For any entrepreneur, particularly when you are starting a new business, there is a danger of trying to do everything yourself. If you like to keep the world under control you may need to improve your delegation skills.
Delegation provides opportunities for people to feel empowered, supported and encouraged. It gives entrepreneurs a chance to reduce stress by spreading the work and sharing responsibilities amongst the team.
Here are my tips for improving delegation and gaining the benefits as your business grows:
1. Get to know your team.
If you have a new team – don’t go in like a bull in a china shop. Get to know your team, understand their ways of working, rules of engagement, foibles, and preferred styles of communication and you’ll be able to appreciate their world as it stands – before you add to it. Really get to grips with their deliverables and their concerns and challenges. These small steps can pay off over time.
2. Share the vision.
Be really clear about your vision and mission and share it with your team. If they understand the direction the team is going in, and the objectives that need to be achieved they will start to think about how they can contribute.
3. Ask for help.
A good saying is that “your success is only achieved through theirs” – and you have to mean it and let your team know this is how you operate. There’s no room for insecurity or game playing if you want to be an effective leader who delegates easily. If they can see your vulnerable side, where you are not perfect, where you make mistakes and don’t have all the answers, they will know that you value consulting with them and leveraging their knowledge and experience when solving problems. Ultimately, they will feel respected and valued.
4. Share and develop skills.
By ensuring that you have no silos (individuals with special skill sets that are potential single-point-of-failures if absent), delegating tasks across the team will upskill them and ensure that no-one, when they return from holiday or other absence, is faced with a pile of work – as it will have3 been absorbed by the team. This can create a harmonious team working environment where everyone has each other’s back. With this mindset people should be ready to take on other initiatives to help.
5. Give useful feedback.
If you can’t give great feedback that is useful and useable then it will become very challenging for you to delegate a second time. You need to give them specific examples of where things went well and why that was great.
If things didn’t go so well, help them articulate how they might mitigate that in the future so that the issues melt away. Reward them, in a meaningful way, for their efforts.
6. Encourage ideas.
You can build a culture of problem solving by being genuinely approachable and easy to work with. If you don’t want people to bring you problems to solve – ask your team to bring you solutions and ideas instead. They will likely feel empowered to try to figure out how to fix things before approaching you for approval to go ahead; thereby discouraging whinging and moaning about problems which they then expect you to solve.
If a team member comes up with a good idea ask them to lead on it, with you as a consultant (so they don’t feel vulnerable). This raises their profile, makes them feel respected and gives them a specific deliverable.
7. Be specific and say ‘why’ before ‘how.’
Humans are not robots – they need to understand why a task has to be done to understand the value they are delivering. Only then will they be able to absorb the policy, process and procedures.
When delivering instructions for a task – start with the end in mind and be specific about the desired end result. Clearly outline the lines of accountability, responsibility and authority. Be extra clear on touch points/milestones and deadlines – get them diarised. Organise a review once the work has ended so you can give feedback. Don’t be tempted to focus on how they got there – focus on the results achieved.
8. Play to their strengths.
Getting to know your team will help you to build mutual rapport, trust and respect. Its these things that help you decide whom to delegate to as you’ll know if they are able to cope with the work, or if it’s too much of a stretch. Take time to get to know how they like to be rewarded and why they come to work every day – then you will understand what words to choose when you are being persuasive and encouraging to them. It’s important to get to know your employees’ limitations so that you can push them a little but not drown them.
9. Improve self-awareness.
As an entrepreneur, its important to understand your impact on others. It will improve your ability to delegate effectively and your listening skills. Listening is the most useful skill you can cultivate. It validates the person speaking and makes them feel heard. It allows you to be a safe sounding board for the team. Ask for feedback from your team (it’s not a one-way street) and respond to that feedback if you can so they know you are paying attention and adapting.
As an entrepreneur your role is to lead the team as you build the business. You can’t do everything so learning about your team and delegating can help you avoid burn-out and become successful more quickly.
