7 WAYS TO IMPROVE BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY

Every business owner and project manager knows projects get bogged down for longer than they should every once in a while, or perhaps they end meetings without making concrete decisions. It is not easy to gain traction back once you lose it. So how do you address these issues? Well, the answer is simple; you must look for ways to improve productivity.

In this comprehensive guide, we have compiled a list of seven of the most effective ways to take your business productivity to the next level:

1. Encourage Flexible Working

Establishing a rigid schedule hurts employee performance. On the contrary, a flexible schedule fosters trust among employees. It gives them the impression that the company values their contributions. But what does it mean to be flexible? The term “flexible working” refers to any work arrangement that allows workers to set working hours for themselves.

Apart from that, the freedom to work from any location also makes up for flexible working. Flexible working is increasingly becoming a popular practice among the young workforce. This is one reason why quality coworking spaces, such as The Executive Centre, are growing in popularity.

Several studies have revealed that employees with more say over their schedule are happier. And a happy workforce leads to increased productivity and profitability for the company as a whole. Moreover, workplace flexibility also improves employee-employer relationships, which means you will experience a low employee turnover rate.

2. Devise A Marketing Calendar

Marketing is the oxygen that keeps businesses alive. If you want to effectively manage your marketing while also keeping up with the day-to-day operations of your company, creating a marketing calendar is a must. A marketing calendar contains all your marketing actions for a specific time.

It determines the steps necessary to promote a product or service and identifies the people responsible for completing those steps. Besides, a marketing calendar also enables you to keep an eye on the budget. When it comes to marketing, experts believe that nothing beats consistency because it fuels brand recall. Therefore, having a marketing calendar will help you stay more organized and ensure consistency. As a rule of thumb, you should lay down a marketing calendar for at least one year in advance.

3. Train Employees

Aside from cutting down on mishaps, training can also help staff feel more appreciated. Millennialsmainly place a high emphasis on training opportunities while choosing an employer. Training is also an excellent way to show employees that you care about their development. That way, they will be likelier to stick around and work hard for you.

It is critical to ensure the availability of the company’s top executives in any training sessions. Even though leaders are not the primary audience for the training, their attendance will highlight its significance to other employees.

4. Reduce Distractions

Workplace distractions are not a new phenomenon. Outside noise, chatty coworkers, and random email notifications have distracted employees for a long time.However, a well-documented survey reveals that roughly 70% of employees feel distracted in the workplace.

The rampant usage ofsocial media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.,is causing productivity issues. Many companies are addressing this problem by creating a strict “no-phone” policy. However, it could prove to be a counterproductive measure. By prohibiting employees from using social media, you conveythat you do not trust them. This may further reduce their productivity levels.A more sensible approach would be to encourage employees to turn off their mobile phones during work but allow them to check their phones from time to time during designated breaks.

5. Invest In Technology

Imagine this; you get a lucrative project called X, and everyoneon your teamscrambles to finish it before the deadline. Employee A starts working on project X. Employee B begins work on the same project without realizing it has already been assigned to employee A. The result?Waste of valuable time, energy, and even money in some cases. In nearly every organization, poor project management is a significant productivity drain. That is where the latest project management tools can save the day for you. Project management tools help project managers stay on top of deadlines, job dependencies, and bottlenecks in the project, allowing them to take the necessary actions to keep productivity at a high level.

Likewise, you can leverage technology in other business processes. For example, if your staff still uses timesheets to mark their hours, you are not making the most of the productivity perks of digital tracking.To begin with, your organization will save thousands of dollars in lost wages and hundreds of hours in lost productivity by making it more difficult for employees to engage in time theft. Besides, you will save your HR managers a lot of time as they would otherwise have to manually verify time entries and fix inaccurate time logs.

It bears worth mentioning that you should do the due diligence before investing in tech solutions. Several business owners purchase certain software owing to its popularity. Well, this is a flawed approach. You should assess your business needs before going any further. Also, you should involve your employees in the process and get their input on what kind of tools could add to their productivity.

Investing in technology also implies looking for health and wellness tools for your employees. As technology evolves, companies can invest in back posture corrector software to help their staff cope with the adverse effects of sitting in a chair for long hours. This kind of technology is helpful as it improves employees’ productivity and boosts their morale.

6. Establish Realistic Goals

Setting clear goals and laying out the road to accomplishing them is essential for productivity. But you must be practical and consider the strengths and weaknesses of your staff during the process. If not, you risk disenchanting your employees by setting unrealistic expectations. Instead, even the most ambitious objectives can be segmented into more manageable subtasks, making the overall objective much more attainable.

7. Prioritize Solo Meetings

Some employees find it difficult to openly discuss and share their views with their coworkers or supervisor. Establishing working relationships with individuals on your team is an excellent way to promote inclusion. You can schedule in-person conversations to review workload, objectives, and challenges. It will convey to your employees that their opinions are being heard, which will result in a productivity boost.

Conclusion

Boosting productivity is essential to increasing profitability. Even if you are running a successful company, it is still a good idea to do frequent productivity audits and seeks new ways to improve performance. Suppose you can put all the above-listed pointers into practice. In that case, you can boost your team’s productivity and get better outcomes.