, communicate and communicate some more: Communicate with your employees about the best practice initiatives – who, what, where and why. Remember…you cannot over-communicate!
Metrics: What are you going to measure against? You need metrics in place to measure against. For example, possibly you want to increase your rate of production of widgets from 200 per week to 250 per week. That is the metric you’ll use.
Change management: Have a change management component in place prior to implementation. How will you handle employee’s concerns and fears?
Modify for your business. Modify the best practices of other organizations to specifically fit your business needs. Take the best of what you find and make the adjustments necessary so the best practice works for you.
Getting everyone involved. You need to get your employees involved – after all they are likely the ones most affected by the new best practice you are implementing.
It’s your business: If you get outside consultants and other experts involved, remember that it is your business – you bring the expertise about your business to the table, the consultants and other experts bring the expertise around best practice implementation.
Keep evaluating and refining. Once you implement a new best practice, your work is not done! Evaluate and refine the best practice to keep meeting the changing needs of your business.
Your thoughts? How have you implemented best practices? Share with others in the Comments field below. Thanks!
Learn more about best practices for small businesses in Gina Abudi’s and Brandon Toropov’s upcoming book: CIG to Best Practices for Small Businesses to be published by Alpha Books.
Thank you Louise! I’m glad you found this article of value. Check out my book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Best Practices for Small Business, available on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, for more information on best practices and innovation.
Thanks for reading!
Best regards,
Gina
Thank you for this. I have been benchmarking for years and was on a search to see what more I could learn and apply.
Hi David,
Thank you and what a fantastic story! Thank you for adding it here and sharing it.
Best,
Gina
Hi, Gina!
A great post. Here’s a real-life example I heard of while attending a conference (I’ve excluded names since I don’t have their permission. Nonetheless, the story is true!):
A new director at a large hospital was given the challenge of improving efficiency and reducing cost at the hospital. It seemed impossible, and she was encouraged by more than a few to simply quit and move on. Rather than give up, she approached the challenge by looking outside her industry.
As she researched operational effectiveness concepts, she continually came across organziations extolling the virtues of Lean, but they were all manufacturing entities. Nonetheless, she sought out the leaders of these organizations to learn the concepts, and began applying them at her hospital.
Within a few years, the cost saving and performance improvements were tremendous. Hundreds of staff members ahd been trained on lean, and the chief executive was actively engaged and promoting the effort. A trip to Japan and meetings with manufacturing industry leaders provided her with even more knowledge, and she is currently working with former Toyota employees to continue her efforts.
You’re exactly right – best practices are often in places where we wouldn’t expect them. As they say, innovation isn’t about what’s never been done before ,it’s about what’s never been done before ….right here.