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Business productivity refers to an organization’s capacity to utilize its resources profitably to provide items or services that customers want. It refers to a company’s ability to turn inputs like labor, materials, machines, and capital into goods and services or production.
Productivity is a metric that assesses an organization’s performance and may also be used by businesses to assess their progress. Today, productivity isn’t only about monitoring input-output ratios; it’s also about working intelligently.
Efficiencies can be found practically anyplace in the firm. The requirement for enhanced corporate efficiency has grown as a result of technological advancements, client expectations, and, particularly, globalization.
Entrepreneurs today have to compete with businesses in nations such as China and India, where labor costs are a fraction of those in other countries. Personnel productivity is determined by their abilities, the quality of machines available, and good management.
How to Improve Business productivity?
Training, equipment investment, and better employee management can all help increase productivity. In the near term, training and investment are costly, but they can boost production in the long run.
Simple adjustments to operational processes can boost productivity, but the biggest gains come from implementing new technology, which may necessitate capital investments in new equipment, computers, or software.
Employees can accomplish their jobs well and with high levels of productivity on an individual level, but their productivity can be zero or negative on an organizational level if they are engaged in redundant or value-destroying activities.
The efficiency with which a company’s resources are employed to make goods, the price at which it can sell its products, and the number of products it can sell are all factors in most business models.
Collaboration
Collaboration is critical in any company. Collaboration solutions, such as G Suite or Microsoft Teams, allow employees to complete a variety of tasks.
With these tools, you can get all of the information you need in one spot. For instance, on Google Drive, you can preserve all of your data and grant access to people who need it.
Employees that work remotely may effortlessly collaborate and share papers, saving time and eliminating unnecessary meetings.
Flexibility
Employee flexibility is at an all-time high thanks to the introduction of technology into the workplace, allowing people to work from anywhere while still having access to critical information.
Employees can save a lot of time by working from home, because getting to the workplace these days takes hours due to traffic.
The business saves money by not having to invest in extra heavy workstations. Team members communicate frequently via cell phones, even when they are thousands of miles apart.
Business Analysis
On the market, there are numerous comprehensive business analysis and reporting solutions that can assist you in gaining a thorough grasp of your company’s performance and market trends.
Business analysis is critical for a company’s revenue growth if it wants to keep ahead of the competition and embrace the various changes. They’re the most crucial documents for boosting productivity.
Customer Support
Customer relationship management (CRM) systems can be linked to employee devices to boost business productivity.
Employees will spend less time searching for data if they have access to client data. This will improve customer satisfaction because you will not have to wait for long periods of time for your problem to be resolved.
Employees have easier access to customer data, which boosts corporate productivity. Customer service and assistance may now be offered at any time because to the numerous technologies accessible.
Factors that Positively Influence Business Productivity
Use Technology
Web-based technologies have the potential to significantly boost corporate productivity. Spreadsheets, ready-to-use software, and custom-developed applications are examples of management tools.
Materials can be obtained through electronic purchase. It enables for more competitive pricing because it is no longer limited to local suppliers; the transaction costs are decreased because there is less paperwork.
Inventory control systems can assist in lowering inventory levels, increasing profitability, and shortening customer response times.
Inventory information is integrated with the organization’s purchasing, accounting, and e-business systems through online ordering systems.
Review Existing Processes
From the perspective of a potential investor, the processes should be examined. You must consider the company’s overall goal and vision, as well as the processes’ ability to accomplish those goals and generate value.
Drawing an exact map of each process in your information flow is recommended; this will allow you to better understand the connections between the many parts of production, as well as detect and reduce unproductiveness in your firm.
Implement Continuous Improvement Plan
- Examine the industry’s competition and best practices. Don’t duplicate other companies’ plans; instead, figure out what works best for you.
- Seek outside assistance in determining the company’s strengths and limitations. This gives you a neutral vantage point from which you can boost efficiency by rethinking processes.
- Assign different teams to different procedures. Establish a formal staff suggestion mechanism.
- Seek out achievements that are unique. Small changes can add up to large gains in productivity.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is a low-cost option to concentrate your attention on what you do best as a company.
It’s critical to understand what drives expenses and profits in your firm before outsourcing logistics, accounting, payroll, public relations, or IT.
Strategic Alliances
A good alliance allows a company to expand without having to expand its size or incur additional costs. Increased economies of scale and a larger distribution market, for example, could improve production procedures.
