Your business is chugging along, but you know it could run even smoother. Maybe a project takes a bit longer than expected, or meetings that used to be productive now seem to drag on forever. It can feel like you’re stuck in the mud, struggling to gain momentum.
So, how do you tackle these issues? The key is to boost your business’s efficiency. I reached out to the Young Entrepreneur Council for their best tips on keeping businesses running smoothly and staying productive.
1. Automate whatever tasks you can
Automate as much as you can, whether it’s sending pay stubs to employees or receipts to vendors. “Business automation isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential in today’s competitive world,” says Sathvik Tantry of FormSwift. “Automating repetitive tasks saves your team time, letting them focus on more important work that needs human insight.”
Sathvik also points out that while setting up automation might cost more at first, it’ll save you money in the long run and make your business run more smoothly.
2. Encourage your employees to chat face-to-face
Sending a quick email or chat message to a coworker might seem like a faster way to get an answer, but sometimes it can actually take longer than a quick face-to-face chat. “Tools like Skype and Google Chat are great for sending quick messages,” says Miles Jennings of Recruiter. “But face-to-face conversations are often much quicker for solving problems or clarifying things.”
To keep things running smoothly, make sure your team balances both methods. “Encourage employees to talk directly to each other when they need to,” Miles suggests.
While chat and email are useful, promoting face-to-face communication can help prevent a simple question from turning into a long email thread.
3. Limit interruptions
If your employees are struggling to get things done, constant interruptions could be the culprit. Imagine this: staff meeting at 9am, department meeting at 11am, lunch at noon—it can really disrupt productivity. “We try to schedule all our meetings for the same day instead of spreading them out,” says Alexander Moore of Boomerang. “We also block out time on our calendars for focused work.” Setting aside dedicated chunks of time for uninterrupted work can help your team stay focused and work more efficiently.
But it’s not just meetings that cause distractions—constant email alerts, chat notifications, and updates from project management tools can also break the flow. “It takes about a minute to get back on track after an interruption,” Alexander explains. “That’s why we use tools like Inbox Pause to cut down on email notifications.” There are many tools and apps designed to help keep distractions at bay and boost productivity.
4. Hold a daily, 10-minute company meeting
Meetings are important, but they can easily eat up too much of the workday. David Ciccarelli from Voices.com suggests keeping meetings short and to the point, aiming to cover everything in just 10 minutes.
“We have a daily 10-minute meeting called the Daily Huddle,” David explains. “It’s a quick way to share key updates, celebrate wins, and spot areas where we can improve.”
This approach helps everyone stay informed without dragging out the meeting. Keeping things brief not only keeps everyone in the loop but also ensures meetings are efficient and don’t waste time. “By sticking to this method, we cut out unnecessary meetings and stay on track,” David adds.
5. “Single-task” to get more done
We all like to think we’re great at multitasking—I’ve got 11 tabs open on my laptop right now, and that’s being conservative. But research suggests that multitasking might not actually make us more productive. That’s where “single-tasking” comes in, which means focusing on one task until it’s done.
Laura Roeder from Meet Edgar explains, “Our whole team is working on improving our ‘single-tasking’ skills. We make sure to finish one project before moving on to the next.”
She adds, “Single-tasking helps us get things done faster because we’re not letting projects sit unfinished. It’s easy to feel productive when juggling multiple tasks, but if nothing gets completed, it’s not really progress.”
By sticking to single-tasking, you actually get projects done, instead of spreading yourself too thin and ending up with a lot of half-finished work.
6. Discourage “Got a minute?” meetings
Kristopher Jones from LSEO points out that frequent “got a minute?” meetings are one of the biggest time-wasters. “These unscheduled meetings usually interrupt your flow and don’t really help with productivity,” he says.
So why are these meetings a problem? “The truth is, you can’t get anything meaningful done in just one minute. What starts as a quick chat often drags on for 15 minutes or more, which is a huge waste of time,” Kristopher explains.
Instead, try scheduling short, focused meetings with a set time limit. For example, send a quick email like, “Can we meet for 10 minutes at 3pm to talk about project X?” This helps keep meetings short, scheduled, and to the point.
7. Stick with the established process
If you’re working on a project and feel the urge to rush things, be careful not to cut corners. Angela Harless from AcrobatAnt advises sticking to the established process. “Rushing can lead to mistakes that need fixing later, which costs both time and money. Following the original plan usually results in a smoother process.”
That doesn’t mean you should never adjust things. Changing the process can be important, but it should be done thoughtfully. “Make sure any changes are planned out and communicated to the entire team once they’re approved,” Angela adds. This way, you can stay on track and avoid unnecessary problems.
8. Use a task management software
“Email isn’t the best way for team communication and collaboration,” says Dave Nevogt from Hubstaff. “We use task management tools like Trello to keep everything organized and in one place.”
Using task management software helps teams work together more smoothly, track progress, and stay focused. “It cuts down on endless email chains and lets us see progress more clearly,” Dave explains. We at Palo Alto Software agree with this and are big fans of Trello ourselves!
Also Read: Managing Cash Flow in Small Business
9. Promote a culture of open communication
Just like in tip number two, it’s important to encourage your employees to communicate openly. But this goes beyond just talking face-to-face to solve problems. Do your employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns or giving feedback about how things are run?
“Our explosive growth is largely because we have a culture of open communication,” says Raymond Kishk from Interstate Air Conditioning & Heating. “The key to improving business efficiency is to encourage feedback, share ideas, and foster communication between departments.”
You can’t see everything or be everywhere at once. Your employees might spot ways to make things run more smoothly or suggest better processes. Make sure they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and feedback, especially when it comes to improving efficiency. “When coworkers are involved in the efficiency process, it leads to a more productive and effective team,” Raymond adds.
10. Know when to stop
While making your company run more smoothly is key, it’s also important to know when to stop. Not everything can—or should—be automated, and not every meeting will always end exactly on time.
“Efficiency is crucial, no doubt,” says Neill Feather of SiteLock, LLC. “But for startups and entrepreneurs, focusing too much on efficiency can take away from what really matters: growth.”
Neill has learned this firsthand. “At SiteLock, we prioritize efficiency in areas like hardware use and service agreements, but we never forget that our main goal is growth. This means growing our customer base, expanding our product line, and strengthening our brand.”
So, while aiming for efficiency is great, don’t let it overshadow other important goals. By experimenting, gathering feedback from your team, and fine-tuning your processes, you can boost efficiency while still focusing on growing and improving your business.
