by Zoe Zorka
It’s tough being a business owner right now. It seems like it’s a constant battle to keep making a profit when there is so much competition, too little money, and an ever-changing marketplace. But, there ARE lots of things you can do to improve your situation and keep your business running along smoothly. For example, you could work to boost your productivity with less staff, thus saving you a lot of money…
Be a Better Manager
If you want to increase your business’ productivity while running your operation with a smaller number of staff, the first thing you must do is look at your management technique. In order to make things work, you need to support the employees you do have, guide them effectively through their working life, and equip them with the skills they need to achieve and maintain a high level of performance. If you can’t do this, having fewer staff may not be an option right now.
Cross Train Your Employees
When you have less employees working in your business, those employees need to do more. The more tasks your staff can complete, the more flexibly you can use them and the more options you have at your disposal. Also, having employees who are trained in a number of functions means that they will all understand each other’s roles and the process better, which makes it easier for everyone in the long-term.
Outsource When Needed
Whether it’s having Ribbit Business Solutions take care of your IT needs or hiring a freelance writer for your online marketing, outsourcing is a great way to bridge the gap when you have fewer staff available and no one around who can do a particularly difficult task on an ad-hoc basis. After all, it makes no sense to hire a staff writer when you will only need written content a few times a year, when you can hire one on a short contract when there is a need and save a fortune.
Use Automation
Using automation software for as many tasks as you can is a simple and effective way of reducing staff levels without negatively affecting productivity -in fact, productivity is likely to soar - and there are so many things you can automate now.
Teach Communication Skills
Hopefully, the employees you’ve hired have excellent communication skills already, but it can’t hurt to teach them how to listen more carefully and communicate more efficiently if you want them to be as productive as possible. This will help to keep things running smoothly by avoiding misunderstandings between individuals.
If you can, try using instant messaging services, online conferencing tools, and even social media as another effective, timesaving communication tool, too.
Focus
Last, but not least, you should maintain a high level of focus at all times, and train your staff to do the same by making it clear which tasks are most important and which areas of the business require the most attention.
It really is possible to save money by increasing productivity and lowering staff levels, you just need to implement the above ideas to make it work.