The success of your business, no matter how big or small, depends in a large part on its output – completed activities, tasks and processes.
How substantial your output is, and therefore your potential level of success, depends on how productive your business is as a whole. By fine-tuning your business processes you can dramatically increase productivity. There are many ways in which you can do this.
To help, business technology specialist Nuance Power PDF have looked at four ways you can increase productivity in your business.
1. Streamline your workflows
As with Olympic sprinters, the most effective workflows are lean but muscular. Tasks should be completed in the least amount of time possible and with the minimum expenditure of resources, while still retaining their effectiveness. In order to streamline in this way, you need to identify what current parts of a task or set of tasks are unnecessary, could be more compact or can be combined with other processes.
For example, if your business works with a lot of documents on a daily basis, the processes you use to manage your workflow can really have an impact. In such an instance, to optimise your workflow, you might use professional PDF software. It can capture, store and distribute the documents, without the need for retyping or converting.
2. Give your people the power to work remotely
As we move further into the 21st century, many businesses are now also moving away from the idea that an employee has to be at his or her desk at a certain time each day. By using cloud software and other solutions for digital connectivity, you can give your staff the ability to work from home, or while travelling to meetings. This can reduce time consumed by travelling into the office, and the resulting improvement in work-life balance for the employee can pay dividends in increased morale and productivity.
3. Give the right people the right tasks
Knowing your business should also mean knowing your staff. Make it a priority to understand what the skill sets of each of your employees is. Ensure that they are assigned tasks which are suited to their skills and will engage them. People are far more productive when they’re doing something they’re good at and feel connected to.
4. Make boosting workplace morale a priority
Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of morale. It’s not rocket science – if people feel happy they perform better, if they’re unhappy they will work slowly and seek distractions.
Thinking of starting a business? Check out our free online courses in partnership with the Open University on being an entrepreneur.
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Reference to any organisation, business and event on this page does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation from the British Business Bank or the UK Government. Whilst we make reasonable efforts to keep the information on this page up to date, we do not guarantee or warrant (implied or otherwise) that it is current, accurate or complete. The information is intended for general information purposes only and does not take into account your personal situation, nor does it constitute legal, financial, tax or other professional advice. You should always consider whether the information is applicable to your particular circumstances and, where appropriate, seek professional or specialist advice or support.
