Growth inpurpose: Automate, Simplify and Empower
As your business grows, things can get messy fast. But scaling doesn’t have to mean drowning in detail. So, take five and let’s focus on growth that’s smart and manageable.
Here are three simple but powerful strategies I use with clients looking to drive impact in their business: automating repetitive tasks, keeping communication clear, and putting playbooks directly in your team’s hands.
1. Automate Busywork
If your team is bogged down with repetitive tasks, take action. Simple automations, executed well, can handle the routine stuff so everyone can focus on what really matters.
This is an issue that comes up time and time again with clients: team members spending hours on endless follow-up emails or other examples where important follow-ups simply fall off the to-do-list. To fix the issues, we set up automated sequences in their CRM to handle these reminders. Now, team members are free to step in when it’s time for an actual conversation, bringing higher value to clients and, of course, higher conversion.
My top tips for automating busy work:
- Create simple workflows using tools like HubSpot, Convertkit, and ActiveCampaign – they are great for automating follow-ups and reminders, and they’re really intuitive to use.
- Tools like Fireflies.ai or Otter.ai can join meetings, transcribe conversations, and summarise key points. This saves team members time on notetaking and makes sure nothing gets missed during important discussions.
- Use Zapier or a similar tool, which links platforms and keeps information flowing without manual updates. Think about customer data auto-syncing from your CRM to your project management tool.
Remember, automation isn’t about overcomplicating things; it’s about making space for the work that drives results.
2. Simplify Communication
Nothing stalls a project faster than scattered communication. When updates are split between emails, chats, and random notes (or even bits of paper), things get lost, and people get frustrated. Centralising your team’s communication means fewer crossed wires, fewer “Where’s that document?” questions, and more focus on what matters.
I recently helped a team bring all project updates and chat threads into Slack and Monday.com. Now, everyone knows exactly where to go for project details, cutting out confusion.
My top tips for simplifying communication:
- Choose one hub and stick with it; Monday.com and Asana are excellent options, or even Notion, if you want a more bespoke build. When everyone sees tasks and timelines in one place, it stops the need for endless meetings.
- Whether you use the chat functionality on your project software or integrate something like Slack, make sure everyone knows the communication norms and sticks to the agreed tool.
- Keep it simple and define what each tool is for—project hubs for updates, chat for questions, and email for announcements. Clear rules make all the difference.
Remember, centralising communication keeps everyone aligned and stops info from falling through the cracks.
3. Put Playbooks in Your Team’s Hands
If there’s one thing to take away, let it be getting your playbooks in order. When team members own and update their playbooks, documentation becomes a practical tool, not just “something we have somewhere.” It keeps things consistent, reduces confusion, and makes onboarding much smoother for new hires.
On one project, I found entire shelves filled with ring binders – daily backup reports still being printed every day, but when I probed, they were no longer relevant to the updated business systems. Each binder represented hours of work that had once been essential but had long since lost relevance. That’s what happens when team members don’t own or update their process playbooks.
By giving team members ownership of their playbooks, you can ensure documentation is useful and up to date, not just “something to file away.”
My top tips for getting your playbooks in order:
- Assign playbook ownership to team members who know these processes best. They’ll keep everything relevant.
- Make refreshing playbooks a quarterly habit (or after big projects). That way, they stay accurate without adding extra work.
- Playbooks should be easy to access. When your team can find them easily, they’re more likely to use and keep them up to date.
Remember, when your team owns the playbooks, they stay practical, rooted in reality and trusted.
Why not get started by downloading our free practical tools resource list here – And if you’re interested in getting support to automate, simplify, and empower your business, get in touch with us today at hello@inpurpose.co.uk
Article Contributor: Jill McAlpine, Founder at inpurpose
