When it comes to business, your focus needs to be on growth, profit, and ways to increase efficiency across the board. Boosting efficiency, however, is sometimes easier said than done. In between keeping vendors happy and finding ways to increase your ROI, it’s easy to lose sight of ways to be efficient. Even if you’re buried in your to-do list, there are still things you can do to make your business work like a well-oiled machine. You just need to know what to focus on.
Utilize the Right Software
Behind every successful business are employees who know how to get the job done. Finding, hiring, and training new hires is both time-consuming and expensive. You need to have the right tools in place to facilitate daily processes. Some of the most common ones you should automate are payroll, supply chain management, customer management, and even tracking your fleet. If you’re not sure how to do the latter, all you need to do is install a fleet tracker. GPS tracking allows you to see first-hand where your drivers are in real time, which can decrease late deliveries while increasing your company’s efficiency.
Communication Tools
With so many people working from home, and the cost of living crisis creating so many stressors in life outside work, proper communication is non-negotiable. Aside from texting on the phone, you now have a variety of options to improve and enhance how you and your employees communicate. While come companies still use Facebook messenger and Yahoo, others have already streamlined the communication process and use more modern applications like Slack. Slack gives you and your team a way to communicate in a blink of an eye without having to sign into a social media platform. You can also share files with your team or one on one with individual person.
Think Like a Customer
One of the best ways to reach career goals and improve how your business operates is to think like the customer. Put yourself in their shoes and think about all the things you’ve noticed when you interact with a business. Think about positive and negative experiences and try to identify things that stand out. When a business is efficient and operates well, is it because employees are in sync and work well together, or is it because they have a strong leader who gives them proper direction? The same holds true in negative situations. What was going on that made things not flow properly? Did it appear like no one was on the same page, or was it evident that the boss really didn’t care about what their employees did?
Keep Meetings Short
No one wants to sit in long-winded meetings. Most people want to keep meetings to 30 minutes or less. In fact, unless there is a major change happening, longer meetings can actually hinder productivity and efficiency. After sitting for long periods of time, it’s not uncommon to feel tired, bored and unmotivated. Shorter meetings that are short and to the point can inspire people do what’s expected.
Minimize Distractions
Whether you have a team of one or 100, you need to minimize distractions. Depending on the situation, you may need to put cell phones away, limit internet use while at work, and keep background noise to a minimum. People work better when they’re able to focus, not try to dodge ringing phones, incoming Facebook messages, or loud music playing overhead.
Reconsider Multi-Tasking
It might seem like a good idea to get as much done as possible, however, there are times this can backfire. Not everyone can juggle more than one thing at a time, which often leads to poor quality, missed deadlines, and even a loss of customers. Instead of putting too much pressure on yourself or an employee, consider single-tasking. Delegate work in a way that anyone who’s responsible for it can perform their duties to the best of their abilities. If it’s you, try focusing on one task until completion. Take note of how quickly you can complete the task and whether it was less stressful. Often, many realize an uptick in overall efficiency when they focus on one task at a time.
Automate Processes
There are so many processes you can automate. From order filling to completing payroll, you’d be surprised how much time routine tasks actually take to complete. In fact, it’s not uncommon to lose hours every week completing tasks that could easily be automated. Even your marketing efforts can be automated, which can help you build a following without having to check your phone every hour on the hour. The key is finding out which automation processes work best for you.
