5 Ways to Improve Workplace Efficiency

Workplace efficiency means getting work done with the least amount of time and effort wasted. While many factors can contribute to or hamper efficiency, implementing a few key changes can increase productivity, improve workplace efficiency, employee satisfaction, and overall workplace culture.

Even if you’re working remotely, you can adapt many of these tips to a home-office operation. Here are five ways to help you improve workplace efficiency.

How to Improve Workplace Efficiency

Start with the Workplace

A positive working environment directly influences employees’ productivity and efficiency, so it may be time for a workplace makeover.

• Cover those drab white or gray walls with a coat of productivity-boosting color such as red, blue, yellow, or green. Find the right shade and intensity to strike a balance between muted and overwhelming.
• Keep the office comfortable, not too cold, and not too hot—between 68- and 70-degrees F is optimal. Extreme temperatures can be distracting.
• Replace traditional furniture with ergonomically correct chairs and desks. Employees can’t be expected to be efficient if they are in pain from hunching over their desks.
• Update computers, software, and other equipment. Outdated office devices and software slow down production and frustrate workers. Hire an IT consultant or channel partner to help modernize your systems.

Offer Flexible Work Schedules

Most companies discovered the benefits of remote working when the pandemic forced workers to stay “safer at home.” Meetings were video conferenced, projects were turned in online, and employees saved time by not commuting.

Offering remote work and flexible schedules to employees who want to continue with their pandemic-created work environment shows workers you trust them away from the office. Content workers will reward you by working smarter and harder. Plus, you’ll save costs on office utilities.

Realistic Goal Setting

At some point, we’ve all been guilty of setting impossible goals for ourselves and possibly for our team members. Although setting objectives is essential to success, it’s also vital to not set ourselves and employees up for failure.

Before you establish deadlines, talk to your team about what they can reasonably accomplish in a specific time frame. Asking for input can be incredibly eye-opening and give you insight into possible problems you may not have considered. It often can help to break a project into smaller components or outsource some processes to improve workplace efficiency.

Fine Tune Time Management Strategies

By allowing flexible work schedules for your team, you’re letting them work when they can be most efficient—whether that’s early morning or late at night. For team members juggling many different responsibilities, make sure you give clear directions about your expectations—what you want and when you want it. Hold group video conferences to catch up with employees and find out if anyone is struggling or lagging behind.

Team members who are good at these practices can share their time-managements tips to help coworkers. Ask for suggestions about new apps or technology tools that can increase productivity and reduce time spent on repetitive tasks.

Outsource to Improve Workplace Efficiency

You may think doing everything in-house saves money and makes your business more independent. The truth is outsourcing certain business operations can free you and your staff to take on more clients and focus on revenue-generating activities. Tasks such as website maintenance, social media marketing, and accounting processes can be easily outsourced and will likely be better handled by experts in those fields.

For example, Bill.com can relieve your company of tedious accounting tasks such as data entry and storage, paying vendors, invoicing customers, and helps you get paid faster by simplifying the entire process.

Improve workplace efficiency by letting Bill.com help you clear your desk so pesky incoming bills don’t pile up, and no one forgets to send out invoice due reminders. Plus, Bill.com is cloud-based, which means you can access your financials anywhere and anytime you need to see them.

This article, "5 Ways to Improve Workplace Efficiency" was first published on Small Business Trends