[…] and tricks for managing stress and a heavy workload Explore strategic planning methods and learn how to delegate work Who is This Goals Setting & Time Management Skills course for? This training course is fo […]
[…] CEO of Lurn Inc, Psychology Of Webinars Free Resource: “Soul Why: Soul Rich Woman Blueprint” and “How to Delegate 80% of your to-do list” —> https://be […]
[…] My goal is to help you learn how to delegate project tasks to manage effectively and successfully […] If you’re ready to learn how to delegate like a boss, sign up now! I Can’t Wait to Share with You on Tuesday, March 9th at 10:00 am CST!
[…] My goal is to help you learn how to delegate project tasks to manage effectively and successfully […] If you’re ready to learn how to delegate like a boss, sign up now! I Can’t Wait to Share with You on Wednesday, March 10th at 12:00 pm EST […]
Recovery Delegation implements security by limiting access to web management website features and data, based on user roles. This option empowers administrators to delegate permissions on an as-needed basis, via the Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager. Watch this demo video to learn more about: How to delegate permissions to recover files What are the benefits of using this feature? Duration: 7:04
For organizations that are considering outsourcing data backups to a third-party provider, this detailed project plan can help you through the various stages of planning and implementation. There are valuable steps, metrics, and examples of how to delegate the tasks to various members of a project team.
[…] this in his own personal journey as a coach, and I’ve learned from him that you have to learn how to delegate, and you need to learn to trust your assistants […]
[…] hold sales conversations with more ease and success! Get clarity on what technology you will need, how to delegate things and get more systematized and focused […]
[…] Also, with SDARL, I learned how to delegate responsibilities for my farm and business, so I can leave and be fully committed to the Board […] In the church, I have found how a committee structure is a crucial part of how to delegate responsibilities for narrower decisions […]
[…] the first day of the Flare Network, so he needs to see how everything works in action to determine how to delegate his detachable FLR votes in the future […]
[…] yard at one time so if your horse has 30+ owners, the syndicator should have a fair system on how to delegate ticketing and race day privileges when your horse gets to the races […]
[…] Challenge your team to step up their leadership game A good leader knows how to delegate and you as the owner of your company should take every opportunity to challenge your contractors to […]
IBM’s Victoria Pelletier: How To Delegate Effectively and Be Completely Satisfied With the Results Jerome Knyszewski Follow Feb 25 · 9 mi […] As part of my series about the “How To Delegate Effectively and Be Completely Satisfied With the Results”, I had the pleasure of interviewin […]
[…] this in his own personal journey as a coach, and I’ve learned from him that you have to learn how to delegate, and you need to learn to trust your assistants […]
[…] Advanced Transport Solutions, LLC What have the highlights and challenges been as a CEO? Learning how to delegate is definitely a challenge because it’s hard not to be in control and making sure someone will ru […]
[…] Tips Here are a few tips to get you started: If you are having trouble knowing how to delegate your expenses, you can use the 50/30/20 rule as guidance […]
[…] leaders should be able to recognize when delegation is beneficial, and they should also learn how to delegate tasks in effective and efficient ways […]
[…] by Delegating (So You Can Achieve Your Goals)” introduces you to the process of what, why and how to delegate using a proven 3 step template process used by Chris Haroun, who is a seasoned and successfu […] learn: What to delegate so you can spend more time focusing on your professional and personal goals How to delegate so that you can develop your employee(s) and teach them new skills What feedback to provide and how […]
A short clip from a full interview with Austin Linney where he talked about how to construct your life and business. In this episode, Austin talks about how investors can learn how to delegate tasks in order to scale their real estate businesses faster.
The Covid-19 pandemic has arguably imposed more challenges to the way companies have done business than any other single event in living memory, if not longer. Whilst the external pressures on a business have increased, many enterprises are still handicapping themselves by not building-in even the most basic system efficiencies. By effectively managing and prioritizing your business’ inputs, most particularly the labor-hours of you and your senior team, you can release greater outputs and ultimately revenue.
