This last year has been a roller coaster ride for our economy, with many small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) bearing the brunt of the economic downturn.
Those organizations with fewer than 50 employees had the worst year in terms of job loss since 2009, with March alone seeing the removal of 90,000 jobs.
SMBs have always had to make every dollar, every minute, and every employee count. This downturn in the ability of SMBs to hire new staff or keep existing teams at pre-COVID levels put extra emphasis on getting the most from every workday.
More than ever, savvy companies are looking for ways to pinpoint inefficient processes and replace them with smarter practices to bolster revenue and keep product and service quality high.
Smart Processes to Make Your Business More Efficient
While there are several ways to make your business more efficient, none are more useful — and better at producing rapid results — than optimizing business processes.
Here are several easy-to-implement techniques that can help your small business improve workplace efficiency, even with a smaller-than-usual team.
- Use the Power of Automation
Simple, intuitive software can help streamline daily tasks for better productivity and revenue-producing results. Investing in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software can help sales prospects stay in closer touch with clients for high-quality customer service — and better customer retention.
Similarly, print and document management solutions can amplify employees’ ability to find, edit, share, and archive information while providing security to protect sensitive data from theft or loss.
- Partner with Third-Party Providers
Small businesses typically don’t have the resources for a well-developed in-house IT department. Those that do often find that their in-house staff is so overburdened by daily tasks that they don’t have the time to focus on mission-critical items.
Outsourcing IT tasks through reliable, third-party partners can give small businesses the power of high-level IT knowledge and talent without putting more people on an already-strained payroll.
A managed IT solution can put cutting-edge knowledge of IT experts at your fingertips to help further optimize processes, reduce costs, and streamline workflows.
- Create a Culture of Mono-taskers
Research from Stanford University recently showed that multitaskers are less productive, easily distracted, and more prone to mistakes.
Instead of having employees focus on a plethora of tasks, create an environment conducive to monotasking — the art of focusing on one initiative or project at a time.
You can accomplish this by establishing set times to check emails and communications, using applications like Slack to foster collaboration, and creating daily priorities for team members.
- Create Sensible Schedules
Setting sensible schedules for project or task completion goes hand in hand with the idea of monotasking.
When projects are broken down into bite-sized chunks, teams can work faster — and with less stress — to accomplish tasks on time. Start with the big picture, break it down into workable tasks, set priorities and milestones, and then sit back and watch the benefits accumulate!
Blue Technologies Can Help Your Business Win at Efficiency
We know that times have been challenging for SMBs over the last year — and we know that, unfortunately, that trend may continue into 2021.
Our team at Blue Technologies stands ready to help your small business get the highest level of productivity possible from your team, even if you are a bit understaffed this year.
Using our Managed IT program, you can have the power of a full-sized IT department at your disposal to assess and optimize your infrastructure, protect your data, and keep your company up to date on the latest automation and security protocols.
Need help organizing documents and optimizing your print or information environment? Our print and document management solutions provide the agility and flexibility you need to share securely, index, and manipulate the critical data that helps you keep your business running smoothly.
Focus on business efficiency today and reap significant benefits in the year to come. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant today and discover the many ways our team can help your team to succeed.
