If you ask any entrepreneur what they could improve on, nine times out of 10, they’ll probably say productivity because the truth is, everyone wants to have a super productive business and workforce and who wouldn’t? Time is money!
But unfortunately, there is not a one size fits all when it comes to improving productivity. It’s something that’s going to require a bit of strategic planning, optimisation of processes, and loads of engagement from your employees, because it’s something that everyone needs to be on board with to have a positive effect.
So if you’re sitting there thinking, yes, I would quite like to improve our productivity, especially if you’re a small business where you simply can’t afford to waste any time, then there are a few things that you can start and do and implement quite quickly.
My first piece of advice is to set yourself clear goals that you could easily measure.
If you set really clear KPIs, key performance indicators, then you and anyone else that you have working for you can really understand both their role and the impact and the contribution that has on the company’s performance. Now, once they know what they’re working towards, your employees can have a much better focus and can work smarter and not harder.
And any goals you make should be SMART which is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
Tip number two is to make sure you encourage regular communication amongst the team.
So, it’s scheduling team meetings where people can give feedback and share their thoughts, sending regular update emails to keep everyone informed and creating a collaborative culture where your team can feel like they can talk freely and can share their own opinions and be taken seriously.
When this is the case people feel comfortable and content in their workplace and that alone will make them more efficient and effective.
As a leader it’s our responsibility to set a good example. I’ve personally always operated an open door policy with my team so they can pop their head in and ask me a question or flag something with me at any time. It’s never good to make them feel like their feelings or concerns have to wait as these things can really escalate and not have a great impact on the business to be honest and that is not the sort of environment anybody wants to be in.
Now, I’m going to slightly contradict my last point when I say this but you do need to keep everyone up to date on what’s going on in the business and have meetings for them to come up with ideas and evaluate whether time will be best spent in a meeting or whether it’s a bit unnecessary.
You’ve got to think about freeing up valuable time for your team to be able to get on with their work as well and all of the pressing tasks. So if you do hold a meeting make sure it’s got a clear agenda so that you can achieve what you need to as well as a time frame that you can always stick to.
Next, I want you to look at your processes and any programs that you’re using.
If you’ve got employees ask for their feedback on what’s working well with the systems that you use and what isn’t working so well because the reality is poor processes or platforms could really be costing you when it comes to being more efficient. You’ve all heard the saying if it ain’t broke don’t fix it but we can get so caught up in the day to day that we don’t always take a step back and ask ourselves if the things that worked out well for us five years ago are still serving the same purpose for the business today.
So take some time, ask yourself those questions and if you find that actually they’re not working for you, it’s definitely time to make some changes.
Now finally, to improve productivity we want to look at how you promote a healthy work-life balance for your staff.
When we encourage our colleagues to take regular breaks or holidays and have a positive work-life balance, that’s to prevent burnout and help maintain high levels of focus and productivity amongst your workforce.
It’s not always easy as an entrepreneur but I can speak from experience when I say if you look after yourself properly, you’re well rested, you’re relaxed, then you are able to be the best version of yourself. You’re able to be present in whatever it is that you’re doing and the work that you will produce is so much better.
I want you to think about taking this advice for yourself as well as for your team. Burnout is not good for anyone and if your staff aren’t operating at full capacity then their workload and productivity levels are inevitably going to suffer as a result.
So, there are our top tips for improving productivity in the workplace. Set some clear KPIs and measurable achievable goals. Keep regular communication with your team, whether that’s through meetings or emails or leaving your door open for other questions. But having said that, try not to overdo the meetings. We’ve all been there when we thought we’re having a meeting for the sake of a meeting. And I want you to encourage productivity for your team. If you’re being honest, you have to always look for a good work-life balance.
I hope those tips were really helpful and if you’re struggling with productivity in your business, you might just be able to look at these for a good place to start.