Productivity is the measure of the effective use of resources and can have a big impact on your business. Now, the question comes how to increase the productivity of your business? Even if you have great staff, fantastic customers and innovative products and services, your business could benefit from streamlining its processes to improve the productivity of your business. Here are five solutions that could help you on your way.
1. Take Advantage of Time Zones:
Individuals can’t work 24 hours a day, but you can set your business up so that it does. Consider implementing satellite offices around the globe to take advantage of work-forces in different time zones. As business hours close for your head office, another team in another location could be coming online to keep everything humming along. This is particularly relevant for businesses that have a global customer base or offer 24/7 customer support.
Now a days, this is the key to more productivity. I remember when I was in India I had seen a lot of companies are working for USA software firms. Because when there is night in USA, the day starts in India and in this way, many giant software firms are working efficiently and producing more.
2. Digital Signatures:
Waiting on physical signatures can greatly slow down contract, agreement and transaction processes, especially if the stakeholders are not based in the same geographic area. Snail mail is too slow, couriers are expensive, faxes are becoming redundant, and email is vulnerable to security breaches. Digital signatures are sophisticated software technology that replaces the need for handwritten signatures on important documentation, allowing legal agreements to be entered into online. They allow organisations to share and sign off on important documentation quickly and easily in a secure online environment. If you do not know more about digital signatures and how to use it, you can simply Google it or you can read the useful link from Wikipedia regarding Digital Signatures.
Below I have embedded one nice video which can help you to understand how digital signatures work. You can check the video:
3. Cloud Storage with Teams:
As offices and workplaces go global, there can be challenges around accessing information, files and business documentation. Contemplate a secure cloud storage solution for your business so that staff can access the files they require from any device, anywhere in the world. High-security online storage providers such as Your Digital File are pioneers in this area and offer a number of helpful features, including reminders and digital signature usage. When it comes to the cloud, you can partition it in the same way that server storage is partitioned, so that staff only have access to files they require to complete their roles.
One of my article 5 Ways Cloud Storage can Improve Productivity is worth reading.
If you want to know more about switching from physical storage to digital storage, you can also read one of my article which is regarding the concept of virtual data rooms and the article is Virtual Data Room – An Overview for the Strangers to Virtual Data Room!
4. Outsource Small Tasks:
There are a number of small, process-driven jobs that take up a lot of time in any office. Consider whether you can package these tasks and have them managed by an external workforce. There are a number of businesses that specialize in administration tasks such as email inbox management, appointment setting and arranging travel. International partners in this area are particularly beneficial as the workforce costs are generally lower, greatly reducing the overall cost to your business.
I really believe in outsourcing small tasks and there are really some awesome sites online like Fiverr or Microworkers or Freelancer to outsource some small works with very cheap rate.
5. Automate Workflows:
Every business has repeatable processes that must be followed, usually in a set order by predetermined staff. Systemizing these patterns can greatly improve productivity. Software is available that can help establish these patterns as workflows. A workflow allows for better management of the process – staff receive notifications of where a process is up to, who is responsible for it, and a due date for completion. Specialized software like Rentopian is a great example of how you can systematize your rental business. An overarching manager can monitor how various workflows are progressing and if there are any delays or issues.
Has your office implemented any strategies or activities to increase productivity? Have the strategies been successful? Share your experiences in the comment box below.
