Cutting Red Tape

Almost two thirds of those surveyed said complying with government and regulatory requirements had a moderate to major impact on their business. The survey showed that 39 per cent of business owners spent more than five hours per week and one third spent 20 hours per week battling red tape.

I have just purchased, renovated and moved into new premises in King Street in Newcastle. I must say that I battled a bit of red tape during that process but, to be fair, many of the requirements, such as making your business safe, were for my protection and for the protection of other people.

Governments and other bodies must always be looking at reducing costly red tape, particularly for small business, because we have less capacity to absorb such costs. But, don’t get drawn into a wasteful battle against regulation. I have written before about focussing on your circle of influence. There are some things that are out of your control and it is better to just fill in the form and get on with business rather than wasting energy challenging its validity. Move on.

You can also look for opportunities to get free advice from going through regulatory processes. Government departments and Councils often have knowledgeable staff with considerable experience in working with businesses. Why not get the benefit of how they have seen other businesses approach issues. You could actually save some money or time. Be open to opportunities and turn the regulatory process from red tape into something that works for you.

I also started thinking about whether I have any red tape in my own business. Those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones! Do you ask customers, suppliers or staff to do things that they don’t necessarily need to do, such as asking for the same information twice? Is purchasing your product or service as simple as it could be? Reducing red tape for staff is equally important as for your customers because the time they are wasting could be spent making you profit.

Some of you will say you are too busy or will get too busy to look at your own red tape. Don’t make it complicated. Write down up to three key areas to review. You could do it now at your desk in a few minutes. Ask some of your staff, customers and suppliers for the three red tape issues they would like changed and make your list from there.

Knocking over a couple of the biggest red tape issues tape issues in your business will be time well spent.