Harder, Faster, Stronger: Improving Your Business Productivity
When it comes to improving your bottom line, there is one thing your business should be doing – focusing on productivity. Getting more work from fewer resources is essential if you want to reduce costs and improve your profits. Given the average business in America is less productive now than they were in the past, it’s important you do all you can to encourage it. But how, exactly, can you improve productivity in your business? Let’s take a closer look at some of your options.
Invest in tech
Technology exists to make our lives more comfortable, and it makes sense to automate and invest in the systems and services that will free up your employee’s time. Whether it’s basic manual processes or automatic monthly invoicing, there is a product out there for pretty much anything you can imagine. However, be careful. As http://www.refreshtech.com/ point out, the more tech you have, the more systems you need to manage. In cases like these, it might be worth freeing up company time by seeking IT assistance from a third party who can handle your systems for you.
Empower your workers
Happy employees work harder and more productively than a workforce that is worried, unhappy, and bored. It’s that simple. If you can invest in your workers – with training opportunities, flexible working, and promotional prospects, for example – you will get a lot more out of them for many years to come. It’s also important to empower them, so your staff feels like they have the flexibility and power to deal with specific issues themselves. Ultimately, the better trained and confident your employees, the more time senior staff will have to plan ahead and focus on the crucial tasks.
Encourage breaks
There’s an interesting statistic about the top 10 percent of productive employees in the country. According to the recent research, these people work an average of 52 minutes before taking a 17-minute break. That works out to be the equivalent of 30 percent of the working day – which is an astonishing figure if we’re honest. However, before you start screaming ‘slacker!’ – here are the facts. People who work super hard and fast for short periods and then take a break are actually being more efficient than those who plod along without stopping. And, more importantly, they get more done. So, encourage breaks, give your employees a chance to refresh and refuel their brains, and you will reap the rewards.
Improve communications
One area where most businesses fail miserably when it comes to productivity is communication. Whether it’s overlong meetings, misunderstood emails, or just wrong instructions, poor communication results in roadblocks in almost every part of your business. Be clear, concise, and keep things relevant at all times – and train your workers to do the same. You’ll find that people ask fewer questions, get more time to work and understand their aims a lot better than they did before.
Does your business suffer from productivity problems? Try some of the ideas listed above, and let us know how you get on!
