From use of time, resources, and personnel, operating your business as efficiently as possible is essential to getting ahead of the competition as well as maintaining long-term success. This is especially important if you’re running a small business. But increasing business performance is sometimes easier said than done. However, there are a variety of worthwhile tools that you can use to tackle this challenge head-on and increase efficiency at your company:
1. Industry-Based Management Software
There are likely many aspects of your daily operations that could use some refinement, you’d be surprised how many inefficiencies can be found in business processes—such as data entry, customer experience management, and more.
Fortunately, today’s tech-savvy solutions allow you to easily eradicate these inefficiencies. One of the easiest solutions is finding an industry-specific software that is designed to help you run your business more effectively. No matter what industry you operate in, there is likely a software for you. These are just a few examples:
- Accounting practice software
- Dental management software
- Restaurant reservation and waitlist software
- Salon management software
As you can see, these programs are specially designed to solve the most common inefficiencies for these businesses and streamline operations—something your company can undoubtedly benefit from.
2. Internal Communication Apps
Every time employees leave their desks, it’s a disruption from their workflow, taking time out of their day and requiring reacquainting every time they come back to the task at hand—and this applies to both individuals involved. While communication is essential to the success of any business, requiring employees to wait for email responses or travel across the office are antiquated practices.
In the modern business environment, internal communication apps are the time-saver you need. While email of course still plays an important role, there are more effective options for employees to use when they need quick answers to questions or to collaborate on a project in the moment. That’s where internal communication apps come into play and there are plenty to choose from:
- Slack: This direct messaging app allows employees to send direct messages back and forth to quickly discuss project details, resolve issues, and even build relationships. The channel function also allows for information to be shared amongst the whole company or teams to collaborate in real-time.
- Blink: This direct messaging app functions similarly to slack but is optimized for frontline employees who don’t spend their day behind a desk.
- BlogIn: This internal company blog system is useful for sharing company news, sharing resources, passing along knowledge.
In addition to internal communication apps, you should also alternatives to the traditional client meeting like video conference calls. This will save your employees travel time and when they spend less time away from the office, it saves you money and resources.
3. Cloud-Based Project Management
Project management can make or break your business—that’s why it’s one of the most important areas for you to eliminate inefficiencies as quickly as possible. In many cases you don’t need a complete overhaul of your processes, but you could likely use some tech-based help to reduce wasted time, automate certain steps, and keep things more organized.
Cloud-based project management software is being used by more and more businesses to streamline their processes and make the most of the resources they have. Using a project management app built to accomplish these goals is one of the fastest ways to improve your business’s performance, allowing for better collaboration and a clearer view of your pipeline. Here are some popular project management tools you can try:
- Basecamp
- Teamwork
- Zoho
What’s more, is many of these tools have affordable pricing tiers that allow you to scale your service as you need. Trello is also a great collaboration tool that helps keep projects organized and allows others to monitor progress by using boards, cards, and lists.
Final Thoughts
You should always be on the lookout for ways to take your company to the next level and these tools are a great start. One of the most important things to keep in mind when introducing new tools to your team is to ensure that training is provided. This can help make for a smoother transition and avoid frustration or resistance to using a tool.
Depending on how your business works, you may want to integrate new tools by department or from the top down, both of which can help resolve any challenges or confusion along the way with as little negative impact to operations as possible.
Whether you decide to use all three of these tools or start with just one, you can feel confident that you’re making a smart business decision to increase productivity, efficiency, and your bottom line.
