All small businesses must make sure that business can run smoothly. There are a number of issues to consider in ensuring seamless business operations, but some of the more major ones are listed below.
- There should be a system by which post, voice, and electronic mail is both received and answered.
- The way that information is shared should be clear and consistent.
- The nonprofit’s organizational system should ensuring that there are designated channels for requesting funds. This should be dealt with in the organization’s bylaws.
- The appearance of the organization should be neat, clean, and professional. For ecologically-focused organizations, landscaping or being housed in a “green” building may be part of an educational mission.
- Volunteers and employees should be informed ahead of time what hours they are expected to work, have posted work schedules, and a system by which to request days off.
- Office materials like pens, paper, and computers should be available and maintained.
- There should be a system by which janitorial work is completed.
Some of the most basic aspects of everyday operations become the most contentious through time. Having a clear way of dealing with issues that arise is the best way for a nonprofit organization to remain successful, and its members to remain on amicable terms.
