Businesses lose 2 to 3 hours of productivity to distractions and inefficient processes. That translates to over 700 hours lost each year. A study even estimates employers lose $1.8 trillion every year to productivity issues.
Most employers are aware of this and the impact it has on their business. That’s why enterprise-level organizations spend huge amounts of time and money on fixing unproductivity, even working with productivity experts (who don’t come cheap).
However, most small businesses don’t have the resources to devote to a comprehensive productivity program, but they still need to stay productive to thrive.
You can actually fix many of the problems that hurt productivity in your small business without using expensive solutions or hiring consultants. We’ll show you practical, low-cost solutions to solve unproductivity in your small business.
What Does Increased Productivity Mean to You?
Increased productivity is essentially a measure of how efficient a business is with its resources. When you increase productivity, it means that you’re completing more tasks with fewer resources. This translates into higher profits, as well as increased customer satisfaction and less waste.
Let’s illustrate this: If your business makes $80 an hour, increasing your productivity by 10% means you make an extra $8 an hour doing no extra work. If you run your business on 60-hour workweeks, that means you increase profits by an extra $480 weekly. That’s $25,000 a year!
That can make a big difference to your bottom line. It can also lead to improved customer service. When you can deliver services and products faster, it increases customer satisfaction, producing repeat customers and more profits.
In addition, increased productivity can lead to a stronger competitive edge. When your business can provide more and better services faster than its competitors, you can gain market share and outpace competitors in the marketplace. This will naturally lead to increased sales and revenue, allowing you to expand your business’s reach and create new opportunities.
3 Ways You Can Boost Productivity in a Small Business Without Spending More
Although improving productivity requires time and energy, there are a few simple things you can do to make sure your overhead remains unaffected (or at least feels the slightest touch).
These approaches will give your business a nitro-boost in efficiency:
1. Remove Distractions and Improve Focus in the Workplace
This may seem obvious, but we often forget that one of the biggest drains on our productivity is ourselves.
In SurePayroll’s Productivity Prohibitors Survey, 50% of over 5000 employees surveyed admitted to being distracted by their phones or texting at work, and 42% were distracted by gossip. This kind of behavior is not only bad for business but can also have a negative impact on employee well-being as well.
However, those aren’t the only sources of distraction in the workplace. Other things that sap productivity include:
- Social media
- Meetings
- Cluttered workplaces
It’s important to create an environment that encourages focus and minimizes distractions. To do this, ensure you have a dedicated workspace with minimal noise and interruptions.
Limit access to personal devices during work hours. Or create a designated time (like a tea break) for checking phones. Also, allow employees breaks throughout the day to refresh and refocus their attention.
2. Automate Repetitive Tasks
Automating processes is possibly the most straightforward way to improve efficiency. Instead of having your staff perform the same repetitive tasks every day, you can automate these tasks using the software.
This is a useful approach for office work and business processes like sales and marketing, customer support fulfillment, customer relations management, and many admin or filing tasks.
Automating such tasks will save you time and effort, freeing up valuable resources for more important tasks. It’s like getting a dedicated, near-infallible, and focused employee to deal with minor tasks that take up time and energy.
3. Delegate Some Tasks to a Virtual Receptionist
A virtual receptionist is a low-cost and hassle-free alternative to an in-house receptionist. They can provide a variety of services, such as answering calls, managing emails, and booking appointments so that you don’t have to deal with the cost of hiring a full-time receptionist.
What’s more: You can use a virtual receptionist’s services anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.
With ultra-professional virtual receptionists, you can get the most refined, helpful, and consistent assistance you need in your business. For example, even without employing talent in-house, you can give your business a polished brand image whenever customers and clients come in contact with your virtual receptionist.
It’s that low-cost extension of your team that takes an enormous burden off your shoulders in handling certain tasks.
This is even a useful service for businesses that operate internationally because the virtual receptionist can answer phone calls and reply to emails from your clients anywhere in the world so you can establish and maintain relationships with your customers regardless of their location.
Some tasks a virtual receptionist can handle for you are:
- Incoming call answering: The virtual receptionist will greet the customer, answer some basic questions, take their messages, and even direct them to the right people or information in a timely manner.
- Outbound calling: The receptionist will make calls to potential customers to inform them about products and services offered by the company or any other mission you want to achieve with outbound calls.
- Customer intake: They can help you get onboard new customers, collecting all the information you need to provide your products and services and assist the customers on to the next step of your flow.
If you’re looking for ways to boost productivity while keeping overhead low in your small business, then a live receptionist could be the perfect solution. With a live receptionist, you can give your business a more professional human touch that can help foster trust and satisfaction with customers.
Your calls and messages will be handled promptly, which will make it easier for clients to do business with you and remove the ring-ring distraction of the office telephone.
Lakes Virtual Receptionist can help you with all that. Specially designed for small businesses, you can book more meetings, create more highly qualified leads, and open up opportunities to earn more money. There’s no commitment required — you can try our services today with a 7-day free trial.
