Productivity Planner

How do you determine whether or not colour printing is for you?

I have always had a personal interest in ensuring that my clients qualify themselves before investigating the implementation of colour printing in to their office system. In doing this one can associate the current costs and effectiveness of their current colour solution and determine for themselves whether or not colour is definitely a viable option. If you don’t have a colour print solution or partake in any colour printing solutions at the moment but would like to then don’t worry this applies to you too.

Let me show you a case study of mine that will better help educate you on how reviewing your current print solution could help save you money.

I had a client who was in Real Estate and they were producing rental lists that comprised of 10 pages of black print from their current photocopier linked on their network. They were also producing profile cards in A4 Colour for their sales team by outsourcing the work to a print company. Over a monthly period they would produce approximately 10,000 black impressions and 1,000 colour prints.

Now this may seem like a good idea or perhaps it is what you are doing at the moment but what I was able to discover was that they were paying four times as much per print to outsource their colour prints than what it would cost them to have in-house production. Also by double-siding their rental brochure we could reduce paper usage and also reduce associated costs and reduces the all-important carbon footprint.

By looking at this brief example we were able to bring the monthly costs down to around 60% of what they were currently spending by implementing an in-house colour system tailored specifically to their requirements.

If you are a large corporation it is absolutely necessary to investigate colour printing in-house, [Read more →]

Tags: , , Leadership, Inspiration, Management, Organizational Culture by Chris Russell
No Comments »

Every entrepreneur’s desire is to create a productive business, regardless of whether the presence is based solely online, has an online presence (i.e. website), or isn’t online at all. The fundamental profitable business principles of being effective and efficient are always applicable. To avoid business frustration caused by unresolved problems and/or unfilled needs - knowing what needs to be done - is as important as doing it well.

To understand the ‘what’ needs to be done and avoid frustration if your business is still in the prelaunch stage, or to minimize frustration if your business is already set up and running, begins with an internal evaluation. It is imperative that, as the entrepreneur, you clearly define your reasons for going into or being in business. From this understanding you can establish quantitative goals. Next, an honest self-assessment of your work style and habits are necessary in order for you to develop realistic plans, or action steps.

Just as understanding the ‘what’ needs to be done in order to avoid/minimize frustration begins with an internal evaluation, the ‘what done well’ requires an external evaluation in order to avoid/minimize frustration in your business. Optimizing your performance begins with appraising your business’s physical surroundings to ensure you have a proper design of your office space and the best office equipment for your needs. Time management tools such as schedulers, daytimers and calendars along with the use of folders help to eliminate time management problems and avoid time wasters/traps. Putting a time management plan to work streamlines your business systems through prioritizing and organization.

To avoid/minimize frustration from a lack of productivity is for your business to be both effective and efficient. When you combine the why of your business along with how you natu [Read more →]

Tags: , , Leadership, Inspiration, Management, Organizational Culture by Chris Russell
No Comments »

Employee satisfaction in your auto repair shop is very critical. When an employee is happy to be working for you, not only does your shop become a good environmental place but it also becomes productive. One must start by recognizing your technician’s work. For example, if you’re noticing that your technician gets the job done right and fast you should allow them to know that you are noticing. Of course, for this to happen you must keep some sort of record and measure productivity.

Technicians are happy to know that their work is being recognized. Sometimes the owner might think that the recognition has to be monetary, but here where many are wrong. The fact that you show your employee that you are aware of their good work it’s sometimes more valuable then the money you can pay. Many times offering a nice lunch or even a day off when you are able to give it to them is more then enough.

It is very important that you treat all of your employees the same and not to discriminate one from the other. Mistakes happen and can cost you a lot when you allow one technician to come to work late, leave early, or do whatever he/she wants. The problem is that even though the other employees might not tell you, they are noticing the difference in treatment. This creates a conflict between employees and sometimes it won’t get to your ears, but from one day to the other your employees become slackers.

http://autorepairshopmanagement.blogspot.com

Tags: , , Leadership, Inspiration, Management, Organizational Culture by Chris Russell
No Comments »