If you are looking to boost the productivity of your small business, then you are likely looking for an obvious sign of underperformance which you can whip into shape.
In some cases, this may well be the best course of action, because if you have clearly sub-par employees, work processes or morale, then you know which area to target first.
However, for the vast majority of businesses, these tell-tale signs are difficult to spot. Perhaps staff morale has silently sunk over recent months, but no one wants to tell you, or you have an undiscovered issue with your administrative processes, which will only reveal itself in the event of a disaster.
Indeed, the thought of you having undiscovered issues with your small business may be frightening, especially if you have no idea where to start with unearthing them.
This is quite understandable, but it needn’t be difficult. All you need is a clear process which will allow you to go through each department with a fine-tooth comb and reveal the source of your business’s lack of productivity.
The good news is that, as a small business, this process will likely be comparatively easy compared to a larger organisation, so you won’t need to get too bogged down with overwhelming detail.
To help, here is a number of tips you can use to improve the productivity of your small business:
Get Your Administration in Order
Administration is one of the most tedious aspects of running a business, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important.
If you don’t have a functional administrative system – that includes everything from organising the payroll to sorting contracts for new staff members – then your business will quickly stumble into trouble, and your productivity will suffer significantly.
After all, if you can’t manage to get simple processing tasks done, then you will stand little hope of completing more complex jobs. Furthermore, there are aspects of administration which are vital for preventing bankruptcy or even legal action being taken against you.
Take accounting, for example. It is imperative that you have a proper accounting system in place, otherwise your entire business model will soon fall apart. You need to keep track of exactly what you are spending in different departments, how much tax you owe, when to pay staff and whether you can make cost savings in particular areas.
While you are only a small business, these tasks can quickly add up, and it is unwise to leave it to yourself, or an untrained admin assistant.
Instead, hire a professional accounting team such as Plummer Parsons, expert accountants in Brighton, to handle these tasks for you, allowing you to focus on maintaining productivity within your business.
Work on Improving Staff Morale
Another key area to consider when trying to improve your productivity is staff morale.
You can’t complete any tasks or projects without employees, and if your team is suffering from low levels of morale, then work will slow up, and your business will lack quality control.
If you are doubtful about the level of staff morale, seek out common symptoms like poor communication, repeatedly late deadline submissions, regular customer complaints and a general lack of employee punctuality.
To quickly improve morale levels, it is important to open a line of communication between yourself and your staff. Talk to your team on an individual basis and ask them whether they have any concerns about the way the business is being led, the targets they are being set, and any other work-related worries they have.
This information can be like gold dust, because if enough people have the same complaints, then you will know how to fix morale levels.
Try to Avoid Micromanagement
While opening a line of communication between management level and your team is vital to a healthy workplace atmosphere, you must resist the temptation to micromanage.
This can be particularly tricky when you manage a small business because you will likely have built the company up from scratch, so you will want tasks to be completed a certain way.
While this is useful to a point, you can’t jump in every two seconds to tell your staff how to do their jobs. Not only is it disruptive and often insulting to the individual you are dealing with, but they will probably know best. After all, it is their full-time job, and unless they are clearly making repeated mistakes, they likely know exactly how to complete each task to the correct standards.
Simpler is Almost Always Better
When you are running a small business, then you need to accept that you have fewer resources than larger rivals. Therefore, avoid the temptation to overstretch and trying to cater to a huge customer base by offering a dizzying range of different products and services.
The likely result of overstretching will be a drop in productivity because your team will be unable to handle the strain.
Instead, stick to a simple business plan which works reliably well. You are far more likely to succeed as a result.
