Running your own business can be challenging. Unlike large companies, you’re doing everything on your own with little backup. Every minute of the day counts, and the more time you can spend growing your customer base, the better.

My Business Entrepreneurship Facilitator Chris Mooney said productivity was a critical aspect of any business, and small businesses, in particular, needed to optimise their productivity to compete effectively. 

Being more productive helps to grow your business because it increases profitability, enables higher wages (attracting new employees), and improves customer satisfaction.

On the other hand, low productivity causes stagnation. It costs your business money in decreased efficiency and often means that your employees aren’t engaged with their work. 

“Productivity is a function of a lot of things for business, and it relates to running an error-free business. From training your employees to building relationships with your staff, suppliers, [and] customers, all these aspects contribute to productivity,” Mr Mooney said.

“If you have an adversarial relationship with suppliers and staff, it will almost certainly be unproductive. It’s all about everybody wanting to go the extra mile to help you be successful, and in many ways, you are in charge of making sure people are motivated enough to want to do the right thing. The quality you’ve set is the quality you walk past.”

Examine how the variables that affect company productivity interact with other characteristics of the workplace. To operate at its best, a company must strike a balance between goals, earnings, and employee morale. The benefit of a high productivity rate depends on how long it can be sustained.

Better productivity starts with business leaders providing achievable frameworks for success. It’s important to figure out what motivates teams and individuals, from setting reminder notifications and discouraging multitasking to offering flexibility and wellness programs.

Businesses can improve productivity by setting clear goals and priorities across the organisation and communicating them to their employees. Prioritising tasks and setting achievable goals can help your team stay focused and motivated.

It is important to also regularly monitor progress and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure that your business is on track to meet its goals. Use data to identify areas that need improvement and implement changes to improve productivity, according to Mr Mooney.

Assessing your business and using these insights can also allow you to make ongoing adjustments to improve productivity and refine business processes over time.

By optimising productivity, small businesses can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately drive profitability.

“Business efficiency and productivity links back to reduced error rates. It’s important to understand all the different aspects of your business,” Mr Mooney said.

“If you don’t have the data, then you can’t control the errors. So, make sure you measure it, control it and also share information with your stakeholders because if they have information, they can do things differently.”