5 Ways to Increase Business Productivity

How to increase business productivity

Here are some specific strategies and valuable tools you can employ to increase small business productivity.

1. Use automation software to boost productivity.

Countless hours are wasted each year documenting and recording information with paper forms. However, workflow automation software can help businesses save thousands of hours (translation: dollars) that would otherwise be wasted filling out forms. Further, by transitioning to digital from manual systems, recordkeeping also becomes automatic, saving additional time in the future.

Another benefit of automation is that it allows employees to focus on tasks with fewer interruptions. Cognitive control studies, including ScienceDirect data, reveal just how significantly task switching negatively impacts productivity. The employee view on task switching is also generally negative.

However, functions like automated email responses, data extraction, social media marketing management systems and scheduling tools allow employees to focus on their strengths, not tedious to-do lists, boosting morale as well as productivity. 

2. Empower employee flexibility.

A happy employee is a productive employee, and work flexibility is one of the most vital predictors of employee satisfaction. People like having choices and freedom, so consider accommodating flextime, telecommuting options, generous PTO policies, or simply more vacation time. Your team members will be free to choose how to be as effective as possible in their roles while enjoying increased morale. Even encouraging and providing time for self-care can improve workplace productivity. 

The myth that employees can’t be productive while working from home was effectively shattered during the COVID-19 pandemic. As many employees were forced out of the office, countless companies maintained or even increased productivity. Research from Gartner shows how even cutting out an office commute can boost productivity, so it’s worth considering this kind of flexibility for your team. 

And if you’re still concerned home-based workers won’t make enough effort, many software tools can help you track your remote staff’s productivity.

3. Prioritize workflow organization.

Implementing an organizational system for tracking employee responsibilities and workloads can streamline operations and make your business more efficient. Such systems can help teams communicate regularly and effectively about long-term projects or goals. For example, in the Scrum methodology, teams meet daily to discuss their workloads from the previous day, the workloads for the coming day, and any impediments they face. These discussion points allow the team to sync on responsibilities and collectively find ways to overcome roadblocks.

When your teams are internally aligned and operate consistently — especially when part of your workforce is remote — you’ll save time and resources and can redistribute your efforts toward building healthy client relationships and completing projects. 

Workflow organization also decreases overlapping responsibilities and reduces duplicate work. Companies can automate workflow organization to lessen the effort required for time-consuming tasks, allowing employees to focus on strategic tasks that require high-level thought.

4. Develop employees.

We know employees are most productive when they’re satisfied and engaged. Staffers who fall into a monotonous routine will find themselves discontented, so improving employee engagement is crucial. No one wants to be a cog in a machine, so encourage active learning and the development of personal and professional skills. Provide professional growth opportunities for employees, encourage them to develop new hobbies, and offer chances to take on new professional duties.

It’s essential to back up your words of support with meaningful action. For example, offer to let a team member try a new responsibility for a trial period to see if they like it, or give an employee time off to attend a work-related conference. Prove to them that you’re invested in their personal and professional development. 

Incentives related to personal and professional development can help keep workers committed to your company and their responsibilities. Gallup data indicates employee engagement in the U.S. is in a slump, but reversing that trend in your workplace can be a boon to your business’s productivity.

5. Use natural light in your workplace.

Don’t think your office design matters? Think again. Providing access to natural light in the workplace can directly impact a person’s positivity, with doctors at UCLA reporting that natural light improves mood and increases happiness. As established, this increased positivity impacts productivity in the long term. 

Access to natural lighting in the office is an area where many U.S. businesses can improve. Take advantage of natural light by setting up desks near windows and removing obstacles that block the flow of natural lighting throughout your building. You can also encourage employees to get out in the sunshine during breaks for a boost from Mother Nature. 

Productivity killers to avoid

Just as there are identifiable ways to increase productivity, some aspects of the work environment can have the opposite effect. Consider the following productivity killers to look out for:

1. Excessive meetings

Meetings that clearly define employee responsibilities while aligning project workflows are incredibly productive. However, some businesses take it too far, often scheduling meetings back to back, daily, or without consideration for which employees can attend and what else is happening. The more time employees spend in meetings during the day, the less they engage with customers or complete necessary tasks. 

Fortunately, there are some easy methods to decrease the amount of time your staff spends in meetings:

• Invite small groups: Consider which employees truly need to attend a particular meeting. For example, there’s no reason why your IT team needs to sit in on a sales meeting. And at that sales meeting, is everyone in the department an essential participant? If not, free those people up to work on other things.
• Consider emails: Some meetings can be replaced by a simple email. If the issue to be discussed can be resolved in less than 10 minutes, it can likely be handled through an email thread instead.
• Create meeting agendas: A structured, goal-oriented meeting can be completed quickly and efficiently. Additionally, sharing a specific agenda in advance allows attendees to prepare.

2. Social media distractions

We’re probably all guilty of spending at least a few minutes of the workday on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Social media platforms can be powerful business tools, but they’re also designed to steal your attention. Getting sucked in can be a huge waste of time. 

Develop an acceptable usage policy for social media in your workplace. You can ban specific platforms while connected to the company network or design custom rules that make sense for your business. If you’re very concerned about excessive social media usage and wasted time, consider implementing one of the best employee monitoring software solutions. These tools can block employees from accessing certain sites during specific hours. However, educating your team on the disadvantages of social media usage may be enough to curb unwanted use in the workplace.

3. Noisy co-workers and offices

Focus is vital to productivity, but a noisy work environment can make focusing impossible for your employees. The noise factor is often increased due to a chatty or noisy co-worker. Foot tapping, loud keyboards and office gossip are the primary culprits in colleague-related disturbances. Such noise can be stressful — and stress and productivity don’t often go hand in hand. Here are some tips:

• Centralize gossipy noise: To reduce the amount of office gossip interrupting the work environment, consider a designated break room or refreshment area. The goal is to push chatter away from productive co-workers. You don’t want to eliminate workplace conversations altogether, as that will ultimately negatively impact your company culture. 
• Minimize ambient noise: To dull the impact of fidgety and loud equipment, consider installing noise-reducing decorations. Some rugs, houseplants and workspace dividers will absorb sound while creating a welcoming work environment. If all else fails, consider investing in noise-canceling headphones for your team. 

4. Smartphone use

According to Statista, the average daily time spent on a phone in the U.S. is 4 hours and 39 minutes. The odds some of that usage will occur while on the company clock? We’d venture fairly high, and in such instances, your employees aren’t focusing much on business matters.

Awareness and prevention are the keys to reducing smartphone usage during the workday. Consider sharing smartphone usage statistics with your employees. Some individuals might be surprised by how much attention their smartphones demand. Additionally — and especially during meetings — consider asking employees to place smartphones on do-not-disturb mode to reduce distractions.

At the same time, remember the importance of flexibility. There will be times when a worker needs to use their phone for a legitimate purpose. That may temporarily reduce their productivity, but your employees will appreciate having a leadership team that understands life just sometimes gets in the way.

Kimberlee Leonard contributed to this article.