Do you have a business that is running day to day, but sometimes you feel like you’re just spinning your wheels? Maybe you’re part of a team and you feel like things would be so much easier if everyone could just communicate efficiently and collaborate on things without having to scan the last 15 text messages between three different people to try and find the information you’re looking for.
Communication is already hard enough, but when you add in all of the day to day elements that make up your business, sometimes it seems impossible. Something was said in a meeting, but so-and-so was taking notes and you don’t have them. You kind of remember what you were supposed to do so you just go ahead and do it, and then 10 text messages later from your co-worker you realize that you actually did something that someone else was supposed to do. How frustrating? Everyday you feel like you get stuck in a never ending email thread that more often than not amounts to nothing. You’ve got so much to do and you don’t know where to begin so you just stay in your inbox and keep replying to emails. Before you know it, it’s 4pm and the day is almost over and the only true progress that was made for your business was work that actually someone else was supposed to do.
If you’re in a new and/or small organization, these things become even harder because most of the time you are wearing many hats. When the team is small and the same people are doing just about everything, it often seems unnecessary to truly manage things efficiently because everyone knows what is going on and the people on your team will just take care of it. It’s all in your head. You know what needs done and as long as you can keep track of it you’re good. But what happens when you’re sick? Or you want to take a vacation? Or when your organization is doing so well you need an extra mind and pair of hands on the team? If the information is only in your head, or chicken scratched in a notebook, you’re never going to be able to expand beyond what you can handle right in front of you. Projects will get lost, deadlines will be missed, and team members will be more frustrated with each other than ever.
So how do you fix this?
A church in Youngstown, Ohio found themselves in this same situation. The church was over 50 years old, had been functioning for quite some time and seemed to be doing alright. It wasn’t until the office administrator had an unexpected trip to the hospital at the same time that the church needed to facilitate a funeral that they realized how big of a problem this truly was. You see, the office administrator had been there for close to 20 years and had seen the church handle so many different things, she knew how to take care of it on her own. On the flip side, this church was young and growing so there were a lot of new things they were trying to do and a lot of new people involved. The week of this funeral was a breaking point for the staff internally as everyone frantically scrambled to get the details in order while the office administrator was in the hospital and unable to get things done. At the end of the day, did they manage? Yes. But the amount of time that was lost, the frustration and stress that had built up, and the inefficiencies across the board proved to be a tremendous weak point for the organization and left themselves asking the question, “How can we grow our church and further impact our community if we don’t have a system in place and only one person knows the process?”
I worked with the church’s office staff, and the different ministry departments to understand what they do and how they have done it in the past. After spending a considerable amount of time diving into each of these operations, I was able to develop a clear strategy for streamlining their internal proccesses. Over time we managed to convert manual processes into a digital system that cut down on admin time for the staff, and made things much easier and user friendly for the members of the church. The day to day operations became part of a system that was easily managed by internal staff as well as external team members in a collaborative way that left minimal room for error or confusion. The larger events that were less regular were able to be managed by a team rather than just one person and putting them into a system allowed the church to be more proactive throughout the year, in tern, significantly cutting down on the stress levels involved at the time of each event.
I have been in ministry for more than a decade and never have I worked with someone like Steph, and a company like Bobolink. Not only does Bobolink do quality work they are always willing to go the extra mile, experiment, and push the envelope so that your church or business will stand out. They have tackled our website, promo materials, signage, and everything in between. Their company has brought an authenticity and an integrity to our brand that others couldn’t. Bobolink is a must hire. Don’t even consider anyone else.
Doug Reed | Lead Pastor, Bridge of Hope Church
So what would you do if you could collaborate with your team in a way that would set you up for on-going success, lower stress levels, more efficiency and higher team morale? Would you be able to take on more projects? Add new team members? Coordinate more community events? Launch that new product or department? When systems are in place, you are inevitably setting yourself up for organizational growth, and on-boarding new team members becomes easier than ever.
Sometimes looking at it from the inside is hard to see where the problem is and how to fix it. I can help you identify the weak spots and highlight the strengths and build off of your current operations to create systems and workflows that will make your team more efficient and help your day to day operations run smoothly without the unnecessary stress and frustrations.
Are you ready to start?
Let me help you set yourself up for long-term success and growth. Just give me your name and email, so that I can follow up with you about your project!