Is your business experiencing declining profitability through high operating costs or dissatisfied customers because of inconsistent service delivery? If so, the real causes may include poorly coordinated or wasteful processes, missing or low quality data, lack of process automation, or unsuitable software tools.
Signs you may need help
- “Our staff costs are rising, but our revenue is not.”
- “Customer complaints are too high.”
- “Some staff are at risk of burnout.”
- “We are losing customers but we don’t know why.”
- “Our people do too many manual steps, surely we could be more efficient.”
- “We don’t have the data we need.”
- “Several people keep their own spreadsheets with similar information.”
- “Reports are updated manually and staff are using out of date information.”
- “No one really understands how things work here.”
- “We have multiple systems but they don’t talk to each other.”
- “We tried new software, but it didn’t solve our problems.”
- “Staff are frustrated by unclear processes.”
- “We find problems but too often nothing is done to fix them.”
- “We are too dependent on a few experienced staff.”
- “It takes far too long to train new staff on our processes.”
If any of these sound familiar, you’re not alone. Elkera can help.
The businesses we help
Elkera works with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly those without in-house business analysts or system planners. Many SMEs experience several of the problems listed earlier. Frequently, clients are having difficulty deciding on a strategy to overcome those problems. Many are concerned about the risks of finding the right consultant or the value a consultant can provide.
Unfortunately, every day of delayed action is undermining the future prospects of the business and increasing the costs to the business owners.
Don’t let uncertainty stand in your way
From the outset, Elkera’s consultant will be focused on finding improvements that will improve the prospects for your business and provide a positive return on your total investment in the project.
Elkera’s way of working involves a step by step approach with continuing evolution of a business case for our work as part of your overall project. That approach removes many of the traditional barriers to hiring a consultant. Elkera’s way of working ensures that:
- you will be able to assess our understanding of your business before you make a financial investment, and
- at each step in the process, you will be able to assess the value of completed and proposed work before making a commitment to proceed further.
The key to this approach is to determine very early in the project if you can expect potential benefits that will justify your likely investment.
What we deliver
We will work with all your stakeholders to understand your business and help you to devise and implement improved ways of working that will enhance your business. You can expect at least:
- A clear picture of how relevant parts of your business work and where there are opportunities for improvement.
- Identified changes for smarter, more consistent and automated processes that reduce cost and effort.
- Clear requirements for new software that may be required to support your business.
- A change plan that will guide implementation, including for any software procurement.
- A business case for any required investment.
- Assistance through any software procurement process.
Why Elkera?
- 20+ years of experience analysing business processes and systems, and helping clients to streamline and automate business processes.
- Extensive experience at senior levels across a range of businesses, including as the founder of several software businesses.
- Extensive experience as a supplier and consultant working with government.
- Expertise in both software development and software procurement.
- Clear, independent advice with no affiliation to any vendors.
Please follow the links below to detailed service descriptions, or book an appointment for a free, introductory consultation.
