Efficiency is a winning part of any entrepreneur’s life. Between two equally skilled entrepreneurs, the one who can do more in less time is more likely to achieve success. Still, many entrepreneurs find it difficult to streamline their daily tasks. Inefficiency in an office can create lag, thus preventing any business from achieving success promptly. Fortunately, there are many ways to combat this lag and enhance productivity and efficiency in the office. Here, Ryan Rock, Ankeny native and president of Empire AG, LLC, discusses five ways to improve efficiency.
1. Identify What’s Inefficient
First things first, it’s essential to figure out what’s the clog in the machine. Hold a meeting with your employees to sort out what exactly is holding everyone back. The issue might be an outdated process is holding up employees, or you may be putting work into something that isn’t giving back to your company. Whatever the issue is, finding it and updating your strategies to keep up with today’s market is an excellent place to start when increasing efficiency.
2. Avoid Multitasking
Everyone may think they’re good at multitasking, but studies have revealed that the human brain isn’t capable of being genuinely efficient while doing so. That’s why it’s a good idea to stick to doing one task at a time. It may seem time-consuming at first, but over time you’ll find that it allows you to get through tasks more quickly.
3. Reduce Distractions
Distractions are perhaps the biggest culprit for reducing efficiency. The cell phone is the most common distraction in the office today, but constant memos and office meetings can also cause inefficiency. Office meetings, no matter how short, can disrupt your employees’ workflow, and it can take a moment for them to get back on track from where they were.
Instead, consolidating your meetings allows your employees to get more done on time.
4. Talk Face to Face
Despite good intentions, emailing and messaging others can create more inefficiency. It may take longer to hear back from coworkers, which can pause production. Rather than messaging your coworkers, speak to them face to face, if possible. You will receive an answer sooner than if you had emailed them and waited, and you will reduce the chances of a misunderstanding, which will ultimately streamline productivity.
5. Utilize Technology
When your employees are taking on more tasks, it can often be challenging to keep up and work at a practical level. Computer programs can take the stress out of some tasks.
Today’s technology can significantly cut the number of tasks your employees have to do by hand, and can even result in better connections and profits. From generating reports faster to networking to customer service, there’s a computer program for nearly everything nowadays.
Don’t be afraid to use technology in this digital age, but don’t let it take over either. While technology can be a useful tool in the modern market, overusing it can also be destructive as it can make customers feel undervalued if there is no human connection in customer service.
About Ryan Rock
Ryan Rock, Ankeny native, successfully maintains a proactive work, family, and life balance. During his college career, Rock balanced multiple activities, which also forced him to categorize his priorities. Rock’s time-management and prioritizing skills allow his company, Empire AG, LLC, to take up multiple projects and deliver quality work.
