There is a belief that the more hours you work, the more productivity and efficiency in the workplace you have. However, this theory is watered down. The data shows that by working fewer hours, you are more productive in terms of GDP/hour worked. This may be because we attend to the result and neglect how we get it.
The question, at this point, is logical: How to improve efficiency in the company by prioritizing tasks? The answer to this question lies precisely in optimizing the management of jobs, not only with respect to the results obtained but also the process. That is to say, you need to ensure that for each job position, it is clear not only what must be done but also how it must be done to contribute to the company’s profitability.
What does operational efficiency mean?
Operational efficiency consists of strategic planning developed to meet the needs of the target audience and offer quality products and services, as well as dedicated use of the available resources.
As expected, the operational efficiency of a business provides a clear perspective of the initiatives taken by the management of the organization to create workflows that get the most out of all the investments made every day.
In itself, efficiency is a way of looking at how a certain objective is achieved, evaluating the amount of effort taken to succeed, and comparing the results to the original plan.
How can you improve the efficiency of your company?
If effectiveness refers to the degree of achievement of objectives, efficiency takes into account the resources used to reach the said goals. There are two types of analysis for efficiency: on the one hand, the cost-benefit ratio and, on the other hand, the cost-effectiveness ratio. From these analyses, the Return on Investment, ROI, can be deduced.
With this in mind, the search criteria of companies accustomed to hiring workers with great technical capacity as the best virtue should be changed and focused on workers who combine technical capacity with a high degree of efficiency.
This task is also carried out by the human resources department, which should be capable of generating value from the redesign of jobs.
In addition, use the right tools to make your hiring process more rewarding. Try Leadar or any other service where you can find suitable candidates to fill your vacancies.
Keys to improving company efficiency
In this guide, we want to show you multiple ways by which you can improve performance in each job position:
Analyze what responsibilities are assigned to each employee:
There may be duplication of functions, or inefficiencies in the processes, as well as a large number of operational tasks that should be delegated to others to optimize the work of the management staff.
Identify the high-profit activities of the position:
The 80/20 Rule, or Pareto Principle, establishes that in many cases 20% of the effort produces 80% of the result. In other words, a small percentage of causes leads to a much larger net effect. Therefore, identifying whether employees are focusing their work on the said 20% is key to improving efficiency in the workplace, dedicating more time to what is really important to the company, organizing their priorities, and delegating what delays or limits them in achieving goals to their colleagues.
Direct the efforts of employees toward those activities:
Once highly profitable activities for each job position have been identified, they should be communicated systematically to personnel under a formalized model. By clarifying what their objectives are in the workplace, employees are clear about what they have to do and why they are going to do it.
Adapt the competency profile to the position an employee holds:
Contrasting the level of competence required to gain efficiency in the position with the level of competence an employee has allows you to assign people to positions rather than create positions for people. Thus, a process of continuous quality improvement and optimization of time devoted to high-profit activities in the workplace is being developed.
Motivate to maintain efficiency:
Undoubtedly, a motivated worker will maintain efficiency in the workplace more constantly, but how to achieve this without resorting to salary? It’s a fact that communication and feedback generation represent a source of motivation for workers that encourages them to maintain their efficiency in the workplace.
Additionally, non-material motivation methods include creating a friendly atmosphere and building up trusted relationships inside the team; praises from the administration of the company for the successfully completed work; career advancement and professional development opportunities; organization of joint leisure to unite employees and make them value their workplace.
Rely on technology:
Having the solutions and tools optimized and oriented toward efficient production is an ideal way to guarantee a high level of performance.
There are multiple options today for companies to speed up their performance. One of them is an electronic signature, a digital tool that allows businesses in all segments to simplify their operations thanks to automation and digitization of processes that involve creating contracts, budget approvals, document signing, and transactions of all kinds.
Due to the implementation of this solution, you will eliminate annoying bureaucratic steps and let decision-makers streamline the workflow by accelerating multiple initiatives, such as approving documents, executing transactions, and providing important information, no matter where they are.
Promote the unification of information:
Centralizing the flow of information and reducing the steps necessary for a process to go from start to finish stimulates, in many cases, the collaboration between the company’s departments and makes it easier to obtain positive results.
Prepare a strategy, preferably leveraged on technology, with the aim of facilitating the interaction between collaborators, alignment of objectives between departments, and definition of activities to achieve true operational efficiency.
Conclusion
We have discussed the main ways in which you can improve the efficiency of your company. Proper distribution of responsibilities and prioritization of tasks, motivation of employees, and company performance optimization, in particular, with the help of technology will take your organization to the next level of productivity.