Here are three key principles for optimising efficiency, to release your business from self-imposed constraints, in 2021.
1. You are not a manager, you are a leader
Leadership and Management are both the same, right? Wrong, couldn’t be more wrong – stop it! Warren Bennis, Professor of Business Administration and an Organisational Consultant is quoted as an opening: “The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it”
Even this simple change of mindset will release you from one of the most pervasive inefficiencies in business. If you see yourself as a manager you are strategically no better than a caretaker, taking what you have and merely preserving it. Entrepreneurship rests on the foundation of leadership: identifying a business’s strengths and weaknesses, implementing positive change whilst taking others on the journey with you. Use the ‘Plan’ ‘Do’ ‘See’ ‘Act’ system. Develop an efficientcy idea, trial it, review and then roll it out for system-wide effectiveness
True leadership has a compounding effect on efficiency. If you identify yourself as a leader you will improve your business through efficiencies. If you teach your team that they are leaders too, then they will identify efficiencies upon efficiencies at every level in your business.
Taiichi Ohno, founder of the Toyota Production System which gave rise to ‘Lean’ working said when asked about Lean thinking: “All we are doing is looking at the timeline, from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing the timeline by reducing the non-value adding wastes”
The key question here is ‘What are the things you are doing that people won’t pay for, and why are you still doing them?’. (1) Identify what your client wants, (2) identify what workflows are required to bring about the client’s goals and (3) automate the ‘system pull’ so that (1) naturally flows, without bottlenecks, from (2). Waste can arise from a range of sources including over-processing, unnecessary motion of goods and staff, and simple erroneous thinking within system design. Cut it out, because no one is paying you for it, but be careful not to inadvertently devalue your brand by dehumanizing your process
Kevin Zhang, the eCommerce entrepreneur behind HEMPX clothing brand and the Branded Niche eCommerce (‘BNE’) approach, has a unique way to ensure business efficiency is at the heart of his business. Every month, Kevin spends one-week logging everything that he did that week, hour by hour, and then closely examines any inefficiencies. Kevin looks at his schedule and determines which activities are high value-add and which can be automated through hiring new talent.
The difference between a successful start-up and a scaled-up business is the development of systems to build growth on the foundation of a verified concept. The University of Oxford identifies scalable infrastructure as one of the three key requirements for a business to move to the next level, alongside strong leadership and appropriate marketing. This includes IT systems and production or manufacturing systems, as well as office space and workforce arrangements. If a business owner is spending all of their time in the weeds of their business rather than constantly thinking about growth, then, of course, their business is not going to grow.
A focus and commitment to removing inefficiency is like removing shackles from a business’s potential. It requires courageous leadership, and ability to identify what your client needs and supply that in the most streamlined fashion, and a willingness to stop and take stock to ensure you are using your time effectively to guide your business in the right direction.
