One of the most common searches among professionals is “how to be more productive.” As our roles become more complex and the workplace changes, professionals are looking for ways to simplify their workloads. Employers are wondering what they can do to increase productivity and profitability.
For ages, humans have been leveraging tools to better accomplish tasks. Today, our most powerful and effective tool is technology. The tricky part is there are a vast number of software applications and technology solutions, and there isn’t a universal solution that works for every business. However, there are some common strategies that you can leverage and tailor to fit your workplace dynamics and composition.
Make Productivity Goals Attainable
When employees cannot meet productivity targets, they often aren’t being properly supported with the resources to do so. In fact, according to Ivanti, as many as 85% of workers don’t have the right resources and technology to take care of their tasks efficiently.
Investing in technology solutions can drastically improve a business’s productivity and output quality. However, you need to make sure that the solutions you implement align with your team’s needs and properly train your team on how to utilize them.
The decision of what solutions to invest in should be well-researched and discussed with an IT professional. We can help you create an investment and implementation plan to ensure you see a return on investment. But if you’re eager to get started, here are some tips for leveraging technology to improve your productivity:
1. Eliminate Mundane Tasks
Everyone does small, mundane things every day that take a few seconds or a few minutes. Over time the amount of time spent on these tasks can really add up. Technology can simplify these tasks and improve workplace productivity and employee satisfaction. You can also minimize your employees taking unnecessary extra steps or getting stressed just to get these things done.
For example, if your team needs to schedule group meetings, you can utilize shared calendars or a scheduling assistant tool to quickly see times where everyone is available. This reduces multiple back and forth messages and significantly reduces the time you have to spend coordinating schedules.
2. Keep Files Up to Date & Accessible
How many times have you had to wait several minutes (or even hours) waiting for a colleague to send you a file that you needed? Or, how many times have you been interrupted by a colleague to get a file that they desperately needed?
Creating, editing, and sharing files is one of the most common tasks employees do every day. However, file storage and sharing tools are often overlooked and not maintained. Cloud storage and file-sharing technology make it easy for employees to track the history of changes made to a document, collaborate simultaneously, and find all the information they need to complete their tasks. To learn more about how file storage can improve collaboration and productivity, check out our blog on SharePoint here.
3. Make Team Communication Simple & Easy
Messaging and chat technology can improve communication efficiency and employee productivity. Chats are easier to compose and typically elicit a faster response. Instead of typing out formal emails and awaiting responses or having details get lost in the shuffle, chats allow teams to stay connected and quickly get clarification.
Miscommunication has a hefty price tag ― literally. Debra Hamilton revealed that companies with 100 employees lose about $420,000 per year due to inefficient communication among employees.
4. Offer Regular Training & Professional Development
Your employees are smart, and giving them the time to learn and expand their skill set can empower them to evolve their workflows, becoming more productive and effective. Additionally, as your business evolves and you implement new tools, it is important to hold staff training to ensure your team can leverage their full potential.
5. Schedule Productivity Audits
Most businesses are not committing to regular audits of their internal processes and tool utilization. Having insight into the effectiveness of your processes and if your team is benefiting from the tools you have made available to them allows you to make tweaks to get better and better.
Having a pulse on how things are going helps you quickly identify issues that reduce productivity or create a roadblock for your team.
Productivity Is Tied To Your Success
Productivity at work is a concept that affects almost all key business metrics such as operational costs, revenue, employee retention and attrition, and even customer and client satisfaction. It also impacts more intangible, yet equally important, things, including company culture, work environment, employee experience, and brand identity.
We would be happy to help you identify opportunities for optimization within your business and make solution recommendations. You can book a call with us any time via the button below.
