Boosting productivity enables businesses to maximise profits, improve performance levels and reduce waste. Whether you’ve recently launched a start-up, you’re growing your company or your brand is established, it’s beneficial to aim for continuous improvement in terms of productivity and efficiency. In this guide, we’ll highlight some actionable steps you can take to make your business more productive.
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Technology, equipment and machinery
As technology advances, business owners have access to an ever-expanding range of tools, software programmes, equipment and machines. Advanced technology is not only beneficial for saving time and money but it can also have a dramatic effect on output and performance levels.
Consider the impact of automation tools for sales teams, high-performance commercial dishwashers for restaurants and catering companies and cutting-edge manufacturing equipment for automotive brands and food and drink manufacturers, for example. Updating technology uncovers new opportunities and it can also help companies to gain a competitive advantage. If you can offer a wider range of products or superior quality products combined with slick, professional service, this will set your business apart.
Track performance
Tracking performance levels is advantageous because it provides business owners and team leaders with an insight into how the business is functioning. Collecting and analysing data eliminates guesswork and offers simple, accessible ways to identify potential pain points and weaknesses and build on strengths.
Using performance monitoring, you can highlight inefficiencies or time-consuming processes and steps, enabling you to address issues and make improvements. It’s also beneficial to use performance tracking to set goals and establish objectives. Tailor methods and metrics to suit your company and your targets. You may wish to focus on technology or machinery, or concentrate on workforce productivity, for example.
Motivate your team
As human beings, we achieve more when we are motivated. Productivity is intrinsically linked to morale, mental and physical health, motivation levels and feeling confident about the job you’re doing. As a business owner, it’s hugely beneficial to be proactive in motivating your team and trying to get the best out of every individual. Reward effort and hard work, set realistic targets, make your employees feel valued and offer opportunities to progress and get ahead. Take the time to get to know your employees and understand what makes them tick. Encourage teams to give you feedback.
You can arrange face-to-face meetings or calls or use anonymous surveys and suggestion boxes to gather ideas and opinions. Find out if there is anything you could do or change to boost productivity and enable your employees to achieve more. Flexibility is an increasingly important factor for modern-day workers. You may find that your employees feel like they could give more to the job if they had flexible hours or the option to work from home, for example.
Communicate
Clear communication can have an incredibly positive impact on productivity, especially in cases where employees tend to work on projects or jobs together. As the boss, it’s important to set the right tone and lead the way. Be clear in the way you communicate with your employees and make time to talk to individuals and groups and listen to them. Encourage ongoing communication between individuals, teams and departments.
Try to build a culture that celebrates and facilitates openness. Use technology to make it easy to communicate with office-based and remote workers and provide time and space for collaborative work. Poor communication can cause confusion. Clarity ensures that people know what they’re doing, which targets they’re working towards and who they’re working with. If you know what you need to do at the start of every day, you can knuckle down as soon as you get to work.
Prioritise simplicity
Running a business is never simple, but prioritising simplicity can maximise the chances of success. From having a clear focus and a targeted list of objectives to using streamlined processes, it’s often beneficial to eliminate complexities and try to make it as straightforward as possible to get from identifying and planning goals and targets to achieving them.
In some cases, it’s useful to get the opinions of outsiders if you’re finding it challenging to accomplish key objectives. Seeking advice from a business consultant, IT experts or marketing teams, for example, may help you to implement better, simpler, more effective ways of working.
Boosting productivity is a goal for most business owners, but it’s not always easy to achieve. If you’re looking to increase efficiency and productivity to enhance the performance of your company, follow these steps. Take advantage of advanced technology, equipment and tools and track performance continuously. Motivate your team, encourage open, ongoing communication and prioritise simplicity.