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To make the most out of our business and out of our employees, we have to look at how efficiently we are running our business.
Efficiency is not just about the number of products or services we can get to the customer. It is also about costs, waste, and time spent doing tasks or providing those services to our customers.
Setting procedures
Perhaps in your business, you have an idea of how long certain jobs or procedures take to complete. But is it often based on either someone who knows the job inside and out, who could do it with their eyes closed and will therefore give you the quickest time that can be spent doing that particular task, or is it based on someone who is not quite so au fait with the task.
If you are setting your procedures by the first example, you are not timing your procedures right, and you may need to rethink your timings.
Getting organized
Organizing your surroundings and making sure that everything has its place and that everyone knows where that place is. This saves time and energy, which would normally be spent looking for items instead of having much-needed items close to hand and being able to carry on working. Also, remove all unnecessary items from workstations to help stop procrastination and distractions and increase employee productivity. This will keep your or your employees’ attention firmly on the job in front of them and get the work completed quicker and to a better quality.
This goes deeper than just the workforce. You can take the organizational part right through your business even into your expenses, such as checking on your business water charges, for example, or outsourcing some parts of your business, whether it is by using a professional telephone answering service, a payroll company, or a professional to take care of your social media profile and website blogs.
Making sure that procedures put in place are fully sustainable
You need to make sure that any procedures you put in place within your business are fully sustainable and are unlikely to slip back into old routines.
This can be easily done by making a few adjustments each week or month and introducing the procedures gradually to allow employees to get used to change. This is much better than upheaving your old procedures in one go and expecting employees to be able to fall straight in with the new ones as this can overwhelm some people and can cause conflict.
Final thoughts
So, to help your business become more efficient, take a close look at the procedures which have been put in place and see if any can be made clearer or if the timings are realistic.
Get your workforce and your business organized in all areas, including your expenses, and outsource any services which may be time-consuming or better done by specialists
Ensure that any changes are fully sustainable and that new procedures are followed, and old ways do not creep back in.
You may also like: Ten Tips To Make Your Business More Efficient
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