As businesses expand, and small to medium sized companies turn into large conglomerates, the reality of the situation is that you need to be operating on a 24/7 basis. For those businesses that aren’t scaling those dizzy heights just yet, the prospect of being 24/7 can sound pretty hellish.

So, what are the big problems in running a 24/7 business, and what can you do to overcome specific challenges and make your business thrive in this environment?

Utilizing Back Office Functions

The biggest challenge in running a business 24/7 is about making it appear 24/7. And while it’s tantamount to slavery to ask your staff to work 24 hours a day, instead, making the most of certain back office functions and automating these, gives clients and customers an impression of your business operating at all hours.

There are many CRM systems that businesses use now to take advantage of this, and it is especially beneficial between the business and customer relationship. Because the customer feels that they should be able to contact you at any time of day, a well prepared response (even if it is automated), and process will help to alleviate customer complaints, and further improve that relationship.

Outsourcing Can Be Very Beneficial

Especially if you are trying to make your service work across multiple time zones. By outsourcing specific tasks to remote workers, or even remote service providers, this, again, gives your company total 24/7 coverage.

Looking at an IT service provider like Level 5 Management who promises round-the-clock monitoring, it is a promise that is peace of mind for many businesses that use this service. So, regardless of the business you run, outsourcing certain aspects can help your business to function around the clock, but also can help you cut back on costs that are better used elsewhere.

Hiring Shift Workers

This may become an inevitability at some point, when you start to move from outsourcing certain procedures, and making them all in-house. Shift workers, or people who work nights can bear the brunt in many ways. It’s a very demanding part of the job, even though the tasks could be relatively simple.

As a result, you may need to pay them that little bit more, such as shift allowance, or pay them for unsociable hours. In addition to this, you need to think about making their work-life balance beneficial. If you’ve ever done any night shifts, you know how difficult it can be!

In running a business 24/7, the most important thing to get right is your attitude towards it. Getting into the 24/7 mindset can be a big challenge, especially when you are making the leap from the standard 9 to 5 working hours.

Making your business one that survives around the clock is very difficult, which is why “out of office” emails were invented! But if you really feel that your business will benefit from that around the clock supervision, take a leaf out of the insurance companies and general contact centers’ books, where there are people 24 hours a day, there is a lot of pressure, but can you handle it?