With a business based around efficiency, time won’t be wasted, work will get done, and profits will be made.

An inefficient business on the other hand? Well, it’s a no-brainer to suggest the opposite will be true.

Focussing on efficiency within your business should be your #1 priority, therefore.

Consider these telltale signs of inefficiency, and if any relate to your business, take the necessary steps to remove yourself from them.

#1: A reliance on old-school methods

Technology is such that you don’t have to rely on old-school methods within your operations. But if you are still forcing your employees to use manual processes to complete their workloads, and if they are reliant on wading through endless amounts of paper in office filing cabinets to get their hands on the documents they need, then time will be wasted. Therefore, bring your business into the 21st century, and use downloadable software to make light work of complicated tasks, and use the cloud to store important files and documents. You will then see a rise in efficiency within your business as time won’t be unnecessarily wasted.

#2: Chatty employees

There’s nothing inherently wrong with your employees talking to one another, of course, but it’s what they are talking about that matters! If their conversations are work-related, then fine. But if they are discussing last night’s television programmes or if they are engaging in gossip and frivolous office banter, then inefficiency will set in. While you don’t want to insist on silence in the workplace, you do need to make sure your employees on task. To improve employee productivity, encourage them to keep social conversations to the break room, and perhaps provide them with headphones so they aren’t distracted by their co-workers. They will then work more efficiently, without the distractions that other people can cause. 

#3: You!

Sorry to say it, but you might be the biggest cause of inefficiency within your business. If you are guilty of micromanaging your employees on a regular basis, then you are interrupting their workflow. You might also interrupt their workflow if you hold one too many meetings during the day, add yet another duty to their growing to-do lists, or simply drop by their workstations for informal conversations. If you want your employees to get work done on time, you need to remove yourself from these behaviors. Provided they have the skills needed, they shouldn’t require your micromanagement. If you outsource rather than delegate tasks your employees can’t or shouldn’t be handling, you won’t break their brains through forced multitasking. By using project management software, there will be less need for time-wasting office meetings. And if you can restrict your social conversations to break times too, your employees won’t have to stop working to hear about what you watched on TV last night!

If you can relate to these signs of an inefficient business, take the steps we suggested to eliminate them. Work will then get done on time, and consequently, your business should see an upturn in profits.

Let us know your thoughts.