Take time for annual spring cleaning

Spring is almost here – almost! – and with spring comes cleaning. But beyond baseboards, closets and yards, what about your business? Perhaps it’s time to ponder some ways of fixing up your livelihood and making it shine again.

Winter can leave a business feeling depleted and tired, especially after the economic storms of 2009. Spring is a time to concentrate on re-engaging your team and reconnecting with customers to quickly change the mood and momentum of the organization.

Where to start? I think if you as the owner of the business really collect your thoughts on where you’re coming from, where you are right now, and where you want to be, you’ll start to feel the right direction intuitively.

If you do better mapping out ideas into spreadsheets, charts and graphs for tracking and visual representation, do it, but be sure you stop short of “analysis paralysis.” If you’re an entrepreneur, you know in your gut what you need to be doing; if you’re not doing it, you have to figure out why. Rarely do business owners get to completely avoid adversity; they usually have to work through a problem rather than run around it.

Spring cleaning checklist

Put on your cleaning gloves, roll up your sleeves and get ready for spring by looking at the following:

Team members: Gauge morale on a simple scale of 1 to 5. Overall, how happy are your people right now? Here’s a horrifying statistic: 87 percent of people recently surveyed said they don’t like their job and are uninspired in their work – 87 percent! That’s only 13 percent of surveyed workers who may say they’re happy – or worse, they may just not have answered the question. There is a slight chance this number could actually be higher.

Even if you’re still recovering from financial setbacks of last year, you must find a way to re-inspire your people. An inexpensive retreat, day of fun activities, or a team development exercise may be exactly what it takes to get your people on board again.

If morale is down, don’t avoid the issue! Ever! Your people will resent you if they see you as evasive or not caring about how they feel. You must talk to them – you, the owner, not your “managers.” You are responsible for the overall look, feel and “vibe” of your company.

If you can have one-on-one time with people, great. If not, address them all at once and offer some sage words of inspiration in terms of energizing them to look ahead, not behind, and move in the right direction this year.

Clients/customers: Clean up any messes that may have left people you do business with feeling disgruntled. Again, go through them, not around them, and work on them until they literally “shine.” Not every customer will come out happy and perfect, but you will know you did your best to address the issues. Go “high-touch” with direct contact by phone, in-person meetings, mailings and e-mails to see how they are doing, what issues they may be having, and what solutions you can offer. It’s a great way of staying in front of the customer and also being proactive, not reactive.

Products and services: Getting rid of clutter in your business means disposing of worn-out and useless ideas, policies that alienate your customers and team members, and products and services that simply don’t meet their needs anymore. Don’t hoard! Being nostalgic and appreciating where you’ve come from is great, but not if it hinders you running a clean, organized and progressive company now. What innovative things are you doing already and what more can be done? Is everything working? If not, how can you improve? Out with anything old that no longer fits; in with everything that makes the company thrive.

Systems: Look at your business inside out and really analyze where you can improve efficiencies. One company I recently worked with had computer systems that were so outdated that the administrative assistant was having to reboot her computer at least five times a day. The amount of time involved was astronomical – and time is money. Always. The investment in a new PC for her, along with basic office software, virus protection and a high-speed/bug-free connection has already paid for itself multiple times over. No rebooting, no frustration and consistent operating equals money in the bank – and a much happier, thriving employee.

In addition to the technical systems, look at paper flow: Where is there excess? Can you go entirely paperless? Ideally, most of us would like to, but there may be a need, at least initially, to keep some traditional systems in place. This is workable if the systems make sense; if they don’t, replace them with electronic versions. Again, the upfront investment will pay off quickly; hiring a temporary worker or putting one of your team members on this type of project is a fast way of changing systems over without having to lose your entire staff for days on end.

Attitude: Lastly, spring clean your own outlook on your business (and life). You’re the core of the company, always. Even when you’re away on vacation, your vision, mission and attitudes prevail over your people, customers and bottom line. If you’re not positive, neither are they. What do you need to do to have a great outlook and be cleaned up for spring?

Focusing on positive behaviors, thoughts and practices will inevitably permeate the company and ultimately lead to an improved environment and most likely an improved overall success rate.

Dawn Duncan is the owner of Broadreach Recruiting & Consulting, a Fort Collins-based firm. Contact her at 970-221-3511 or

www.broadreachrecruiting.com

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