Every business nowadays highly depends on the overall productivity across the company. As the technology advanced, so did customers’ needs and expectations. In order to stay competitive and deliver on customers’ expectations, businesses must find ways to improve their internal productivity and work efficiency. As a matter of fact, business productivity in the U.S. has increased by 1.5% in 2017, while labor costs decreased by 0.2% and hourly compensation increased by 1.8%.
However, improving productivity isn’t an easy task to begin with, because market demands can become quite overwhelming, especially for startups and small businesses. Nevertheless, businesses constantly try to boost their employee’s productivity and ultimately improve their bottom line before their competition does. Here are a few tips on how to improve productivity in your small business.
Encourage your employees
Employees are an essential aspect of every business today. Your overall productivity pretty much depends on the productivity of your employees. That’s why it’s important to encourage your workers and help them become more engaged. Engaged employees are more productive, efficient and are more loyal to the company. The best way to drive engagements in employees is to appreciate the hard work they do and reward them accordingly.
For instance, salary increase is always a good motivator, but it’s not always money that drives engagement. Give your workers a chance to advance in your company and makes sure that they have a working environment and work conditions that suit them best. Once you start taking care of your employees and start giving them what they need, they’ll become more engaged and their productivity will vastly improve as well.
Supply your business with the right tools
Technology has always been a cornerstone for improving business workflows. In today’s digital age, advancements have made it nearly impossible for businesses to function effectively without leveraging technological solutions. As a small business owner, embracing these innovations is crucial to boosting productivity and staying competitive. Cloud-based collaboration tools, for instance, can enhance communication within your organization and increase employee efficiency. Similarly, Atlassian’s suite of productivity tools, which includes Jira, Confluence, and Trello are designed for project management, team collaboration, and task tracking, making them ideal for streamlining operations, fostering teamwork, and driving better results across your business. However, while these tools offer tremendous value, challenges can arise that require professional expertise. Companies like Elegance Group specialize in providing tailored solutions and support to help businesses overcome these hurdles and maximize the benefits of their technology investments.
For instance, if you’re running an eCommerce business you’ll have to sort inventory and prepare it for logistics. In that case, using a reliable Dymo LabelWriter 450 can greatly improve your productivity, because your warehouse workers can quickly and correctly label products and boxes to get them ready for shipment. That way, your employees won’t waste time on checking everything separately to make sure there aren’t any mistakes. After all, productivity is all about getting things done quickly and efficiently without using too many resources.
Always plan ahead
Maintaining good business productivity means ensuring that every business task is successfully completed on time. However, small business owners are often overwhelmed with mundane tasks, which they simply don’t have the time to take care of. That’s why planning ahead is of vital importance, not just for your productivity but for your business success as well. Good organization is the key to productivity, and this is another area where technology can be of great service to your business. There are various apps that can help you schedule your tasks in advance, ensuring you’ll always be notified about what needs to be done and when. Additionally, software tools can help you create future business plans so you and your employees can know exactly how much time and resources it will take to successfully reach business milestones.
Furthermore, there are training methodologies which can help in improving the practices of a business. One example is the Leading SAFe training which can equip small business owners and their teams with the skills to implement agile methodologies effectively. By understanding and applying these principles, businesses can enhance their planning processes well in advance and streamline operations, ultimately boosting productivity. Ultimately, this training helps in managing tasks and projects more efficiently, ensuring everyone is aligned with the business’s strategic goals.
Similarly, adopting project management tools can provide a visual overview of projects, making it easier to track progress and allocate resources efficiently. Also, implementing cloud-based storage solutions like Google Drive or Dropbox ensures that important documents are accessible to all team members, facilitating collaboration and ensuring that everyone has the information they need to complete their tasks efficiently.
Take a break
You can’t expect to be more productive or to improve productivity in your organization if you burn out. Every business owner is more than willing to sacrifice their personal time and rest to get more things completed during the day. But that’s just going to become counterproductive sooner or later.
It’s important to take a step back every once in a while and give yourself a chance to get well rested. You can do this by simply taking a break and having an evening or weekend away, or by outsourcing some of your business tasks to third-party companies. Whether you choose to outsource your taxes to a chartered accountant, your fulfilment processes to a company like Mango Logistics Group, or your cleaning to a janitor, outsourcing will decrease the number of things on your plate, and allow you to focus on the tasks that really make your business thrive. After all, if you wear yourself out, you’ll be more likely to make a crucial mistake that may cost you greatly in the long run. If you allow yourself some time to recharge, you’ll be able to function better and effectively handle any obstacle that stands in your way.
Business success depends on productivity. With careful planning and good organizational skills, as well as with a bit of help from technology, you’ll be able to improve the overall productivity in your small business.
