Do you ever feel like things are spinning out of control and that no matter how hard you try, someone needs something that takes you away from the task at hand? This might very well be a sign that you are in need of a business manager. However, that’s only one indicator. That’s only one thing a business manager can help you with,but the problem is, do you need help in other areas as well? If not, perhaps a personal assistant could take a heavy load off you. To make a proper determination, let’s look at some of the qualifications of a business manager so that you know if and when it’s time to hire that professional you never dreamed that you would need.

A Watchful Eye on Your Bottom Line

While this is something you want to do yourself, it’s not something you typically have time for as often as necessary. Once you see a downward trend in profitability, a complete assessment needs to be made to find exactly what is happening before that starts spinning out of control as well. It could be something as straightforward as a need in price adjustment or it could be something a bit more complicated such as a marketing oversight. In any event, a business manager could keep an eye on this for you so that you would have all the pertinent data on hand when making a decision going forward.

Someone with Specialised Expertise

One of the things you will look for in a business manger is someone with specialised expertise in an area you are struggling with. It could be any of the qualifications listed here, but something that is taking too much of your time away from other, equally important tasks. A candidate should probably have a master’s in business management from a programme with specialisation like that at Aston University. Although there is a core curriculum, students can focus on a specialisation for their thesis if they choose.

Liaison Between Management and Employees

Another skill that someone with a master’s in business managementwill almost certainly have is the ability to form a bridge between management and employees. They would be the liaison between you, as the owner/director, and the employee or employees needing to communicate. If it’s something they can handle, they will on your behalf. However, if it is a serious issue, you would set up a meeting with all concerned parties present.

Support for Department Heads

In the same way as you often feel overwhelmed with all the tasks you have to complete and not enough hours in the day, so too do your department heads often feel the very same pressure. A business manager could be their support if needed. Perhaps he could help delegate tasks and responsibilities while suggesting the creation of teams with a team leader. This is something you would rarely need to see to unless the issues confronting your department heads is of a serious nature. Even in terms of defective parts and materials being shipped from suppliers, this is something which could be handled by a qualified business manager.While you will probably have the final say in switching suppliers, if necessary, your business manager could do the research to provide you with a list of possibilities.

Taking Charge of Marketing

Marketing, or the lack of, is something that can make or break a business. Without a marketing campaign there is little you can do in today’s world to build brand and sell products. Even local land-based businesses need to bring in foot traffic. This means that people need to know who you are, what you do and where to find you. These are all areas in which marketing plays a key role and who better than your business manager to deal with a marketing team to get your message out? Your business manager can also be instrumental in setting a marketing budget because invariably they will also be privy to your budget. A business manager will work with accounting to ensure the funds are there for the marketing your company needs to assure growth.

In Tune with Best Practices

Every industry has a proprietary set of principles in place defining exactly what ‘best practices’ is and how to stay well within those guidelines. Each business may also define additional things they want to institute, especially in customer-facing industries, but that would be something a business manager could help to define. However, the principles within a business have been eloquently defined by Patrick Lencioni, the world-renowned pioneer of what is called the “organisational health movement.” He has published 11 books as of this writing. They have been translated into 30 different languages and to date have sold over six million copies. He defines business best practices as a way to totally transform a struggling operation into a business that is streamlined and profitable. His eight characteristics of best business practices include:

• Engage your workers
• Reward their efforts
• Allow yourself to be vulnerable
• Remain committed
• Continue a search for clarity
• Create an environment of cultural cohesiveness
• Keep team effort focused
• Holding regular meetings are a must

The wonderful things about all of the above is that they can fit the culture of literally any business within any industry. They can transform a struggling business with a concerted team effort.

This Is Why You May Need a Business Manager!

Considering all of the above, you can clearly see that a business manager can be that link between failure and success. They can take a huge amount of your workload so that you can concentrate on growth. Those regular meetings alone can take a lot of time from your already busy schedule but the importance of them cannot be denied. If you want to grow even beyond the limits you have set for yourself, this may be the best path to success. Drawing on one of Lencioni’s principles within best practices, allow yourself to be vulnerable. Admit when you need help, and this is one area you probably do.