The science of economics tells us that, in reality, there is a large difference in productivity between firms. Some firms manage to produce a large output for only a small number of inputs, like time and staff, compared to others. For instance, some of the biggest multi-billion dollar enterprises employ fewer than 500 staff. This phenomenon is particularly apparent in digital industries like social media and distributed services.
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So what can regular businesses do to keep up with this productivity explosion?
Be Clear On Your Goals
One factor that comes up again and again in business courses is the fact that we need to keep one eye on our goals at all times. It’s often far too easy to get bogged down in all the detail of work. Getting bogged down distracts us from our overarching goals and can lead us off course.
Being specific with what you want to achieve yourself and what you would like your employees to achieve will drive your business. At each stage, you’ll be able to gather feedback on what has worked and what has not. Make sure that if employees offer advice on how to improve a process, or what might be needed to make their work more effective, you listen.
And lastly on the subject of goals, have a small celebration when you do have a success. If an employee has increased their output by 20 percent in the last two months, let them know that it’s a great achievement. Acknowledging employee effort helps you to retain staff for the future.
Call In The Consultants
Many industries are marred by specific inefficiencies that creep in almost unnoticed. That’s why it can be a good idea to choose some lean consultants to talk you through the specific bottleneck in your industry.
When employing a consultant, you want to make sure that they’re adding sufficient value. Ideally, a consultant will recommend changes to your processes that add up to thousands of pounds in savings every month.
You want to make sure that at every stage you’re able to analyse employee productivity. This is so that you can measure any discernible impacts from consultants.
Streamline Your Marketing
Marketing your business online can be a time-consuming process. This is especially true if you’re juggling multiple social media accounts.
However, there are cost-effective and time-efficient ways to streamline your social media marketing. Applications like HootSuite and MarketMeSuite all allow you to condense your social media into one app. You can then use this app to synchronise multiple updates on different sites and manage your overall social media presence.
Go Mobile
Every year mobile computing becomes more and more useful. Smart devices allow you to do so much more with your business on the go. And, contrary to what we hear in the media, having a mobile device can actually improve efficiency and your bottom line.
One use is for quickly updating employee time sheets in the field. This eliminates paperwork and unnecessary phone calls. And it means that employees can immediately move on to their next task.
