A company’s office space, machinery, and computers aren’t just spaces and tools to get the job done, they are valuable assets that should be managed and protected to ensure the continued growth and success of said organisation.
Effective business asset management is essential if you want to minimise risks to your organisation, boost efficiency, and protect the people who work for you.
In this article we will be sharing how you can manage your business assets in order to maximise the value held within your organisation.
Let’s get started.
What is Business Asset Management?
Asset management is the cornerstone of business success. It involves managing and extracting the maximum value from your company assets to support your company’s growth and success for the long term.
According to ToolSense, “By implementing a robust asset management process, businesses can optimise their resources and achieve their goals more efficiently.”
Here are 10 best asset management practices for businesses in 2024.
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Create an Inventory
It’s all well and good having business assets, but do you know what they are, how many you have, and how much they’re worth? Creating an asset inventory will help you keep track of your company assets, as well as their condition and usage, so that you can manage them properly. Keeping an inventory of your company’s assets will protect your organisation against theft, ensure proper asset usage, streamline your operations, and keep data accurate and up to date.
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Introduce Preventative Maintenance
When it comes to managing your assets, prevention is always better than cure. So, take the time to maintain your assets by taking care of the things you own and that keep your company running. Taking care of your assets will reduce the need for emergency repairs and extend the life of your assets so they continue to serve your company for the long term.
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Protect Your Data Assets
As a company, you hold a lot of data, from client to employee data. As a result, company computers must be protected from threats such as cyber attacks and identity theft. And you must ensure that the correct data destruction is carried out when recycling IT equipment on company electronics that are no longer needed. This will protect your data assets and prevent company data from ending up in the wrong hands.
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Ensure Correct Risk Management of Assets
If the COVID pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we weren’t all as prepared for disaster as we thought. Carrying out thorough risk management of your company assets is a proactive approach that will protect your business from vulnerabilities such as cyber attacks, pandemics, and theft. As with most things in life and business, preparation is key.
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Manage Asset Valuation and Depreciation
Your company’s assets will change in value over time. A part of successful asset management involves understanding and correctly managing your assets. This means you need to know the present worth of your assets and how they could change in value over time. Carrying out financial assessments will help you understand the true value of your assets so that you can make informed financial decisions when buying/selling company assets.
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Train Employees Properly
How well your asset management system works depends on how well your assets are used by your employees. Effective employee training is vital to enhance your operations, protect your assets, and support your business growth for the long term. Employee training and upskilling also boosts employee retention rates, so you won’t just have skilled employees, you’ll have a close-knit team that is great at what they do and has been doing it for years.
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Prioritise Refinement Strategies
Asset management isn’t always a straightforward process. Sometimes you have to refine your existing processes or even change them completely to keep up with changing technologies and evolutions within your organisation. Regularly refining your asset management strategies ensures you stay at the top of your game and make changes that benefit your organisation for the long term.
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Invest in Supportive Software
Depending on the size of your organisation, investing in supportive software can be a great solution. Software with automation options can be a huge time-saver, allowing you to easily manage and maintain all your company assets without taking up employee time.
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Maintain Strong Inter-departmental Communication
Improving communication, in all its forms, across your organisation is essential to ensure effective asset management. Depending on the size of your organisation, you will have multiple teams across multiple departments and perhaps even countries. Maintaining effective communication is important to keep track of company assets, usage, maintenance requirements, and possible risks. Working hard to improve company-wide communication and foster a collaborative company culture will make managing your assets easier.
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Standardise Asset Management
If you run a large organisation, standardisation is vital for effective asset management. Standardisation lets you manage a large number of assets across your organisations, from operating procedures and health and safety policies to onboarding procedures and training checklists. Establishing a standardised asset management process supports your company as it grows and keeps your assets protected.
Final Words
As you can see, these are some of the best ways to manage your company assets in 2024. We hope this article helps you take control of your company assets and take proactive steps that benefit your organisation for the long term.