Congratulations! Your start-up business is doing great. But deep down you know that things could be better with a little fine-tuning. There are still instances of projects missing their deadlines or wasting effort on capacity utilization metrics. Here are five easy ways your start-up can enhance its efficiency, lessons gleaned from the Harvard Business Review’s series of articles on growth:
Manage Your Human-workforce Better
Most start-ups have limited human resources who must simultaneously handle differently-paced tasks. Simplify and streamline your employee responsibilities by allocating related tasks, one at a time. Draw out clear duties for each position that match the employee’s skills and experience.
Leverage Technology
Investment in technology is imperative. For example, cloud adoption means you can almost go paper-less, have as many systems as possible, and work from anywhere at any time. While you will still need printers and pens, free cloud-based document management systems make it easier to organize and search your data.
Automate Whenever Possible
Focus on crucial instead of repetitive tasks to work smarter. AI virtual assistants are one automation option. AI and machine learning, integrated with online customer applications and utility websites, allow for customer self-service. With an ever-changing landscape of challenges, identifying the tasks to be automated can be difficult but a few remain essential, such as task management, document management, on-boarding and HR, productivity monitoring, financial management, and scheduling.
Monitor and Review Efforts Regularly
With innovation at the heart of any agile growth strategy, it is imperative that you regularly review your organizational processes. Analyse data and stakeholder feedback (both internal and external) to see what’s working and what’s not. Thorough market research helps in learning from others’ experiences. But it is your own build-measure-learn loop that streamlines your tailor-made processes.
Try Single-tasking
Multitasking does not necessarily translate to efficiency. With your attention constantly shifting between assignments, very little ends up getting done at the end of the day. It’s important to break big, complicated projects into smaller, distinct silos for more agile executive. Focus on and execute one thing until its completion, strike it off your list, and then proceed to the next task.
