Image Credit: Pixabay
You might have heard of the ‘death by a thousand cuts’ before. It’s a pretty gruesome torture and execution technique. It’s also the way that a lot of businesses tend to crumble. They don’t commit any one huge mistake. Rather, they just let the mistakes pile up and up until they sink under the weight of them. Any business that isn’t running efficiently is going to follow this fate at some point. In this article, we’re going to look at how you prevent that. We’re going to stop you from losing time, productivity, money, and effort. The better you use the resources at your disposal, the better your chances of survival and success.
Automate, automate, automate
No business can afford to spend time on tasks that they shouldn’t even be doing. Nowadays, the right technology is able to take all kinds of tasks off your hands. Not only does this free you up for more important tasks. It also tends to result in a lot fewer errors and time spent fixing them. As time is one of the most important themes of these points, it’s only right to make sure you measure it. Yet, automated time and attendance solutions make it that you don’t have to measure it yourself. That’s only one example of how tech is the start of a much more efficient business.
9 Clever Ways to Automate Your Small Business with IFTTT
Distractions can come from any direction
Naturally, there’s still going to be a very human element to your business. That human element is more than prone to losing time over things it shouldn’t be. In particular, distraction. There are two main sources of distraction in the office. Internal distraction is usually down to poor motivation. External distraction is usually caused by a growing workload of tasks and a lack of knowledge on how to handle them. You need to help employees stay focused on their job. Help them prioritize which tasks they should be handling. Then help them understand how it makes them part of the team and the overall goal to get them engaged in their work.
7 Deadly Distractions That Can Kill Your Business
Know when someone else can do it
One of the ways you can make it easier for people to prioritise the right jobs is by not giving them so much to do. You need to take a serious look at the needs of your business when a new one pops up. Then consider whether or not outsourcing might be the answer. Some balk at the idea of paying for something they can do themselves. However, if you need to ask an employee to take the time out of their day to learn how to effectively do it, you’re not spending their time right.
Best advice from CEOs: 40 execs’ secrets to success
Get your team to do more
At the same time, there may be opportunities to ask your team to handle more. Particularly, you should be doing this as the business expands. As the business takes on more responsibilities, you have more on your plate. Learn how to delegate and train your employees in the skills they need to grow their career. At the same time, teach them how to delegate and help their new team members do what they used to. The progression of workflow should be changing over time, not static.
11 Insanely Powerful and Motivational Videos For Your Team
Keep hold of your people
Giving people those opportunities to grow is just as important for them as it is for your business. Development and advancement are two of the most important parts of retaining your employees. Retaining your employees should be the goal of every efficient business person. For one, you don’t have to go through the expensive process of hiring and training more often. You also don’t want to lose people who already know how the business operates. Make sure your most vital team members are valued as such and know they are.
7 Ways to Keep Your Best Employees
Don’t do so much work to stand out
Marketing is another important aspect of the business, but it’s one that a lot of businesses will put too much effort into. If you’re constantly having to broadcast your messaging to get noticed, you’re not doing it efficiently. Instead, you should learn the places to directly target your target market. You should also learn the branding style that best represents your business. Deep, not wide, is the way that any business should approach marketing at the beginning. Then, as your business scales and your resources grow, you keep it as deep but grow it wider.
7 Easy Ways to Make Your Business Stand Out From the Crowd
The tips above are going to help you eliminate the holes in the ship that is your business. Keep working on ways to make your employees members of a real team and make sure your time is never wasted.
