Productivity is a top priority metric for businesses and individuals. The world is experiencing a boom in productivity software. This has presented small businesses with several options of tools to track and monitor work done by the team.
The Breakfast Chat is a program powered by START2DEV – an initiative by OneNet aimed at mentoring startups on technical, business, innovation, sales, and marketing aspects of their careers to give them a flying start. The June edition was held on the 27th of June, 2020, titled ‘Productivity Hacks for Small Business Teams’ with the CEO of Tehila Hills Engineering, Collins Ugochukwu.
The goal of this edition was to share practical tips with participants on how business teams can increase productivity with the following guidelines:
How to set specific goals
Every business should be setting SMART goals, S- Specific, M- Measurable, A – Achievable, R – Realistic, T- Timely. Don’t dwell too much on your fears, especially at the beginning of your business. It is okay to fail, mistakes are inevitable. A business must set goals, but it should be ready to pivot if something is not working. Startups shouldn’t be discouraged by setbacks that hit the business.
DATA KEEPING
Recordkeeping & Data collection is very essential. They help to track the overall growth of the business, and other details like client base, customer behaviors, revenues, expenses, etc.
PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS
For remote work, especially since the COVID-19 lockdowns, video conferencing platforms like Zoom, GoogleMeet have been great for communication. Other tools, that businesses can benefit from are Trello & Jira.
How to communicate effectively
Team communication is an important and essential process for a business. Business owners must create an open environment for team members to share their opinion and ideas unapologetically. This will foster innovation and team leads can provide good direction to team members.
How to plan and prioritize work
Business teams must focus on what they can control, learn to set priorities in knowing things to do immediately. Effective time management & task delegation is central to the growth of any business. Businesses must identify pressing problems, set deadlines, and address daily activities.
Motivating your team
Business owners must invest in their team by developing skills through in-house and external training. Businesses must invest in the welfare of the employees to ensure they don’t have an excuse to be unproductive.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service is very important to the growth of any business. Effort must be put in every day to improve customer service and relationships. Customer loyalty programs should be created.
NETWORKING & PARTNERSHIPS
Financially, business owners should be opened to partnerships where they can all share profit and cost. It is never ideal to use a loan to start a business or taking/bearing all risk alone. A frustrated business owner may lead to the early end of the business.
Networking is a great asset in the growth of a business. It doesn’t have to be limited to corporate events alone, so far the event has the caliber of people/ product target; then it is fit for attendance.
You can access the recording of the event via this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/9Zx5DYzM5EROQc-OsmLnR4UmA5zlT6a81Scd_qcEyhrXnj9RGsMYITpBUwDI0xjH
Password: 5q#X71H5
