Among the primary goals of all companies is to be the most productive and efficient as possible. Efficiency breeds success, and finding those tips and tricks to be more profitable with each coming year is important. If a company isn’t growing, it’s essentially dying, and the most surefire way to encourage growth is by finding all the ways to build the brand and income.
As Entrepreneur.com notes in a recent article, inefficiency can cost businesses a significant amount – up to 30 percent of their revenues annually. With percentages as high as that, it’s no wonder why efficiency is at the top of every smart business’ list of things to assess frequently. Even the smallest overlooked detail could be the root cause of a large economic loss. Here are the three things that businesses can do to run more efficiently.
Delegate the Small Things
For a company to be a well-oiled machine, delegation is incredibly important. Take the time to interview and talk to your employees to discover their strengths and weaknesses, then assign things accordingly. Not only will they learn their job better, but they will likely develop more of a passion for the company getting to use some of their strengths. It doesn’t hurt to put a check and balance system in place to help employees get their ducks in a row and then give them space and trust to conduct themselves. Employees who are confident and given some freedom to do things in their own manner are often more efficient and happy with their workload.
Use Available Tools and Services
There are so many tools and services available to businesses now that weren’t around even a decade ago. With services such as auditors and consultants, it’s no surprise that companies who employ these things to grow and become more successful. For example, a California-based company may discover a lot of knowledge on the specifics of their efficiency by hiring some economic consulting in Los Angeles. There are also talented bookkeepers off-site who can show you numbers and forecasts from an unbiased point of view. This information is especially useful for getting some insight into some overlooked inefficiency.
Consolidate Tasks and Remain Focused
It’s been proven by science that when someone is focused on one thing, they are significantly more productive than spreading their attention on multiple things. A simple way for companies to ensure that things are getting done quickly without sacrificing quality is by batching and consolidating similar tasks. For example, it might make the most sense for a manager to choose a slot of time each morning to answer emails, instead of returning to his inbox four or five separate times and interrupting whatever other work he was doing. Being able to laser focus on just one area of your job will not only make you quicker at doing it, but over time, it will also make you better at it with each repetition.