By: Samuel leach / Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor Director of Samuel & Co Trading
Covid Supporthttp://www.kent.ac.uk – February 13[…] allowing your employees to improve and grow discovering or cultivating new products cultivating business efficiency solving problems engaging with viability studies exploring new business initiatives The fund ca […]N/A
Network/VoIP Engineer – Cyzerg – Career Page cyzerg.applytojob.com – February 13[…] Central, and South America, Cyzerg has developed industry expertise and capabilities to increase business efficiency and competitiveness across its customer base […]N/A
Top Speech Analytics Software Providers in 2021 tweakyourbiz.com – February 13[…] by cutting-edge, insight-driven technology that helps you improve your team’s performance and business efficiency […]N/A
Moody’s Corp (MCO) Q4 2020 Earnings Call Transcripthttp://www.fool.com – February 13[…] MIS expense growth included non-recurring costs such as severance related to business efficiency initiatives and incentive compensation accruals associated with strong full-year performance […]N/A
3 Key Steps to Make Your Business More Efficient and More Profitablehttp://www.entrepreneur.com – February 12[…] Invest in real business efficiency review Kevin Zhang, the eCommerce entrepreneur behind HEMPX clothing brand and the Branded Nich […] HEMPX clothing brand and the Branded Niche eCommerce (‘BNE’) approach, has a unique way to ensure business efficiency is at the heart of his business […]2
Q&A: Metromile CEO Dan Preston on Going Public iireporter.com – February 12[…] claims automation solution, which simultaneously enhanced customer experience and improved business efficiency […]N/A
Jigsaw Treehttp://www.jigsawtree.com – February 12[…] with Document Designer is exceptional and they are already making a difference and improving our business efficiency — all delivered in the most professional and personable way […]N/A
What Is Last Mile Delivery? blog.route4me.com – February 12[…] Such information can help you improve your business efficiency and provide a seamless last-mile delivery experience to your customers […]1
Careers – GS1 Irelandhttp://www.gs1ie.org – February 12[…] is a new and fast developing sector for us as the industry embraces digital transformation to meet business efficiency, regulatory and sustainability demands […]N/ACertified PEOs (CPEO): What Are They and Why Does Certification Matter blog.axcethr.com – February 12[…] But, under the Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA), it is clear a CPEO is solely liable for the payment of federal employment taxes o […]0
16 Technology Trends Shaping eCommerce in 2020 blog.hubspot.com – February 12[…] Automated, synchronized data increases overall business efficiency by improving order fulfillment and timely communication […]5
J ・ Grip Marketing Co., Ltd. Automatically analyze customer behavior! Achieve optimal UI / UX- “J-DX CASTORY “ re-how.net – February 12[…] ■ What is “J-DX”? “J-DX” is a DX service that aims not only to partially improve business efficiency but also to help business success with “IT tools x business flow improvement” […] Under such circumstances, we believe that it is inevitable for more companies to improve business efficiency and business transformation by digital technology, and “J-” was born as a service to realize it […]
1Consultation services brandauer.co.uk – February 12[…] of OEE A UK-based OEM electronics manufacturer requested Director level intervention to conduct a business efficiency review where Brandauer introduced bottleneck resolution tools to eradicate the root cause o […]N/A
How Can Tech Innovate Your Business’ Efficiency? infinigeek.com – February 11[…] If you are searching for new ways to innovate your business’ efficiency models using tech, look no further! In this blog we will break down exactly what you can do t […]N/A
CE Pro Quest for Quality 2021 survey.alchemer.com – February 11[…] servicing, billing subscribers) SOFTWARE (CRM and Back-Office Support) CRM Proposals General Business Efficiency WARRANTY POLICIES Replacement Unit Availability Extended Warranty Time Span Repair Speed Scop […]4
Junior ASP.Net Developer – Cyzerg – Career Page cyzerg.applytojob.com – February 11[…] Central and South America, Cyzerg has developed industry expertise and capabilities to increase business efficiency and competitiveness across its customer base […]N/A
It seems like every business is struggling with the concept of transformation. Large incumbents are trying to keep pace with digital upstarts., and even digital native companies born as disruptors know that they need to transform. Take Uber: at only eight years old, it’s already upended the business model of taxis. Now it’s trying to move from a software platform to a robotics lab to build self-driving cars.
And while the number of initiatives that fall under the umbrella of “transformation” is so broad that it can seem meaningless, this breadth is actually one of the defining characteristic that differentiates transformation from ordinary change. A transformation is a whole portfolio of change initiatives that together form an integrated program.
And so a transformation is a system of systems, all made up of the most complex system of all — people. For this reason, organizational transformation is uniquely suited to the analysis, prediction, and experimental research approach of the people analytics field.
People analytics — defined as the use of data about human behavior, relationships and traits to make business decisions — helps to replace decision making based on anecdotal experience, hierarchy and risk avoidance with higher-quality decisions based on data analysis, prediction, and experimental research. In working with several dozen Fortune 500 companies with Microsoft’s Workplace Analytics division, we’ve observed companies using people analytics in three main ways to help understand and drive their transformation efforts.
