6 Tips to Manage Problem Areas in Your Business

Seeing your business grow and be successful is a great feeling but with growth there can be a whole new set of problems and opportunities that arise.

It can be easy to overlook small problems when you’re caught up in the day-to-day running of everything else. But putting them on the backburner could lead to even more problems further down the track.

Follow these six tips to start managing any problem areas and get your business running smoothly.

Tip 1: Create a problem log

When a problem or issue pops up in your business, record it in a logbook. It could be a physical document or something online but the problem needs to be documented somewhere. If you have several employees or contractors, there could be issues occurring that you don’t even know about. Keeping a log that everyone has access to will keep you in the know if there’s any kinks in your business.

Tip 2: Don’t over-do it

Creating a record of any issues is a first step but make sure you don’t go overboard logging every single minor problem that you come across. Decide who can record problems, what kinds of problems are logged as well as when and how they need to be recorded.

Tip 3: Define a solution

To get the problem solved, your next step is to define a set of actions to fix the issue. Assign somebody to the job if you need to and set up a deadline for each stage of the problem solving process. If you find that your to-do list is getting excessively complex, you may need the help of an online project planning tool to keep things visible.

Tip 4: Check progress

Once you have a clear set of tasks set up, keep checking back on the status of your issues. If somebody else needs to action a task, chase them up to see what the progress is. Some tasks might be taking forever, but you need to know if they are and why.

Tip 5: Raising the alert

Sometimes you come across a problem that may be a bit bigger than you anticipated. You need to recognize when these big issues pop up in case urgent action needs to be taken. The last thing you need is for a big problem to snowball because it wasn’t fixed quickly.

To figure out how big a problem could be, it’s a good idea to keep measuring the impact of each issue against your business. The level of impact could change over time so you need to keep revisiting ongoing issues so you can make any necessary adjustments.

Tip 6: Resolve and close

Once you reach a resolution with each problem, cross it off in your logbook and move on. The actions are done so you can forget about it and focus on more important aspects of your business.

Smooth out any kinks in your business with these six tips. They will start helping you fix problem areas quickly and make re-organization and adjustment simpler. You’ll be well on your way to sustaining your business growth.