With spring in the air, many of us take a look around and think about giving our homes a bit of a spring clean. You can do the same for your business, too – clearing out old files, and finding new, more efficient ways of working, Let our Manchester based virtual assistants help your business with a spring clean of your filing systems.
From May 2018, there’s the added incentive of a new piece of legislation, the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. This requires businesses large and small to tighten up their management of data, ensuring it is stored, used and disposed of responsibly. The rules apply to paper-based material but more importantly to data held electronically – including customer contact information, payment information and marketing databases.
Particularly important is the issue of holding information on individuals and customers, when it is no longer valid or relevant. Holding names and phone numbers on file, even lists of email addresses, is problematic if it is seen as not being relevant to your regular day to day business.
Aside from the regulations, it’s a good discipline anyway to regularly check on your systems, to see that they are fit for purpose, and as efficient as possible. Too often we continue with a way of doing things, because it is a method we have got used to. But innovations come thick and fast, whether software or apps, and they are often developed with the specific aim to improve working efficiency.
And often, moving to more online ways of storing information will make it easier to implement flexible working. You and your associates can work more efficiently from home or on the road, and you can make better use of external resources such as virtual assistants.
The trick is to find, and start using, the ones that work well for your business. So take a look around your business. How are you storing customer data? Are you still using systems cobbled together manually from a series of spreadsheets? Are you using out-of-date PC-based software, which you have not paid to update to the latest version? Is it time to move to a cloud-based online software instead?
Here is where a virtual assistant can be very helpful. Working with a variety of businesses of different sizes, and across a range of sectors, they get to see and experience the latest practices and systems close-up, so can often advise from a position of practical knowledge about new cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) systems, email marketing systems, and secure data storage options. If you use a proprietary system, it will generally be compliant with the latest legislation, too.
Start today. Ask your virtual assistant to help you with a run-through of the software and systems you currently use, with an eye on updating your filing systems to improve efficiency. Throw out those spreadsheets, and get your business running smoothly in the cloud with the latest internet-based systems.
To find out more about how a Virtual Assistant can help you and your business, please call 0161 211 9837 or email enquiries@timewiseva.co.uk For more information, or contact us here and let your business enjoy a spring clean.