Running a business or team has its own challenges, it also means facing unique roadblocks when it comes to technology, productivity, and competition. However, this is not all. The coronavirus pandemic of early 2020 is changing the workplace as we know it.
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If you are an HR professional, you need to find innovative ways to overcome these challenges and bring your team to a new productivity level. This involves the right mindset and tools that fill your organization’s gaps in performance and time.
In this article, we will address some solutions you can implement to get more out of your team and your workplace. Let’s get started:
Project Management Software
When you have a team dealing with the current pandemic, you often need better ways to continue working while you are separated physically. Remote teams can still be quite effective, but you have to work against the tendency to lose productivity during this time.
Using project management and collaboration software is an excellent solution. You can easily delegate tasks by creating them in the software and assigning them to different individuals.
Furthermore, it speeds up the communication cycle as opposed to emails. When everyone is on the same platform, they can chat, video call, share files, etc.
Automated Data Entry
Data entry is a fact of life for most organizations. And if you’re like most companies, you have more data now than ever before. The ability to organize your banking, customer, and project information safely and reliably is of the utmost importance.
However, far too many businesses choose to do this manually. The result is that you waste hours or days on a task that could be done in minutes or seconds with automation.
Consider automating every part of your data that you can. This includes billing, customer databases, emails, finances, and even time tracking.
Limit Distractions
As a manager, you’re likely to have employees who get distracted. It might involve browsing non-work-related websites, chatting with other employees a little too much, or simply having a lot on their mind.
Even your best employees might sometimes be tempted to do something else to take their minds off work. Of course, reasonable breaks are part of any normal workday. However, if left unchecked, they can quickly veer out of control in your company.
Either way, consider how you can curb these distractions. For instance, if you have work-issued devices like laptops, phones, or tablets, you can install software that blocks certain sites.
While you might get pushed back at first, the reality is that there is no need for these sites during the workday unless their job specifically involves it.
If your employees aren’t willing to give you their focus during work hours, then you have larger issues looming that need to be addressed.
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File Sharing
Long gone are the days when a “file” was simply a manila envelope with a printed piece of paper or even a fax document. Today, most businesses around the world operate with digital documents. You have many different forms of media to contend with, and you need to have an effective way to manage, create, and share these files.
The best way to do this is by using cloud software. This can be easily accessed online or even downloaded if necessary to each device on your team. This serves multiple purposes.
First of all, it is a lightweight way to hold your files. By storing them online in the cloud, you don’t need to clog up your devices. That means they will run faster and you can be more productive.
Furthermore, you achieve a greater speed of sharing and event security. Documents, templates, guidelines, designs, and project tasks are easily distributed throughout your team. With just a few clicks, you can get everyone what they need without wasting any time.
Lastly, it significantly reduces storage and clutter and makes any piece of information much easier and faster to find, modify, or share.
Asset Management
In your business, you will likely have people sharing different equipment. However, a project can become delayed if many people need to use the same tool at the same time. You need to know where all your assets are, how often they’re being used, as well as their condition and cost.
For instance, you might realize that you have one machine that is creating 80% of your products. If your design specialists are all waiting around to use the same piece of equipment, that means you’re paying them to be unproductive.
Finally, if that one vital piece breaks down because you neglected to schedule it for maintenance, your operations effectively come to a standstill until the machine is repaired or replaced.
You need to know every aspect of your assets to properly employ them. This is known as asset management. Without it, you suffer lower productivity because you lack the knowledge of a key part of your own business operations.
Your assets are not only your physical tools, but your employees as well. By understanding exactly what you have, its value, and how it’s being employed, you can properly plan for new projects and save time.
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Conclusion
There are many productivity killers in the workplace today. You have social media, remote work, and a host of other distractions on the global stage. When you add to that the fact that the average attention span has gone down, you’re left with some big challenges.
So what do you do about them? You can implement the technologies and solutions above. Cater them to your specific team and industry to ensure you’re getting the most out of these tools.
That way, your team can get more done and increase your competitiveness and, ultimately, your profits.