In core functional or process transformation initiatives — which are often driven by digitization — we’ve seen examples of people analytics being used to measure activities and find embedded expertise. In one example, a people analytics team at a global CPG company was enlisted to help optimize a financial process that took place monthly in every country subsidiary around the world. The diversity of local accounting rules precluded perfect standardization, and the geographic dispersion of the teams made it hard for the transformation group to gather information the way they normally would — in conversation.
In core functional or process transformation initiatives — which are often driven by digitization — we’ve seen examples of people analytics being used to measure activities and find embedded expertise. In one example, a people analytics team at a global CPG company was enlisted to help optimize a financial process that took place monthly in every country subsidiary around the world. The diversity of local accounting rules precluded perfect standardization, and the geographic dispersion of the teams made it hard for the transformation group to gather information the way they normally would — in conversation.
So instead of starting with discovery conversations, people analytics data was used to baseline the time spent on the process in every country, and to map the networks of the people involved. They discovered that one country was 16% percent more efficient than the average of the rest of the countries: they got the same results in 71 fewer person-hours per month and with 40 fewer people involved each month.
The people analytics team was surprised — as was finance team in that country, which had no reason to benchmark themselves against other countries and had no idea that they were such a bright spot. The transformation office approached the country finance leaders with their findings and made them partners in process improvement for the rest of the subsidiaries.
It’s unlikely the CPG company would have been able to recognize and replicate these bright spots if they had undertaken transformation with a top-down approach. And, perhaps more importantly, it involved and engaged the people on the ground who had unwittingly discovered a better way of doing things.
In bottoms-up cultural transformation initiatives, the how things are done is equally or more important than what is done. Feedback loops and other methods of data-driven storytelling are our favorite way that people analytics makes culture transformation happen. Often times, facts can change the conversation from tired head-nodding to curiosity. One people analytics team in an engineering company was struggling to help develop the company’s managers, for example. Managers often perpetuated a “sink or swim” culture that didn’t fit the company’s aspirations to be an inclusive, humane workplace.
The data analysis found that teams whose managers spent at least 16 minutes of one-on-one time with each direct per week had 30% percent more engaged direct reports than the average manager, who spent just 9 minutes per week with directs. When they brought that data-driven story to the front lines, suddenly a platitude was transformed into a useful benchmark that got the attention of managers. In this way, data storytelling is a lightweight way to build trust among stakeholders and bring behavioral science to culture transformation.
Top-down strategic transformation is often made necessary by market and technology factors outside the company, but here people analytics is a critical factor for execution. A people analytics team can serve as an instrument panel of sorts to track resources, boundaries, capacity, time use, networks, skill sets, performance, and mindsets that can help pinpoint where change is possible and can measure what happens when you try it.
One people analytics team at a financial services company was trying to help the CEO manage growth while he worked to instill a new culture in which departments would be asked to run leaner and more competitive in the market – “scrappy” and “hungry” were terms that often came up. As the transformation accelerated, teams were asked to do more with less, generate more data, and make decisions faster. Amid this, department leaders began to hear anecdotes about burnout and change fatigue and questioned whether the pace was sustainable.
To address this, the people analytics team provided their CEO with a dashboard showing the number of hours that knowledge workers were active for in different teams. When an entire team is over-utilized, he knows they can’t handle more change, while under- or unevenly utilized teams might be more receptive. He can also slice the dashboard by tenure, to learn whether recent hires have been effectively onboarded before approving new hire requests to absorb extra work.
As organizations increasingly look to data to help them in their transformation efforts, it’s important to remember that this doesn’t just mean having more data or better charts. It’s about mastering the organizational muscle of using data to make better decisions; to hypothesize, experiment, measure and adapt. It’s not easy. But through careful collection and analysis of the right data, a major transformation can be a little less daunting – and hopefully a little more successful.
