For nonprofits, operating lean and at optimal efficiency doesn't just go a long way—it's pretty much required. The more time and money saved, the more time and money left over to be allocated toward doing the good work of the organization. Start saving time and money today.
MONITOR AND REFINE PROCESSES
With an operating system that gives visibility and holds you accountable, you're more prepared to streamline processes, which makes for a healthier organization, enhances member service, and ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Consider this example: do refund issues lie with the front desk, the program director, or with an executive? Who makes the call, and what's the policy? How is it approved, and is it a pure refund or an account credit? Are you passing the member around to five different people on the same issue? Is money refunded in a timely manner, and is there an SOP around the process? Some processes are centralized, and others happen differently across branches. Even if individuals know their responsibilities, providing visibility into others' goals is a good idea. Make sure everyone knows what processes, and what parts of processes, they are responsible for so that no efforts are duplicated or neglected. And to learn more about our payment processing and full-service billing offerings, check out Gains.
INVEST IN TRAINING
Investing the time upfront to train staff will save a lot of time in the long run. If you don't invest in training staff at the start, you may end up spending more time, effort, and money training them after an issue arises. Getting out in front of staff training is good because it can drive a better staff experience. They become more confident in their jobs, and data is cleaner because they learn to input it correctly from beginning. Tip: find out if your software provider has opportunities for ongoing training for every budget, and if they will help you develop personalized training plans for your organization.
LEVERAGE ONLINE ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT TOOLS
Any time a member can do something from the convenience of his own home and staff don't have to, it's a win-win. Staff can be freed up to interact with members instead of processing transactions. Using online account management, members should have the ability to: pay down balances (this cuts down on your collections), update credit card information (this cuts down on your returns) and update contact information (this cuts down on returned mail and emails).