If you are running a small business, a family business or even a single-handed enterprise the idea of boosting productivity might fill you with dread! After all, if there are only a few people doing the work, to get more out at the end stage, you are going to have to work even harder than you do now, right? Well, not necessarily, in fact, you will be relieved to know that there are plenty of ways you can improve your productivity without increasing the effort you have to put in. Check out the post below to find out more.
You don’t have to run around like a headless chicken to improve productivity.
Outsource
Firstly, to get more done, a good option is to outsource some of the tasks that are using up everyone’s time. In fact, you can use a service that provides virtual headquarters for your business along with real-life receptionists. What this means is that you don’t have to use your time answering and fielding calls, and you don’t have to waste your money paying for a full-time person to site at reception all day. Something that makes it not only more productive way of doing things but also usually more cost-effective one too.
Also, don’t forget that there are plenty of freelancers out there to whom you can outsource particular projects. In fact, creative tasks such as graphic design, website design, and copywriting are often successfully completed this way. A tactic that frees up your employees to focus on other business priorities.
Rationalise
The next strategy to consider if you are looking to improve productivity in a small business is rationalisation. This is a concept that is based around doing things in the quickest and most efficient way possible.
Of course, most people think they are doing this already in their work lives. However, if you look in more detail, you will often see that there are unnecessary and time-consuming steps that can be eliminated to make the processes more efficient.
To achieve this, it is often necessary to run an audit of the processes that occur in your business. You can do this internally, although many companies find that it is useful to employ an outside agency that are experts in doing this.
Prioritise
Apart from rationalising the processes in your business, it’s also important to prioritize them if you are looking to improve productivity. To do this, it is useful to bear in mind the 80/20 rule which states that the most productive actions usually make up around 20% of what we are doing.
What this means is that instead of doing more of everything, you can identify the 20% of tasks that are the most productive regarding results and increase your work on these. This can be particularly successful because it’s an efficient way of doing things that avoid overwhelming staff. It is also focused on results which are almost guaranteed be more effective to productivity than just working harder with a catch-all mentality.
To get some additional information on this principle, check out the video below which explains the 80/20 theory in more detail.
