The search for the magic formula to increase staff productivity is often an endless pursuit that remains elusive. We all want to know how to get more done in less time, but the reality is that we spend most of our days doing tasks that don’t provide the most significant value for the business.
The knock-on effect is that we can feel like a failure for not crossing off everything on our To-Do list. The question is, can we ever honestly go from being overwhelmed to being highly efficient?
The secret to achieving the latter is leveraging your time to focus on those things that drive the business forward when compounded. That sounds simple enough. But in reality, staff spend only 59% of their time on meaningful tasks, with the majority being spent on endless meetings and completing admin tasks that do nothing to move the needle. The problem is that these tasks are unending and can quickly swallow up the entire working day, leaving little time for high-value work.
What is the opportunity cost to the business?
Does it make sense to spend time and money recruiting and retaining the best talent for the business, only for that resource to be wasted by spending most of their day completing admin? Our best business minds should be free to focus on the deep work that only they are qualified to do, generating those meaningful results within the business.
How many hours are your key staff trading their productivity for, and how much is that really costing the business? It is not just the hourly rate of a senior person that is paid, but also the missed opportunities and the brilliant ideas that never get the time to be developed and bear fruit. What future are you giving up?
So how can we give our workforce back the time they need so that the business can leverage their brilliance?
- 1. Prioritise the tasks that can leverage significant results
The functions that have the most significant positive impact on the business are the ones that should always be worked on first. However, research shows that most companies are guilty of tying employees up in admin responsibilities and meetings. To improve productivity, careful consideration should be given to sourcing solutions that reduce low-value tasks taking up staff time.
- 2. Build the habit through automation
Being efficient and productive requires exceptional discipline that many do not possess; in reality, human beings are flawed and inconsistent. The only way to create lasting change is to remove the decision-making processes from tasks. This can be done by automating tasks that do not require specialist skills. This will also benefit the business by eliminating the chance of human error and give staff back a large chunk of free time that can instead be invested in valuable work that helps your business get ahead!
- 3. Master your systems
Most businesses use multiple digital tools intended to help speed up workflows and improve productivity; however, without considering how these tools will integrate (or if they will at all), you could create additional admin work for your team. The secret is to look at the tools you use every day and think about how you can leverage them to work together and carry out the hard work for you.
With Mail Manager, you could have it all!
Mail Manager is the email management solution that removes the mundane email admin tasks that eat into your employees’ time and keeps them from achieving big things for your business.
Mail Manager integrates with your Outlook email effortlessly, so you can continue using the tools you are used to. The solution means you can now maximise the functionality of your Microsoft tools and automate filing directly from your inbox.
Clients that have implemented Mail Manager have been able to claim back one extra day per week for each full-time employee and now use that time to direct towards high-value tasks that help drive the business growth.
“It saves around 10 to 20% of staff time, improving efficiency from staff looking into emails, which means they can now respond on the call instead of having to search for information and get back, later on, allowing the ability to work very quickly over the phone.”
Geoff Claughton - Managing Director, BarTax
Why not see how Mail Manager can give your staff back valuable time by downloading a free trial