What is People Analytics and how is it different from HR Analytics, Workforce Analytics, or Talent Analytics? What has made it so popular all of a sudden and why should you be excited about it? What is the ROI of People Analytics? These are the questions that will be answered in this video!
For more, related information, check out our HR analytics + digital human resources management courses and certification programs: 🎓 Learn everything you need to drive data-driven decision-making in HR (certificate program) 💥 https://bit.ly/3c6UQN8 🎓 Get the skills you need to use technology to make HR more effective (certificate program) 💻 https://bit.ly/2VjsdGm Have a greater strategic impact with data as an HR Business Partner 🎯 https://bit.ly/2vZou6a
Can’t decide? You can access all our courses and certificate programs with our full academy license 👩🎓 https://bit.ly/2w4k9P1 👋👋 P.S. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest HR Analytics developments! https://www.linkedin.com/school/aihr/
It’s more important than ever before to build a positive and inspiring company culture. The culture of your organization affects the talent you attract, how engaged your employees are at work, and also the customers who choose your brand over others.
Your company culture is a reflection of your core brand values and mission. And those values can be an important factor in the decision-making process when someone chooses to spend their money or do business with you.
According to a 2020 survey of consumer behavior, over 70% said it was important that companies they bought from aligned with their values.There are many factors that go into your company culture. It’s important to mold the working environment and the sort of business you do around the type of culture you want to cultivate.
But have you considered how the content you are publishing affects how your company culture is perceived?
Quick Takeaways
Expressing your true company culture is critical for attracting the right talent and the right customers.
The content you publish can be a valuable way to demonstrate your brand culture.
Get your brand values and mission statement set in stone to create a solid base for all your content marketing efforts.
Why Your Content Is a Reflection of Your Culture
Have a think about the brands you regularly consume content from and how the content has a unique personality that affects how you would describe the brand.
For example, take a look at this tweet from smoothie company Innocent Drinks:
Even if you’d never heard of the company before, you’d probably start forming an impression of their company culture just from seeing this small piece of content.
Some things that spring to mind include:
Young and fun
Friendly
Caring about the environment
A quick look at the Innocent Drinks page shows that this first impression aligns pretty closely with the brand’s stated values.
How about another example?
Social media automation tool Buffer actually dedicates a whole section of its blog to the importance of “open” culture.
You can see that Buffer values transparency, sustainability, and work-life balance from their blog articles on subjects including calculating the carbon footprint of remote work, moving to a four-day workweek, and why their transparent email policy stopped working.
Buffer is a brand that really understands the importance of content marketing and makes the effort to ensure that all content reflects its core values:
Default to transparency
Cultivate positivity
Show gratitude
Practice reflection
Improve consistently
Act beyond yourself
Does Your Content Promote Your Company Culture?
Take a look through some of your existing content online with fresh eyes. Does it really reflect your brand and values? If your content was all someone had to go on, would they have an accurate picture of what it might be like to work for your company?
Some brands naturally do a great job of creating values-focused content. The ones that do succeed not only because they have a talented team of marketers and content creators working for them, but also because they have a clear idea of the company culture they want to cultivate and promote.
So if you don’t yet have a clear handle on how to describe your company culture, or you’re waiting for it to develop organically, you must focus on building a positive culture first.
Your people are one of the cornerstones of your company culture so make sure they’re involved. Getting together to officially nail down your brand values or mission statement can be a great starting point for an official company culture to flourish.
But when it comes to brand culture, actions matter more than words. There’s no point in claiming you have an open and honest culture and care about the environment if this isn’t true.
Developing your true company culture will take some time, but it can be helped along by working with people who share your values.
Hiring the right people is essential, of course. But marketing to the right audience is equally as important. If you can create content that attracts an audience that shares your brand values, you’ll be well on the way to success.
Creating Content Around Your Culture
Once you’ve put the hard work into building a great brand culture, you can use your content to show off what a great company you are.
