A business is only as effective as it is productive. Without the right tools and processes, you may end up missing out on profits and opportunities that may have otherwise been accessible. Fortunately, we live in a world where there is an abundance of productivity tips just waiting for you to incorporate them into your own business structure. If you’re looking to get more done in less time and streamline your business operations, here are 5 ways to enhance business productivity.
1. Establish specific, achievable goals.
The biggest obstacle to a thriving, productive business is a lack of goals. You need to have clear goals that you’re excited about in order to move forward more efficiently. However, what many forget to mention is that your goals also need to be actionable and measurable. Otherwise, you’re going to be working toward a final goal with no way to know how much progress you’ve made thus far.
If you want to ensure that you have both a clear, final goal and measurable steps leading up to the said goal, you should use a system known as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). OKRs are quite simple. All you have to do to get started is to establish one major objective (your goal) and flesh out four to six measurable key results that’ll allow you to reach your goal and keep track of your progress as you work toward it. For example, your objective may be to experience greater profits for this next month, which would be followed by key results such as “increase sales by 10%”. To make your OKRs efforts more efficient, look for an OKR software that’ll not only help you with goal setting for your small business but also enhance communication, task management, and keep your whole team in alignment as you set team goals and results on a quarterly basis. Making sure your team members are all on the same page will help you achieve key results no matter what ambitious goals you’ve set for yourself.
2. Learn how to properly delegate and outsource.
Many small business owners have difficulty letting go of tasks. This inability to let go stems from a fear that your business may be impacted by your decision to give some of your work to others. The problem? Not all work needs to be done by you, and refusing to outsource or delegate certain tasks can put a strain on your productivity, eventually leading to burnout. The best way to start is to lead into it.
For example, you can start with a task that you may know you’re not able to do yourself, like video marketing. Instead of trying to purchase the necessary equipment and figure it out on your own, hire a video production company for your corporate video needs. No matter what you need, whether it be a marketing video or a training video, they’ll be able to handle the work and provide you with a high-quality corporate video while you focus on the other aspects of your business that require your presence. Even though it can be hard to let go of some of your control, it’ll be worth it once you see how much more productive you are.
3. Look for ways to automate tasks.
There are certain tasks that you can’t avoid but take up a ton of time. Fortunately, living in the age of technology has its perks. You can easily automate tasks with the assistance of various software and online programs. For example, some easily automated tasks include scheduling blog posts to be published ahead of time, creating email drip campaigns that are triggered by certain actions and responses, and lining up social media posts for the weeks ahead. If it takes up too much of your time, see if it can be automated so that you can focus your time and energy on more important tasks.
4. Find apps that help employees stay accountable.
The average workday is filled to the brim with opportunity. However, these opportunities are often challenged by an equal number of distractions. The solution? Find productivity tools for everyone in your organization that’ll help them stay accountable. This can include time trackers that allow them to stay on top of their tasks, project management tools that help your organization see both personal and team progress, and apps that block access to certain sights and keep users on track. The better equipped your business is to stay on task, the more productive you’ll be.
5. Take breaks and find motivators to help employees thrive.
Many people equate longer hours with improved productivity. What actually happens when you push to hard is that you become resistant to your work, requiring even more from yourself in order to get through your tasks. Make sure that everyone gets the breaks they need to regain their energy and feel excited about their tasks. You may also wish to add incentives like bonuses or prizes to motivate everyone to get more work done!
Learning how to run a more productive business will change the way your business functions forever. To help you get started on building the efficient business of your dreams, use the five tips above to recalibrate and streamline your business operations moving forward.