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As a business leader, you might become frustrated by the level of productivity from your employees. Why aren’t they working harder? Why haven’t they met the deadlines you set them? Then you might have a look at yourself. Should you be working longer hours? Are you not doing enough to increase your own efficiency at work? The answers lie somewhere in between. Your employees could be doing more, and so could you, but there may be issues inherent in your business that are slowing down productivity. As the person in charge, you need to do something about the problem. Consider the following for example.
- Your employees have too much work to do
Your employees aren’t human drones, coming into work every day to serve one purpose – to work as much as possible. However, you may be treating them as such. No sooner have they finished one job then you are giving them another. Not wanting them to be slack, you pile on work in a bid to improve their productivity.Yet it doesn’t work. They will only become tired and stressed, and mistakes will be made. So instead, consider lessening their workload. Consign manual processes to the bin and automate some work practices, such as the IT options provided by Excel automation specialists. With less on their plate, your team can work on what they are good at, with better results and less need to redo projects that faltered due to exhaustion. The same applies to what you do at work, too.
- You are holding too many meetings
Every time you hold a meeting, you are bringing your business to a screeching halt. Not only do you have to wait until everybody rolls up to the meeting room, but you also have to suffer needless banter, toilet breaks, the office joker, and questions raised that are irrelevant to the meeting. So, ask yourself? Do you need a meeting at the start of each day? Are there issues that are better dealt with through a simple memo? Could you conduct some meetings through Skype? Time is precious, so don’t let irrelevant meetings cut into the day.
- You are unwilling to invest in new technology
Business is all about making money, so you want to make as many savings as possible. Still, there are times when spending money is a good investment, such as purchasing the latest technologies for your workplace, from computer equipment to manufacturing tools. If your employees are reliant on old, outdated, and slower technology, then productivity is going to slow down. The machinery is part of the problem, and your employee’s frustration is the other. While you don’t have to buy the very latest tech to solve the problem, at least purchase something that was created within the last five years.
Summary
Giving your employees less work to do may sound counter-productive, but their energy levels will propel them to work better and faster. With less reliance on the distraction caused by a meeting, you will all get work done sooner. Using the best technology will make life easier for everybody in the workplace. Three simple ways to improve productivity, but highly effective. If any of those issues relate to how you are running your business, put into action a better strategy today.