If you’ve come up with a list of official brand values, this can be a great way to get started with your content plan, as you can make sure any new content you create falls into one of these “buckets”.
Make sure to take advantage of content to tell the story of your brand. When working through your content strategy, it’s natural to want to make sure that each piece of content is fulfilling a specific purpose and aligning with the customer journey.
But not all content has to or should funnel a potential customer toward a sale. Your content should also work to build your brand slowly but consistently with each piece you produce.
Great authors don’t have to work to market their books. People eagerly anticipate them and buy them automatically because they know they like their style and subjects.
If you approach your marketing content in the same way romance novelists tackle their books, you’re sure to be well on the road to building a dedicated audience that is interested in what you have to say.
Activating your employees to create their own content is another fail-safe way of creating authentic, engaging content.
Nobody knows your company and its culture better than your employees. Utilizing their knowledge, expertise, and passion is often the most effective way to tell the world about your company culture.
At the very least, make sure your employees are involved in your content process, whether that’s by brainstorming ideas for content topics or sharing your content on their own social media accounts.
Ready to Tell the Story of Your Brand Culture?
If you are ready to get more traffic to your site with quality content published consistently, check out our Content Builder Service.
Set up a quick consultation, and I’ll send you a free PDF version of my books. Get started today–and generate more traffic and leads for your business.
The Marketing Insider Group provides content marketing workshops and content development services. Scale your content and start showing Content Marketing ROI today. Free Consultation
For small and medium-sized organizations, content is usually the trickiest part of putting together a website. That often results in it being the one thing web designers are left waiting for when trying to finish off a project. Even if the overall design and functionality are a go, a lack of content halts progress.
Over the years, I’ve found myself asking why this is such a challenge. But after seeing it time and again, a few things have become clear.
First, clients are generally not content creators. Most don’t sit there and write on a daily basis. Therefore, they don’t necessarily know what to say. Or, even if they have some talking points, they might struggle in articulating them.
Then there is also the obstacle of time. People who are busy running their business or non-profit may simply have trouble finding a few hours to concentrate on writing. Content strategy takes a back seat to other tasks.
This presents an opportunity for web designers to come in and save the day. With a little help, we can get the processes of creating and organizing content moving in the right direction.
Focus on the Most Important Details
If you’re redesigning or completely rebuilding an existing website, some of the hard work may be done for you. You can look to that content for clues regarding what’s important.
Even if that existing content is messy, it can still be useful. Search out the key selling points and discuss them with your client. Present them as a means to achieve their goals for the project.
Each organization will have their own unique message to share. An eCommerce shop, for example, may want to talk about their attention to detail when it comes to customer service. Meanwhile, a medical practice will want to concentrate on their expert staff and specialties. This type of information can prove vital in content creation.
The goal is to help your client to narrow their focus. Having a better understanding of the task at hand can provide them with confidence. They’ll be better positioned to produce compelling content.
Provide Visual Guidance
Another way to help clients develop a successful content strategy is through visualization. We do this by providing templates or prototypes that outline the various sections of a page.
This offers an immediate form of guidance that your client can reference when writing. They’ll have a better idea as to the desired length of content, along with how to make it easy to digest. It takes a lot of guesswork out of the process.
Of course, they may not exactly stick to the standards you’ve set. But that’s not the point. It’s more about getting them to think in terms of how that content will be seen by users. Even if they’re not initially thrilled with the mockup, you can work together on finding the right balance.
Another side benefit is that this trains clients to take a more consistent approach. In practice, this means that although the content may change from page to page, the format doesn’t. Users won’t be treated to succinct descriptions on the Services page while being expected to read a meandering, 20-paragraph opus on the About Us page.
By providing visual guidance, clients can simply fill in the blanks. It’s more efficient and less stressful.
Promote Common Sense and Ease-of-Use
When it comes to organizing content, things can get out of hand in a hurry. And they often become extreme.
