There are many reasons why a business may be failing. In many cases, it all boils down to a simple lack of productivity. If things aren’t running efficiently in your office, you may be paying your employees without getting much in return. Eventually, this lack of productivity can erase your profit margins entirely. Overall, it’s always a good idea to reassess the productivity and efficiency, or lack thereof, of your office employees. Below are five strategies you should consider deploying to boost productivity in your office.
Slash Meetings
Certain things that may have become tried and true traditions of the office workplace are actually productivity drains. The biggest culprit, by far, is the meeting. If you ever felt that an employer was wasting time on pointless meetings, you were probably correct. According to a study of employers, companies wasted almost $400 billion on pointless meetings in 2019. All those billions of dollars worth of precious company time could have easily been spent on more important things like actually developing new products. Most meetings, in fact, could be replaced by sending a simple memo or e-mail to the relevant employees. Certainly, reassess how you are using meetings.
Clearly Define Goals
Another possible source of inefficiency in your office could be traced back to a failure of communication by management. If you do not clearly define goals for your office employees, they will likely not live up to your expectations. Every sports team knows what the end goal of their teamwork is. Similarly, each member of your team in your office should know what their roles in achieving shared goals are. Make sure each person in the office understands exactly what is expected of them. Don’t be afraid to set firm benchmarks for what you will interpret as success from your employees. If they know exactly what quota or number they are aiming for, they will work much harder at surpassing that benchmark.
Move to the Cloud
One of the most important tools for maintaining productivity in your office is, of course, office productivity software. However, to achieve the most efficiency with your office software, you shouldn’t be deploying it like it was still 2004. Instead of installing productivity software on each individual office PC, move to the cloud. This will give your employees the same great tools while moving the technical aspect of maintaining that software to the vendor. Today, the best choice for office software is still Microsoft’s Office software suites. If you are using older versions of the software, consider implementing an Office 365 Migration software. This can seamlessly migrate all your old data, accounts, and more to the Office 365 cloud platform. All the frustrations and headaches of completing this process on your own will be removed.
Implement Positive Reinforcement
In regards to your management style, shy away from only implementing negative reinforcement. While negative reinforcement can be effective in small doses, relying on it too much can devastate office morale and deplete productivity. Instead, make sure each employee knows when they have done their job well. Positive reinforcement can help make employees feel like they belong in your workplace and have a real purpose. Negative reinforcement alone, instead, can help ensure that they put in their two weeks notice as quickly as possible.
Monitor Employee Technology Use
The internet is required for most office employees to do their jobs well. Unfortunately, the internet is also a source of almost limitless distractions. If you don’t closely monitor exactly what your employees are doing on your computers or even their own devices, they may spend a good chunk of their time on the clock using Facebook, playing mobile games or even viewing pornography. Overall, you need to monitor your employees’ use of technology and inform them of the fact they are indeed being monitored.
One of the most common reasons why companies fail is a lack of productivity in the office. Boosting productivity in an inefficient office isn’t easy. However, with the proper effort, it can be done. This can include moving to the cloud, better monitoring your employees, defining clear goals, implementing positive reinforcement, and doing away with company time-wasters like pointless meetings.
