Do you have your own business or manage a company? Do you get that nagging feeling you and your staff are not utilizing time correctly? Are certain tasks are taking longer than they should? There are plenty of ways you can optimize workflow – and they’re not as difficult as you’d think. Let’s look at five ways you can optimize workflow.
1. Cloud-based Technology
Companies can use a cloud computing platform to run reduce resources used to run applications or software. It’s also ideal for businesses considering a move to a cloud in a hybrid setting. This Platform as a Service (PaaS) is available in two options – a partition for your own installation of applications or an OS you can self-manage, or one provided with an OS and maintained for you. Check out communication experts who can supply you with all kinds of workflow-optimizing tools.
2. Video Conferencing
If you and your employees are not all in one place, yet need to communicate effectively, video conferencing is the way to go. Some companies provide a service called Video as a Service (VaaS) where, for a reasonable monthly fee, your company gets access to a multiparty ‘video conferencing bridge room’. The service is supplied and maintained by a local service provider in a secure data center, so everyone will have access to documents and anything else needed to keep the company running smoothly.
3. Use a Time Tracker
It’s incredibly easy to lose of track of time when you’re working on a project. What seems like a quick task can actually take longer than you think. By using a time tracker to analyze productivity, you could have a real wake-up call when you realise how long that five minute task really takes. Time tracking helps to set clear objectives and you’re more likely to focus on one task at a time – it forces you to prioritise tasks. If you know how you should be allocating your time, your productivity will increase. It will be hard to procrastinate too.
4. Delegate Effectively
As a result of time tracking, you should get a good idea of how you should delegate tasks. It’s important everyone knows not only what they’re doing, but why they’re doing it. It creates a sense of purpose, which in turn increases engagement. Performance, therefore, improves with engagement. Think back to past projects, taking note of everyone’s strengths and pairing them with tasks you know they’ll do well.
5. Multitask
This isn’t just about employees multitasking, but computers too. There are tasks that can be done by a computer without any user interaction. A second computer or program running in the background can move things along quickly. Tasks like uploading, downloading or processing video can be completed on a second system, whilst you work on another system. If you sort things out right from the start, you could have several computers simultaneously running different tasks!
Optimising workflow is a process that needs to constantly be fine-tuned as your company changes. Tasks that were important when you first started may not be so now, a few years down the track. Proper communication between staff, reliable technology, time-tracking and automating tasks will really keep a business running at a high level. How do you optimise your workflow? Have you figured out enough cost savings to throw an amazing office party for your team yet? Let us know in the comments below.