Some clients may insist on cramming a massive amount of information onto a single page. Others could be just the opposite, with secondary pages that contain no more than a sentence or two. Neither of these strategies is likely to be a hit with users.
Thankfully, a little education can go a long way. When discussing content organization, focus on these fundamental questions:
How easy is it for users to navigate?
Is all the content on a particular page truly relevant?
What is the overall point of the content, and, is it obvious to the user?
Should a long page be split up into multiple sub-pages?
Are we missing any key information?
What’s best for SEO?
By asking these questions, you have the opportunity to fill your clients in on the finer points of a user-first approach. The answers should lead everyone in the right direction.
Write It Yourself
There are certain clients who may never become comfortable with writing and organizing content. Or they may just be unlikely to get around to doing the work. This is not only fine, but it’s also an opportunity for web designers.
By offering to write the content yourself, you will take some pressure off your clients – not to mention make some extra money. It could be a win-win situation.
You may find clients who are very happy to delegate this responsibility and pay you for it. In addition, it allows them to act in more of an editorial role. They can review what you’ve done and then collaborate with you to make the content the best it can be.
However, your work will likely be better received if you put in that initial research. As mentioned above, have a discussion about the most important messaging points. This will ensure a smoother process and better end result.
A Proactive Approach to Content Strategy
As with other areas of web design, being proactive with content is often key to a successful project. Keep in mind that your clients are most likely looking to you for some guidance. Therefore, your expertise and leadership may be just what they need to move forward with confidence.
And, just maybe, it means you won’t have to wait around nearly as long for that content to arrive.
share.transistor.fm – March 1
mailchimp.com – February 28
medium.com – February 28
gerald-pilcher.com – February 28
allnurses.com – February 28
bucswire.usatoday.com – February 27
zapier.com – February 27
wwd.com – February 26
dynamicbusiness.com.au – February 26
youtu.be – February 26
azbigmedia.com – February 25
blog.pocketbudgeter.com – February 24
anchor.fm – February 23
johnniecosmos.medium.com – February 23
TakingTheBiz
noclinks.net – Today[…] DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS ENHANCE YOUR BUSINESS EFFICIENCY WITH NOC SOLUTIONS […]0
stackoverflow.com – Today[…] team supporting Digital Investment Banking and aims to rapidly create products to improve business efficiency, generate new insights to drive client discussion and eventually support new revenue generation […]N/A
cyzerg.applytojob.com – February 13[…] Central, and South America, Cyzerg has developed industry expertise and capabilities to increase business efficiency and competitiveness across its customer base […]N/A
tweakyourbiz.com – February 13[…] by cutting-edge, insight-driven technology that helps you improve your team’s performance and business efficiency […]N/A
iireporter.com – February 12[…] claims automation solution, which simultaneously enhanced customer experience and improved business efficiency […]N/A
egov.eletsonline.com – February 12[…] A unified management platform offers full visibility and easy access to data, thereby enhancing business efficiency and provisioning quicker troubleshooting through a managed services model […]2
blog.route4me.com – February 12[…] Such information can help you improve your business efficiency and provide a seamless last-mile delivery experience to your customers […]1
blog.axcethr.com – February 12[…] But, under the Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA), it is clear a CPEO is solely liable for the payment of federal employment taxes o […]0
blog.hubspot.com – February 12[…] Automated, synchronized data increases overall business efficiency by improving order fulfillment and timely communication […]5
qarea.com – February 12[…] of your business, monitor the KPIs, control IT budgets, and supervise tech teams to ensure business efficiency through the use of technology […]N/A
sap.silvertouch.com – February 12[…] your existing systems, helping eliminate duplication, automating your manual work and improving business efficiency […]1
understandingecommerce.com – February 11[…] In the case of a start-up, Retail CRM Software can help get things to increase business efficiency […]2
ehsdailyadvisor.blr.com – February 11[…] Revenue Service (IRS) has certified subsidiaries of Oasis to provide PEO services under the Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA) […]
AIHR – Academy to Innovate HR
The Digital Project Manager