This is Killing Your Business’s Productivity Right Now

As a small business owner, you only have so many hours in the day. Making sure you use every minute wisely helps ramp up productivity and ensure success. However, some things kill your business’s productivity. Change these things and change the entire trajectory of your company. 

In a recent survey by PWC, researchers found many organizations aren’t tapping into time tracking and productivity tools. A mere 37% of organization leaders not using such tools feel they would help. A simple addition of a time tracker keeps workers on task and improves productivity. 

Getting a handle on data gives you the knowledge to make necessary changes and improve processes. Whether you implement specific time tracking tools or not, here are the most common things killing your business’s productivity and what you can do about it. 

1. Indecisiveness

If you aren’t adept at making fast decisions and implementing them, you’ll struggle to improve productivity. Hesitation wastes time. You can always reverse a decision and take a different path when things don’t work. 

Lay out clear core values and making split second decisions becomes easier. When you know your brand’s goals, you’ll see quickly whether a choice leads you toward your objectives or away from them. 

2. Poor Lighting

The average person spends 90% of their time inside. Natural light boosts productivity and improves mood. It can even help prevent sick building syndrome. 

Look for ways to improve the lighting in your office space. Add windows, invest in high-quality light fixtures and avoid dark corners and musty spaces. 

3. Lack of Focus

You can’t say yes to every opportunity. Some things are worth your best effort and some won’t help grow your business or move things forward. 

For example, you may already work with a local charity, but another you think is a good cause asks you to partner with them. While the project is a worthwhile one, you’ll water down your efforts and resources without any real advantage to your company. 

Say yes only to what makes sense for your company and getting the work done that moves you toward your goals. 

4. Not Enough Time Off

Your employees need time to recoup and refocus. If you make them work long hours without breaks or vacation, you’re setting up the perfect scenario for them to burn out and quit or do poor quality work.

On a daily basis, your workers need regular breaks. Studies show a short break every hour ramps up productivity. Throughout the year, they need days off to spend time with family, pursue their favorite hobbies or just relax. Be generous in your paid time off. 

5. Unengaged Employees

The most recent Gallup poll shows only 36% of workers feel engaged. Lack of growth opportunities, workplace regulations and poor leadership all contribute to their dissatisfaction with their current positions.

In an environment where companies have a hard time filling jobs, you don’t want to lose your highly trained staff. Fortunately, you can implement policies to tap into their loyalty. 

Start with your company culture. Is your office a place you’d want to work? Offer perks bigger corporations don’t, such as job sharing, working from home or paid time off to volunteer at a charity of the person’s choice.

Offer training, talk to your employees and make your office more like a family than a paycheck. Look for ways to open up the lines of communication and offer growth opportunities. 

6. Distractions

Your office layout can kill productivity. Some people can’t work with noise or other distractions. Audit your setup and see what might be hurting your workers and their focus.

Is there a Chatty Cathy worker who distracts all the other employees? Move her to another location away from those who need peace and quiet. Perhaps some workers would benefit from closed off offices where they can focus in complete silence.

Others might fare better in an environment where they can bounce ideas off the rest of the department, so allow space for mini meetings. Think about the personalities of each of your staffers and how you can offer what they need to be more productive.

If you’re not sure, ask them what would help. Your employees likely have some ideas for how to do their jobs more efficiently. 

7. Poor Time Management

No matter how hard they work, everyone falls into habits that eat into their productivity. Poor time management is a big problem in most workplaces. 

Multitasking is often revered, but it isn’t the most effective way of completing a task. Train your employees to break big projects into smaller pieces and focus on one element at a time. 

Study all your processes and look for shortcuts. Does Martin have to walk across the building to the copier five times a day? How much time might he save if his office was right next to the copy machine or you purchased a second machine to place in his area?

Use tools such as time trackers and productivity management software to help staff make the most of the time they have. Offer training sessions about what tasks to complete first and which ones don’t matter. 

Refine Your Processes

Improving your business’s productivity is an ongoing task. People tend to fall into new habits that don’t make the most of their time. Be vigilant about making the most of each day and set an example your workers can follow. With focus and determination, you can ramp up your company’s output and increase your revenue.