If there's one thing every business needs, it's productivity. With it, you can ensure that each task is completed with maximum efficiency. Unfortunately, productivity isn't easy to create and maintain. It requires full functionality across the board. So, if this is something you're struggling with, here are five effective ways to increase your business's productivity.
1. Change Your Communication Methods
Communication is a fundamental aspect of business to uphold. Without it, you can't hope to maintain productivity in any sector of your company. This is why most businesses promote communication frequently. However, you may be focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of purely encouraging everyone to communicate more, you might want to change your methods of communication. After all, relying on e-mails and a single phone number isn't very viable in this day and age. If you have remote employees, you can use video call services. If you're having trouble connecting with customers, you could try a virtual assistant business app. Since there are so many options available, do some research to see what fits best with your business model.
2. Promote Employee Health
Unless your business relies solely on automated systems, your employees are a vital factor in overall productivity. Therefore, it's important to focus on the general health and wellbeing of your workers. If employees are healthy, more work can get done. Part of this has to do with lifestyle choices. While you can't enforce exercise and healthy foods on your staff, you can implement an incentive program to get everyone on the right track. It's also important to focus on health within the workplace. Make sure that everyone takes regular breaks, especially if most workers spend all day at a desk. You should also be sure that there's water available at all times. No matter what, avoid creating a culture of shame. Those that are less healthy shouldn't be ridiculed or mocked.
3. Stay Positive
As a boss, it can be tempting to rely on negative reinforcement. After all, a worker should know when something was done badly. However, you may find more success by using positive reinforcement. This all boils down to the environment of your workplace. If the office feels stuffy or even fearful, employees are less likely to want to spend energy. On the other hand, a workplace that's driven by encouragement is more likely to create engagement. Try to give your workers compliments whenever possible. If you're able to, you can create incentives for reaching certain levels of productivity. Essentially, give everyone a goal to reach instead of a failure to fear.
4. Lessen Your Meetings
Practically everyone in the business world has experienced at least one meeting during work. In fact, many people go to a meeting or two every week. These gatherings are generally for the purpose of conveying information and keeping everyone in the loop. While this is understandable reasoning, many of your meetings should probably be canceled or slimmed down. This is because it can be disruptive for workers. Meetings take up time and may interrupt the flow of your employees. If you're unsure of how to reduce your meetings, start by calling in fewer people. You may also be able to send information instead of presenting it in person.
5. Keep Track of Time
Since productivity relies on speed, you should be taking time into consideration. Specifically, you may benefit from tracking the time it takes to complete certain tasks. If a new task is put forth, try not to put too much pressure on your employees. Instead, stand back and see how long it takes to complete that activity thoroughly. However, a well-known task could have an attached time-limit. Unless an unforeseen circumstance occurs, you can ensure productivity by enforcing a deadline. It's also important to take note of how many tasks are completed on a daily or weekly basis. If two workers produce the same level of quality and one completes more tasks, the other employee may need further training. You might consider using automation software to keep track of these times, especially if you can't delegate this task elsewhere.
It takes time and effort to promote productivity in the workplace. You may not see improvements overnight, but giving this task your attention will likely be fruitful in the long run.
WRITTEN BY
Sophie H.