It could also assist the company in negotiating better supply deals, sharing costs, and utilizing expensive technologies.
Factors that Negatively Influence Business Productivity
Meetings
Meetings should be used to produce solutions by a group of people. Email is a significantly more efficient technique of disseminating information to a huge number of individuals.
To avoid meetings harming corporate productivity, only invite those who need to attend, prepare an agenda ahead of time, and make meetings as brief as feasible.
Overly Strict Hours
Is it really necessary to require employees to remain at their desk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., given that telecommunications and cloud technologies allow them to work and cooperate over large distances?
A productive work day is not guaranteed if employees are not trusted, even if they are restricted to their desks. Workers must be allowed to work when and where it is most convenient for them.
Too Much Stress
Overly stressful work conditions come at a hefty cost in terms of relaxation and lost work days. The amount of stress in the workplace should be a major concern.
There are numerous elements that contribute to job stress, ranging from workplace climate to aggressive coworkers.
Stressors differ from one person to the next. You will be able to work to address difficult situations if you find a way to pay attention to them.
Very Little Recognition
Employees may believe that putting in extra effort isn’t worth it if excellent performance isn’t rewarded.
While monetary incentives are always appreciated, something as simple as a lunch, a handwritten letter, or simply saying “excellent job” can go a long way in motivating staff to do their best work.
Lack of Trust
Employees are more invested in the company’s success when they feel like they are a vital part of it. A lack of confidence, on the other hand, is one of the few factors that separates employees from the organization.
Employees are made aware that they are not part of the team if the company’s transparency is limited. Treating employees like spoiled children, on the other hand, demonstrates how little is expected of them.
While it may appear that prohibiting personal phone conversations or tightly monitoring internet use will increase productivity, the resentment that employees will feel as a result of these restrictions will lead to lower dedication.
Why is Productivity Important?
Competitive Prices
Improving production lowers the product’s cost per unit, resulting in reduced prices and higher quality. In the same way, it improves the company’s market competitiveness.
The company will be in a better position to attract more customers and earn more sales if its prices are competitive.
Increase in Earnings
Lower production costs result from increased production using the organization’s resources more efficiently. As a result, sales and earnings increase.
Investor confidence rises when an organization’s profits rise. It also raises the value of the company’s stock and improves its reputation.
As a result of improved output, the corporation can share a portion of its profits with its employees. Employees are more motivated as a result of the satisfaction of a work well done and the possibility of obtaining a portion of the profits.
Discover Strengths and Weaknesses
It enables a business to identify its strengths and shortcomings. Also, as a result of competition and changes in the business environment, readily detect the dangers and opportunities that exist in the market.
In order to strengthen weak areas and capitalize on strengths, a firm can raise its business productivity by making suitable adjustments to its business rules and processes.
Similarly, tactics can be devised to transform dangers into opportunities, resulting in increased profits and stability.
Real Case Example of Productivity Improvement
- Allowing work from home for a medium-sized company with 100 office-based employees could boost productivity. This would eliminate distractions, ineffective meetings, and other things that impede productivity. Employees will also save time getting to and from work.
- A traditional shoe sales company can increase efficiency by implementing technology that tracks each unit sold and automatically orders more when inventory is low.
- A marketing firm that allows its workers to work from home can boost productivity by arranging only the meetings that are absolutely essential.
- A software business can boost its productivity by hiring time management experts or purchasing classes that it can deliver to its staff for free.
- Netflix, for example, allows its employees to choose when they want to take holidays.
- In the United States, more and more organizations are allowing their workers to work from home or from anywhere in the world.
Wells Fargo Case
When your company is in charge of tracking the money and belongings of around 70 million individuals, you can bet that customer service will be one of your top priorities.
One of the “Big Four” banks in the United States, Wells Fargo, is one of them. Wells Fargo understands that many of their clients have accounts with various banks, so they knew they need to go above and beyond when it comes to customer service.
They achieve this by taking use of the CRM’s social media connectivity, which allows them to stay in touch with individuals who need them at all times.
They also use CRM to make sure that everybody who comes to them with a problem is swiftly linked with someone who can help.
“We see the cloud as a tool to help people connect with customers, connect with products in construction, and connect with risk management procedures,” says Steve Ellis, director of the Wells Fargo Service Group.
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