‘Productivity’ is an important concept in business. If your employees aren’t working in the most productive way possible, you’ll soon find yourself wasting valuable time, money and effort.
Luckily, by investing a little here and there, it can be easy to improve the productivity of your business! Let’s take a look at five areas you can invest in to increase productivity.
1. Efficiency
Efficiency and productivity go hand in hand. The more efficient your systems and processes are, the more productive your employees will be. Perhaps consider performing a review of your business from the bottom up, examining the efficiency of the workplace, noting areas to be improved, and asking employees what would help them work more efficiently.
There are plenty of areas in which investment into efficiency is almost guaranteed to pay off. Project management software, such as Trello or Evernote, is always a good option to boost productivity. It’s also worth considering alternative work arrangements, such as allowing employees to work remotely, or installing different workspaces for different types of work.
2. Security
Every workplace must be secure in order to function as effectively as possible. But security measures must also be implemented so as to affect workers as minimally as possible.
Consider performing an audit of your business’ current equipment/technology and the security measures they carry. If employees are finding certain security measures a barrier to completing their work efficiently, consider upgrading or changing these measures. This way you’ll ensure both security and productivity are treated with equal importance in the workplace.
3. Furniture
When it comes to productivity, the importance of ergonomically designed workspaces cannot be underestimated. If your office furniture is outdated, it may risk causing injury or stress for your employees – and overall productivity will suffer because of it.
It may be strange to think that you can boost productivity through your office furniture, but it’s true! Making an investment in good-quality furniture and properly setting up workspaces means making an investment in productivity.
To begin your office’s ergonomic transformation, start by seeking out adjustable chairs with lumbar support, desks of an appropriate height, and other additions such as footrests and monitor stands to boost computers to eye level. You might also like to consider innovative options such as standing desks. For government standards and suggestions about appropriate office furniture, check out Safe Work Australia’s official principles and checklists here.
4. Décor
This might seem like an odd area to consider, but the décor of your office or workspace can really have an impact on your employees’ productivity and performance. Things like lighting and décor colours are important to get right, otherwise your employees’ concentration and work may suffer.
Adequate lighting is an extremely important aspect in any office. It’s important to have a good balance: a workspace that is too dim is just as bad as one that’s harshly lit by too many fluorescent lights. Research has shown that generous lighting increases productivity and workplace morale – especially when natural light is incorporated.
Appropriate colour schemes are an equally important part of office décor. Remembering handy rules of thumb, such as the ability of bright colours to stimulate the brain and neutral colours to soothe it, will serve you well when creating a productive workspace.
5. Technology
Technology has great potential to boost the productivity of your workforce. While technological upgrades might be some of the more expensive investments you make, they’re often the ones that will see the most reward in productivity and performance.
Tech upgrades don’t necessarily need to involve huge overhauls of your entire system. Consider replacing or improving one or two areas at a time to increase efficiency. For example, you may want to move your files and documents into the cloud rather than a paper-based storage system; or you might upgrade a completely physical system, such as faxing, to an online fax system like eFax, which digitises the process – and makes things much more efficient.
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With these five simple productivity investments, your employees will be working smarter and more efficiently than ever. Investing in even one or two of these areas is a great start and will lead to a more productive workplace in next to no time.