While the working world is winding down just in time for the holiday celebrations, we’re taking you back to basics in order to become more productive in the new year. So many of us are focused on moving forward and developing our Associations that we miss a much-needed part of the process: REFLECTION.
It is vital to reflect on the work you have done for your Association over the past year, not only to recognise your hard work and achievements, but to help develop your processes for the next time you need them.
Membership renewals are a fantastic example of this. It’s a lengthy process Associations go through year-on-year, and one that typically will be coming back into play in January. Look back to the start of this year and break down the steps you went through bit by bit. Ask yourself if there are any steps you could remove, change, or even AUTOMATE, such as generating invoices or sending email reminders.
It’s important to BE MINDFUL of how much time each task takes and explore alternative labour-saving methods. It may be that your Association’s processes are done in a certain way because “that’s the way it’s always been”. These older procedures do not necessarily have to be completely changed, but it is worth seeing if they can be refined to become more user friendly and less time consuming.
An afternoon spent reviewing your administrative procedures may seem like a long time, but in reality, it could save hours of work. After revisiting these procedures year-on-year it will become more apparent how you can STREAMLINE each task, saving yourself time and allowing you to focus on the things that matter.
With all of our lives seeming to get increasingly busier and busier, it is important to devote our time and attention to what is most important. By focusing on improving your operating procedures you can free up some of that time to get more done, and ultimately grow your Association.
Let us know in the comments if there are any of your office procedures that could do with a makeover!
