A total of 2 hours and 53 minutes per day. This is the productive time available to the average employee during the day.
Contents1. Create standard operating procedures2. Automate everything you can3. Use tools4. Learn when to outsource5. Improve communication channels6. Know which processes to cut7. Get a Phone Carrier Don't underestimate the importance of an efficient businessAlthough this number may seem shocking and give the impression that people are lazy, things are not that simple. Most people can only concentrate on productive work for so long during the day. This is why business efficiency is something that every business should take seriously.
Unfortunately, running an efficient business isn't always easy. You have a lot to manage, so you need systems that make it easy. Keep reading to learn seven business efficiency tips that will help you build an effective business.
One of the biggest reasons companies are inefficient is because they don't have a documented process. Managers give employees a task and expect them to handle things on their own.
The problem is that your team will find different ways to accomplish the same thing. Chances are you don't have a single team member coming up with the best way to handle things.
By providing a documented process for your team to follow, everyone will be on the same page. Once you have documented your procedure, your team can then provide feedback on areas they believe need work. This process will help you find the optimal way to handle tasks.
You no longer need to manually perform all the tasks of your business. For example, many administrative tasks only require you to take data from one place and enter it in another. You can automate repeatable processes like this.
You will spend money upfront to hire a developer to automate the process. However, you should put an hourly rate on your time and consider how much time you spend managing these tasks.
While it doesn't take long for the time you save to automate this task to pay off, automating it should be a no-brainer. The more time you have to focus on meaningful work, the more efficient your business will be.
You no longer need to do everything manually in business. Now that most of the work we do in business today is done on computers, you can use new technologies to make your life easier.
Go through all the functions of your business and find the software that can help you. The more technology and software you can use to streamline your processes, the more efficient running a business becomes.
If you're considering buying a tool to get started, make it project management software. This software will help you keep your projects organized and help your team stay on task.
Chances are that many of your team members are handling work outside of their job scope. As businesses grow, so does the number of things you need to do to keep operating.
However, you and your team won't always be adept at handling some of these tasks. At the same time, it doesn't make sense to hire someone full-time to take care of the work since there isn't as much work to do.
This is where outsourcing comes in. Finding reliable outsourcing allows you to not hire someone until you have enough work to turn a new business role into a full-time job. It will also free up your employees' time to focus on the job you hired them to do and let them shine in that role.
You can't run an effective business if your team doesn't have a great way to communicate. Now that much of the workforce is moving away, this is even more important.
While some businesses can get by using email, it's not always the best choice. There are now many other apps available that can help with communication.
For businesses that need asynchronous communication, a program like Slack is a great choice. It offers a chat room experience with multiple channels for each team.
There are other synchronous communication channels like those of project management software. These communication platforms allow your team to connect to specific project sections to see only the information they need to do their job.
There is no getting around the busy work in some companies. Many little things go into running a great business. The question is, does everything your employees do on a daily basis matter?
While you can automate many of these tasks, not all will. In the event that you cannot automate something, you will need to determine if it is necessary for your business to operate.
Removing tasks produces a result similar to automating business tasks. This allows your employees to focus on more important tasks.
Keeping customers happy is hard enough in any business. The last thing you want to do is have no customer service system in place and keep your customers on hold while you try to find them the best person to talk to to resolve their issue.
The best answering service you use, an operator will determine where to send customers when they contact your business for assistance. Some companies use an automated system that gives customers a list of options. From here, customers can select the service they need to speak with.
Other companies use a single person as a point of contact. This person knows the company well enough to identify which department a problem should be addressed to, so they can get your customers to the person they need to talk to quickly.
There is a big difference between working for the sake of working and being productive. Unless you create systems for your business to streamline your process, you'll get stuck working on tasks that don't matter much overall. Use the tips above to create a more efficient business, so you can focus on the work that really makes things happen.
Are you interested in other ways to make your business run better? Return to the blog for more on running a Lean business.
