How to make your business more efficient in six simple steps
The business world is not a place for the weak of heart. It’s a very challenging and competitive environment and if you want to make your business thrive, you must able to handle a lot of pressure and have a problem-solving mindset. It’s true that it’s not easy to keep a business afloat these days, but those who are willing to take chances and go the extra mile will always find a way.
If you’re a successful entrepreneur and your business is doing just fine, it doesn’t mean it can’t do better. Besides, doing just fine simply doesn’t cut it in today’s business landscape. There’s a tough competition out there and you can go from having a smooth-running business to switching to survival mode in no time, if you expect things to take care of themselves and you’re not actively involved in developing your company.
There’s always room for improvement and even the best companies can find ways to boost their activity. If you want to learn what you can do to make your business operations more efficient, we have a few steps that will definitely help you achieve your goal.
Bring automation to the table
In a world that is becoming more technologised by the minute, it makes no sense to remain stuck in the old ways of running a business. You should take advantage of technological advancements as much as you can and implement automated processes in every area of your business. There are a million tasks that need to be done daily, and so many of them could be accomplished in a much more efficient manner through automation.
For example, using timesheets helps businesses keep track of employees’ activity in an effective manner and can make a big difference in your company. Automation can save your staff a lot of precious time end effort and it allows them to focus on more complex matters that require human intervention. Although the initial investment is not to be ignored, it will definitely pay off in the long run, as it will help you save time and money.
Replace multi-tasking with single-tasking
We’ve all heard that multi-tasking is a great way to increase productivity and achieve more in a short period of time, but it seems like multi-tasking can be a double-edged sword. Apparently, you can juggle with more things at the same time, but you shouldn’t expect to get anything but mediocre results. Even if you manage to complete more projects, it doesn’t mean that you’ll be more efficient.
Single-tasking is the better option, as it will keep you focused on finishing a project before moving on to the next one, so you won’t find yourself in the situation of jumping from one project to another and not finishing any. You’ll find that you’re actually more productive this way and you’ll be able to reach your targets in due time.
Encourage face to face communication
The smooth running of your business depends greatly on the competence of your employees and their abilities to pass information from one another in a quick and effective manner. That’s why improving communication in your company should be at the forefront of your concerns. Even though technology can keep everyone connected and up to date with everything that’s going on, emails, messages or phone calls are not always the best ways to communicate, because they come with limitations.
Whenever possible and especially in those situations that require close collaboration, your employees should talk face to face. It’s easier to get the message through when they discuss things in person and they won’t lose time waiting for the other one to reply. Face to face communication also guarantees that no important information is not lost along the way, in countless messages and emails.
Cut down on travel time
Time is money didn’t become such a famous adage for no reason, because time, or better said the way you use it, has a direct impact on your finances. The more time you waste on dealing with things that could be avoided, the less productive you’ll be. Learning how to manage your time more efficiently can be a game changer for your business.
One smart way to do this is by cutting down on travel time. Daily commute and going back and forth to client meetings can eat up a lot of time that could be better spent on dealing with important projects. To make sure that you and your employees don’t waste your working days in traffic, you can make the most out of technology and replace travelling to meetings with video conferences, when your physical presence is not absolutely necessary. You should also consider adopting a remote work model, at least for those employees performing tasks that don’t require them to be in an office setting all the time.
Keep track of your progress
If you want to know what and how to improve, you must be on top of your daily operations and keep everyone in the loops as well. A task management software can help you with that by allowing you and your staff collaborate better, keep track of the progress when running a project and have a clear overview of the whole process.
Old-school daily meetings are not to be forgotten. You shouldn’t skip on them thinking you can rely on email communication to stay up to date with the activities in your company. A quick 10-minute meeting every day is a great opportunity to share information, raise problems, monitor performance and come up with solutions for the matters at hand.
Avoid interruptions
Those meetings we mentioned above shouldn’t just happen spontaneously. You must have a plan for everything and stick to it if you want your employees to work efficiently and reach their true potential. Frequent distractions can seriously hamper the work flow, making it harder for everyone to complete their tasks in time.
You can avoid daily interruption by having a clear schedule for meetings and keeping them short, especially if you plan to have more in one day. Receiving constant emails and notifications can also affect employees’ focus, so you can use tools and apps to keep them to a minimum and make sure they don’t break down the work stream.
