There is probably an endless list of things you would like to accomplish on a daily basis but, somehow, you just can’t find the time. Here are some tips how you and your employees can increase productivity of your small business.
Make the office comfortable
In order to be productive, your employees must feel comfortable in their work area. There are many things you can do to achieve this.
Get ergonomic furniture
Yes, ergonomic equipment might be more expensive than regular furniture but it will keep your employees in good shape. It helps reduce fatigue, which means that they will be able to handle their tasks much easier and quicker. You can go for adjustable desks and chairs as well as ergonomic keyboards.
Optimize the layout of the office
Depending on the type of work your company does, you need to have appropriate offices. If your work demands collaborative efforts, opt for an open office layout where everyone can contribute to the project. In case you deal with a lot of clients, there should be separate offices where you can have private meetings.
Provide proper lighting
Natural light is your best option and if your offices are positioned so that you have plenty of it during the day – amazing! However, not all offices are so lucky. In that case, make sure to provide enough illumination. Have plenty of task lights that do not tire the eyes and that do not cause a glare on the monitors.
Adjust your thermostat
Some studies have shown that warm offices can lead to increased productivity. You can set the thermostat at around 77°F or 25°C. However, don’t forget to check with your employees to see whether everyone is comfortable with the selected temperature.
Ensure healthy breaks
Adding a fully-functional kitchen full of healthy food can have plenty of positive benefits for your productivity. Workers can make more mini-breaks to have a healthy snack like celery. You can also provide a chill zone where they can just relax during their break, do yoga or some other exercises.
Utilize technology
Seeing as how technology is advancing at a rapid pace, it keeps providing us with amazing business tools. Here are some you can use to your advantage.
Collaboration tools
If you have a team of people that are all working on the same project, they need a way to communicate quickly and efficiently. Introducing a collaboration tool can greatly increase their productivity. Project management tools, such as Asana and Basecamp, can help everyone keep track of your progress. Additionally, using file-sharing tools, such as Google Drive and Dropbox, will reduce traffic in the office and make everything much faster.
IM
Instant messaging tools are quite possibly the fastest way to communicate with people. Utilize Slack or Skype to avoid constantly walking over to your colleague’s workstation to share some news. Moreover, don’t schedule meetings every time you have an announcement to make – send an email. This means that the workers will waste less time and thus, increase productivity.
Organize your to-do list
Start with looking at your to-do list for that day or week. Find the best way to approach it.
Set priorities
Once you know what is on your plate, you can see what the most important assignments are. Put the most urgent items at the top. You can also separate your long-term projects so that they don’t distract you. Also, you should make sure to do one thing at a time as multitasking can result in errors.
Delegate
All the items on your list that you don’t have time to deal with can be delegated to your team members. Find the right person for the task. If you realize that you need more outside help, there are other options as well.
Outsource certain tasks
In the beginning, you probably had to do everything for your company increase productivity, from bookkeeping to advertising. However, once your company starts to grow, you will realize that you do not have time to do it all and it’s better to leave it to professionals. Here are just some of the things you can outsource.
Accounting
While you can try to keep up with all the bookkeeping and even attend a course in accounting, sometimes, it’s much easier to let experts deal with it. There are many mistakes that a non-professional can make even if they do have some accounting software to help them. The best option would be to consult an accountants to handle your payroll, taxes, accounts payable and receivable, and everything else you need.
IT
Hiring, training and maintaining an IT team in-house can be a very long and complicated process. If you outsource this task to increase productivity, you will not have to keep people on the payroll, you will not need additional offices and you will have an expert that will be available 24/7.
Marketing
You will probably not have enough time to research your audience, come up with the best strategies to promote your company and create content to attract customers. That is why it’s best that you leave this task to experts that are keeping up with the latest trends and campaign strategies to increase productivity.
There are many other ways to stay productive in the office, such as keeping your desk clutter-free, avoiding social media and utilizing automation as much as possible. Find what works best for you.
