Technology has grown at an amazing rate over the last decade. It has become a fundamental part of our everyday life. If any business is to boost its productivity and realize immense success in today’s increasingly globalized era of portable devices, it must make the most out of what technology has to offer. From hybrid cloud computing to project management tools, there are many state-of-the-art solutions built to address the productivity needs of your business. Let’s now take a look at ways to tailor and optimize technology to increase business productivity.
1. Mine the Gold in Group Chats
Inefficient communication has a huge price tag. In fact, Debra Hamilton asserted that small businesses with 100 staff lose almost $420,000 a year because of miscommunication among workers. Group messaging tools can enhance communication efficiency and staff productivity significantly. They save time and ensure everyone is on the same page by keeping emails between employees as minimal as possible. Urgent questions get answered right away. Most group messaging tools, such as Fleep and Slack, can operate effectively across all devices, from desktop to smartphones.
2. Build an Environment for Seamless Collaboration
A collaboration suite or application can help you take productivity in your workplace to a completely new level. Collaboration programs like Microsoft Teams, Slack, or G-Suite are designed to create an all-inclusive environment where employees can brainstorm, plan, and complete tasks. These applications ensure all team members have access to all the essential tools they require to perform their tasks and remain productive. They minimize unnecessary meetings, which account for 15 percent of a company’s total time. Implement collaboration technology into your everyday operations and your staff will not only be more productive but also more committed to their work. Partnering with an international PEO can also help you boost collaboration and cooperation among your staff, especially if you’re considering expanding beyond your borders.
3. Automate Time Tracking
How are your employees clocking in and logging in their hours? If they are still relying on time cards and timesheets, then you’re not exploiting the power of automated time tracking. This technology enables you to reduce the odds of your staff committing time theft, which saves your business many hours and thousands of dollars. It saves your HR managers from the painstaking process of manually inspecting time entries and rectifying incorrect time logs. It provides you with valuable insights into how your employees are allotting and spending time, which helps you discover productivity leaks and improvement opportunities. Time tracking automation also enables superior project planning, which boosts overall workforce productivity. Some examples of time tracking tools include Toggl and TimeBoy.
4. Promote Self-Service
Your workers are smart, so you don’t have to do everything for them. Just believe in their capabilities and let them do some things on their own. For instance, rather than going to the HR department to pick forms, your staff can access them from the comfort of the workstation and print them. Technology allows you to put in place customized self-service platforms where your staff can perform specific tasks on their own without depending on other persons in the office. Empowering self-service is, therefore, a great way to enhance daily efficiency for all staff in the workplace.
5. Incorporate Customer Service Tools Into the Work Process
Your customer’s interest comes before everything else. With that in mind, it’s important to assess if the products or services you offer are meeting your customers’ needs. Introducing customer service tools into the work process gives your staff trouble-free, automatic access to crucial customer details, reducing time spent looking for those details. This enhances customer satisfaction and boosts your business’ productivity.
6. Spruce Up Your Digital Workplaces
The work environment has a direct effect on your employees’ productivity. Confusion considerably lowers their ability to concentrate on a task. But a streamlined computer screen, Internet browser, and work applications can help your team feel organized and composed. Tools that can help you keep your digital environment organized include Toby, Station, and Magnet. A streamlined digital environment is an important part of a company that’s considering hiring talents from different parts of the world. Such a company can benefit a lot from working with a good international PEO company.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the thousands of creative strategies that you can use to optimize technology to boost business productivity. Technology is continuously evolving, which means new tools to help businesses make work more satisfying and enhance productivity are continuously being created. All you need to do is to invest in the right productivity technology and add it to your business strategy.
