5 Hacks to Improve Workflow Efficiency in Your Office

Introduction

Workflow efficiency planning rarely receives the amount of time and consideration that is actually needed. Having effective workflows helps to streamline and automate repeatable tasks, minimizing room for possible errors and improving overall efficiency of the business.

Creating workflows will give you a much clearer insight into your current business’ processes and will enable you to analyse how well they are delivering the results that you intended. Improving businesses processes is important in protecting and growing your bottom line.

Mapping out new workflows can also improve employee relations through reducing the amount of micromanaging that is needed. These workflows can increase an individual employee’s accountability as they know what tasks they need to complete and when they need to be carried out.

Furthermore, having workflows in place will improve communication within the business and enable you to provide better customer service. Another added benefit is that the quality of your products and services is also likely to improve.

So, improving office workflows is clearly a good strategy. Here are a few hacks that will make the process a whole lot easier:

1. Ensure communication is key

Having good communication in place is essential for any business. Ensuring that all employees are aware of important processes and rules to follow will help things run much more smoothly.

Employees should be encouraged to keep colleagues up to date on what they are working on, otherwise things can easily slip through the cracks. For example, everyone may assume that someone else is working on a particular task but in reality no one has picked it up yet.

2. Prioritize workload based on importance

At the start of the day you should take a look at your list and tasks and try to rank them based on importance and urgency. Aim to complete the most complex and important tasks first.

Once these have been completed you can then begin the easier or less urgent things on your list. This process ensures that you have the best chance to complete what you need to and will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

3. Organize schedules and any admin efficiently

It is often underestimated how important it is to keep on top of organizing your admin. Keeping all your records updated and schedules sorted in a timely manner will avoid any last minute panic when it comes to important matters like tax returns.

Make the most of online tools and resources for organisation, these are often available for free or at low cost and can help you to save a lot of time and money in the long run.

4. Provide your staff with effective training so little errors are made

Taking time to train your employees is highly beneficial for minimising errors and ensuring workflows are efficient as possible. This includes training employees that are new to business as well as providing refresher and skill development training to your current staff base.

There are many different types of training to consider and what works best for you will depend on budget and the needs of the business. Mentoring from more experienced employees is often a great option and will help employees build relationships and networks, other training may include on-the-job or external courses.

5. Schedule specific tasks to specific people

Lastly, you should assign tasks to specific members of your team. This will improve accountability, empower individuals to take ownership of their tasks and encourage them to deliver them to a high quality.

It will of course also help to prevent essential tasks from being overlooked and forgotten.

The Takeaway

These few hacks will help you to improve your workflows, ensure your business processes are working efficiently and protect your bottom line.