Business efficiency is something all organisations strive for, but very few manage to achieve it.
In fact, the average organisation loses a day each week of its productivity capacity to ‘organisational drag’, according to HBR. This, in short, refers to the bureaucratic structures in place that prevent employees from getting work done efficiently.
Fortunately, there are easy ways to overcome it.
So, how can businesses such as yours defy this organisational drag?
Boosting business efficiency one step at a time
It’s important to start small. After all, it’ll be difficult to evaluate and change your entire organisational structure overnight.
Look for the smaller obstacles and find solutions to cut them down. Here are three simple operational changes that we believe will help to boost your business efficiency.
1. Standardise processes
Every employee will have small everyday tasks to accomplish. Oftentimes, these mundane tasks lack a standardised process and, consequently, require assistance or a review from someone higher up.
But that’s a time waster.
Fortunately, tools such as Process.st allow your organisation to produce step-by-step checklists for certain procedures. This ensures your employees never miss an important step and can replicate tasks in a standardised way. Ultimately, this can increase efficiency and task accuracy.
2. Automate everyday tasks
Your business deals with an array of HR requests day-in, day-out. It’s not thrilling, but that’s part of the job.
But who said it had to be hard?
Whether you’re processing a purchase order or a time-off request, waiting for manual approval can be a waste of employee and business time. Automating these tasks with intuitive tools, such as Turbine, can ensure your business stays at the peak of efficiency. (And, if you’re environmentally conscious like us, it can reduce your paper usage, too!)
3. Invest in project management tools
Only 37 percent of UK businesses report completing projects on time. Important deadlines can be missed for numerous factors: miscommunication, misinformed employees, or even lost files. But a faulty or late project could be detrimental for your business, customers or company relationships.
The solution?
Investing in project management apps or tools, such as Basecamp or Trello, can simplify the way your teams organise projects, deadlines and files. By storing everything online, you can ensure that your employees have access to everything they need, no matter where in the world they are.
What’s more, cutting the paper trail can make critical business information easier to find and refer to. This, ultimately, can help to boost your business’s efficiency.
Embrace modern business practices
Yes, a good state of mind and a happy culture might make your company more efficient, but those things take time.
If you’re wanting a quick fix to help elevate your business efficiency and overall productivity, it’s time to embrace modern business practices. And that, of course, means adopting helpful tools that’ll streamline everyday tasks and project management.
So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for some efficiency-boosting free trials today.
