You can plan every second of your workday to be packed full of activity but accomplish nothing of importance. Productivity is only effective if it’s creating a positive change. If you want to make the most of your work hours, there are five changes every business can make to increase meaningful productivity.
1. Combine Your Daily Operations
Daily operations like sales management, cloud management, and general operations take up a huge chunk of work time. You can save time and increase productivity by:
- Combining your business processes into one system.
- Letting JD Edwards Consulting help you manage your business, tech, and functional needs.
- Combining departments that perform similar roles.
Combining daily tasks frees up more time for you to focus on the larger goals of your company.
2. Decide What Activities Are Necessary
You probably spend valuable time at work every day doing tasks that aren’t actually necessary. So how do you identify and eliminate them?
- Ask yourself if what you’re doing is adding value to the business. Is it creating money, contacts, or customers?
- Are there tasks that accomplish one of those things but could be made more efficient?
- If you can identify tasks that don’t create customers, money, or industry contacts, eliminate them. They aren’t adding value to the company and are therefore unnecessary.
- If you can identify tasks that are necessary but take too long to accomplish, create a plan to speed them up. Test out new ways of getting the job done until you find what works.
Getting rid of unnecessary tasks frees up time for more meaningful productivity.
3. Utilize Your Email
Email marketing has grown in efficiency in recent years. With more people at home since the pandemic began, emails from companies are actually being opened. This means that now is your chance to utilize email marketing on a whole new level.
- Include links, promotions, and discounts in your transactional emails. Transactional emails are what’s generated when someone buys a product from you. They’re the most likely to be opened, so make sure they contain marketing.
- Partner with other companies and cross-promote each other in your emails. For example, when someone orders a product from you, you might recommend that another company’s accessory would go well with it.
- Send your promotional campaign emails to yourself first. That way you can ensure that everything looks right and links back to your site properly.
An email is a powerful tool, make sure you’re using it to its full potential.
4. Reward Results, Not Attempts.
It’s better to make one actual sale than ten sale attempts. Make sure you’re rewarding your employees for their good results, so they aren’t just focused on the numbers. Consider:
- Eliminating attempt-based quotas. If your employees are calling people, focus on how often they make a sale instead of on how many numbers they called that day.
- Promoting employees who consistently have good feedback from customers.
- Modeling result-based behavior. Let your employees see you make decisions that encourage positive results.
Focus on the successes your employees bring to the table.
5. Take Longer Breaks
This may seem counter-productive when you’re trying to increase productivity, but breaks lead to better work.
- Most employees report feeling refreshed and productive after a lengthy break.
- Employees who take longer breaks are less likely to experience job burnout.
- Taking a break allows you to relax and return with a refreshed mind. Going for walks, listening to music, and taking a quick nap can all contribute to a better workday.
Taking breaks is an important part of creating a productive work-life cycle.
These five small changes can increase the meaningful productivity of your business, and raise overall sales. Give them a try and see how they work for you.
