Sorry, work, this just isn’t working anymore.
It’s not you, it’s you.
This relationship is being destroyed by your poor communication skills and an outdated style.
[End Scene]OK, that was a bit dramatic, but I hope you get my point.
Sometimes, work can be a struggle and you just want the opportunity to leave. As a leader of a small business or project manager, you have to recognize the signs that your team needs to be engaged and productive.
These warning signs are like the dashboard lights on your car’s dashboard. You can tell if you are consistently missing deadlines or hiring more employees to reduce workload before you burn out. Just like the oil light in your car, it will let you know that you need to change your oil before your engine explodes.
Small-business leaders can improve their organization’s effectiveness by being able to know when and how to change their work approach, whether it’s updating project management technology, hiring more people, or scheduling fewer meetings.
This guide will show you 5 ways to make your work more efficient.
How to make your team more productive
1. Keep up-to-date with technology
No matter how talented and hardworking your team is, outdated technology can hold you back. You can’t work in the field if you have too many tools, such as a project tracking tool, collaboration tool, and scheduling tool.
According to a Dell and Intel study, 44% of employees worldwide feel that their workplace isn’t intelligent enough. 46% also believe that tech-related issues are their biggest time-wasters.
Do you want your team’s work to be done or wasted time tinkering with obsolete technology?
Signs of trouble
Make the following changes:
Ask your team to assess whether your project management software or other devices meet their needs. It’s as easy as asking your team if they have the tools necessary to do their job and what technological issues they’ve encountered.
Also, you should conduct an internal technology audit: Does every member of your team have at least a functional smartphone and laptop?
2. More employees
It’s possible that there is too much work and not enough people doing it. This can lead to frustration and burnout as well as unsuccessful projects.
“Doing more with fewer” didn’t work in print journalism. It won’t work in your team. The more people you have, you can do more.
PMC Insurance Group reports that employees can become injured or sick, miss deadlines and experience increased turnover when they are understaffed.
You think you have a skeleton staff, so how will you function when your employees quit because they are being overworked and leave?
Signs of trouble
Make the following changes:
Either invest in staffing or reduce your scope. If you make your team too small, you are setting them up for failure. They will eventually burn out and leave.
Although you might think you don’t have the budget to hire someone right now, the right hire could increase revenue and effectively pay their salary while reducing the strain on the rest.
3. Fine-tune your meeting schedule
An excessive meeting schedule is one of the things that can kill momentum in work.
A Harvard Business Review survey of nearly 200 executives revealed that 65% felt meetings prevented them from completing their work and that more than 70% thought meetings were inefficient and unproductive.
If work has become a struggle for your team, it’s possible that meetings are at best partially to b