3 Ways to Improve Productivity in Your Organization

If you own a small business or oversee a larger enterprise, you will be fully aware that there are numerous challenges to circumvent in 2023. Firstly, many Western countries are experiencing extremely high levels of inflation. This can increase the price of a range of raw materials and components that are used in the production of finished goods. Higher production costs must be passed on to the end consumer in the form of higher prices, or the business must reduce its profit levels per unit sold.

In addition, businesses in all sectors now face truly global competition due to the dramatic rise in e-commerce and the willingness of consumers to buy goods and services from companies outside their country. In short, the current economic environment is challenging for many businesses across all industries. There is a definite need for firms to look for ways to improve their productivity in 2023. This can be a key way of enjoying improved profitability and securing long-term success. In this article, three ways in which businesses can improve their productivity will be explained.

Educate Your Workforce

There is a multitude of information online that supports the idea that an educated workforce can improve productivity in the workplace. Put simply, a highly educated workforce will use their improved skills and knowledge to explore different ways of working, often finding more efficient and effective ways to complete a task or project. It is, therefore, vitally important to educate your workforce to the highest possible levels. Today, lean methodologies play a key role in encouraging productivity gains and senior staff should undertake a Lean Portfolio Management course to enable them to incorporate this knowledge into business practice across the organisation.

Encourage Hybrid Working

Hybrid working methods were rolled out across millions of businesses during the recent Covid-19 pandemic due to necessity and to adhere to movement restrictions that were imposed by governments. Many workers relished this change, as it reduced their weekly travel time to a centralized office and allowed them greater control over how they approached their working day. Recent evidence indicates that hybrid models of work can cultivate increased productivity in a company. Whilst there was a concern that hybrid working would lead to the opposite, as workers were not monitored as effectively and the risk of silo working practices increased, these fears have not been realized. By using collaborative software platforms, (video conferencing, cloud-based project management apps etc.) firms can enjoy high levels of productivity in a hybrid workforce whilst empowering staff to find their ideal working routines.

Create a Culture of Innovation

As a brief final point, another key way to boost productivity is to develop a culture of innovation in the workforce. Lower-level employees may do routine tasks that they know how to improve, but unless there is an innovative culture where new ideas are encouraged, these ideas may be lost. Traditional authoritarian organizational structures that were “top-down” stifled creativity and innovation in the workforce, at the expense of productivity gains. Today, many businesses adopt flatter organizational hierarchies and positively encourage the sharing of ideas to cultivate innovation and productivity gains across the organization.