Admin tasks are critical for most businesses and are key to a smooth and efficient operational model. Doing admin, however, is a tedious and time-consuming affair that is one of the biggest “time-wasters” for key decision-makers in a business.
Admin has the potential to blur the line between being busy and being productive as many hours can be devoted to admin tasks without generating any revenue. Tasks such as writing blogs, updating social media accounts, sending out proposals, scheduling appointments, and managing your calendar can become overwhelming – especially with emails and phone calls in-between.
It’s easy to get caught up with repetitive admin that takes up your entire morning, leaving you with a big chunk of your day filled doing non-profitable tasks that leave you feeling drained. Ideally, a specific time should be set aside each day to complete admin tasks, and this should be adhered to strictly.
With the pandemic seemingly under control and 2022 offering so much promise, let’s explore how you can reduce your admin in the New Year and give your business a kick-start.
Why should you reduce your admin?
One of the significant benefits of reducing your admin is that it frees up valuable time that you can use to focus on your clients, business development and strategic objectives. In addition, with more time on your hands, you can provide a higher quality of service and products to your target market, improve workflow processes, reduce expenses, and improve the skill set of your staff.
Moreover, reducing admin lowers stress levels as it can be mentally taxing to do repetitive and mundane tasks for hours on end without any reward. A reduced admin workload provides you and your staff with more flexibility and creativity and improves productivity, morale and staff retention – a win-win for all concerned.
How do you reduce your admin?
Identify and prepare
The first step in reducing your admin is to identify which tasks are most important, i.e. having a tangible effect on your business, and urgent, i.e. having strict deadlines – and then allocating your resources accordingly.
Typically, admin tasks are categorised as either operational or regulatory. Operational tasks are those that are critical for the smooth operations of your business and include managing income, outgoing payments, and recruitment. Regulatory tasks are those that are mandatory for compliance with local laws and regulations.
A great way to help prioritise your tasks is to identify the risk factor of each task. You must also consider much of the budget you wish to dedicate to reducing your admin. You must consider your budget in terms of both finance and time.
Automate your admin
With such rapid advancements in technology, a wide range of automation software and digital tools are available to help you streamline operations at your business. Automating specific processes is an excellent way to take care of admin as it is cost-effective, frees up valuable time, reduces human error, delivers consistently, and always meets deadlines.
Businesses worldwide have come to realise the incredible impact that automation has on admin tasks, with more business owners taking advantage of technology and drifting away from the traditional way of doing business.
There is an increasing trend of manual methods being kicked to the curb as automation helps businesses to focus on value-added tasks that generate revenue. Most automated scheduling and confirmation software can be integrated with your business’s current system, making it easy to set up and implement from the get-go.
Outsource
Outsourcing is a fantastic way to reduce your admin tasks efficiently and cost-effectively. While many businesses have outsourced specific functions of the operational model to experts in the past, the pandemic has accelerated this process, with outsourcing becoming a staple amongst most companies globally.
Many businesses worldwide are choosing to outsource their time-consuming admin so that they can focus on strategic initiatives to enhance their business offering in this rapidly changing landscape. Business owners typically select the tasks they have no time to do and outsource them to professionals who have the skills, credentials, and experience to complete them effortlessly.
When planning on outsourcing specific functions of your admin, it is advisable to choose established service providers or agencies, such as AVirtual, that fit your unique needs. By choosing an established company to take care of your admin tasks, you can be assured that they have the right people, skills, and resources to deliver exactly what you want when you want it.
It is important to define the scope of work to be completed, the budget available, and specific requirements that you may have regarding the admin tasks to be completed. It is also important to prepare the admin work from your end before handing it over to a third party, as this will make the transition as smooth as possible.
Final thoughts
While admin tasks for a business can appear to be a hindrance, especially considering the hours devoted to it for such little reward, these are critical in ensuring that your operation model remains efficient and effective. By making a few small adjustments in how you handle your admin tasks, your business productivity and efficiency will increase dramatically – giving you valuable time to channel your energy towards strategic business objectives.
Use technology to your advantage and work smartly to reduce your business admin tasks and take your business to the next level!