Achieving autonomy in your business operations is not merely a lofty goal but a fundamental necessity for long-term success and growth. In this article, we present a comprehensive checklist designed to assess the level of owner involvement and dependency within your organisation. By proactively addressing these key areas, you can pave the way for a more self-sufficient and resilient business model. Let’s explore how you can empower your business to thrive independently.
- Does your business have a functional chart that identifies all the functions in the business and identifies who is responsible for running the function (functional head)?
- Are the owners directly involved in revenue generation?
- Are any owners allocated roles as functional heads?
- Are all roles in the business documented?
- Does every person (including the owners) have an up-to-date job description identifying their functional roles?
- Does the business run on systems and processes that span roles and document how workflows from task to task for the key areas of the business?
- Have the owners shared the vision, purpose and values? (Are they documented and known by everyone in the business?)
- Is it clear to everyone how the values are used to inform decision-making and guide behaviour in the business?
- Are the 4 key Strategic solutions documented and used to inform the annual planning process?
- Is the leadership team running the annual plan using a systemised methodology for accountability?
- Does the leadership team use a monitoring system to track the progress of actual results against planned results and adapt appropriately?
- Does the business have a decision authority matrix for all roles in the business that identifies the scope of financial decision-making for the role, who performs the role in the absence of the incumbent and the process for escalating decisions when out of scope for the role?
Owning a business that doesn’t depend upon daily input from the owners doesn’t happen by chance. You will need to proactively design how the business is run using tools for everyone to use.
To achieve this, consider the following steps:
1. Identify all the functions required for an SME to achieve sustainable growth and ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.
2. Create a functional chart that identifies all functions required to run the business, allocates roles for each function and assigns a functional head to run each function. (one person may be responsible for more than one function).
3. Document workflows, including key tasks for each function, to ensure clarity and efficiency and communicate your strategic solutions clearly throughout the organisation to align efforts with long-term goals.
4. Structure an annual planning process for your leadership team to keep progressing towards the vision, incorporating the identified strategic solutions, and monitor progress against the plan and adjust as necessary to stay on track towards autonomy and sustainable growth.
By implementing these measures, you can empower your business to thrive independently and reduce its reliance on daily input from owners.
To download a copy of the checklist, click here.
