How to Make Your Business More Efficient and Competitive

In the past, the Ancient Greeks managed to defeat the Persian army multiple times while being outnumbered 10:1. Their secret — organized (phalanx) units and the smart use of synergy for peak efficiency. Today, it’s no different. Small businesses have to compete with much larger corporations on the world market. Yet, if the Ancient Greeks could do it, so can you.

There are several ways how to make your business more efficient and competitive even with limited resources. To find out exactly what these are, read the full article down below.

Automate Whatever You Can

Let’s face it: no one likes doing monotonous tasks. They are repetitive and can take forever to complete; not to mention that they are also a huge morale drain on your crew. The solution: automate whatever tasks you can so your employees can focus on stuff that actually matters. This includes generating reports, managing payrolls, invoicing, etc. via some smart software solutions. Task management software such as Trello and Asana, for instance, are particularly useful for staying efficient. They allow you to monitor tasks, track their progress, and effectively manage workflow. Also, despite being somewhat costly in the beginning, they will pay off in the long run. Plus, your employees will be forever grateful.

Develop Your Team

There is a saying that a business is only as good as its employees. You cannot hope to be competitive if your team lacks the essential skills or expertise to complete their daily tasks. Consider doing a performance review of your key staff to find out how each of them is doing. If you do find someone sleeping on the job, determine whether or not to replace them; sometimes it can just be a matter of inspiration and finding new ways to motivate them. If, however, this is not the case and they simply lack the expertise, think about implementing a training program instead. Do whatever it takes to squeeze that peak performance out of them.

Outsource All Non-Essential Tasks

If you find yourself severely outmanned and outgunned by your workload, consider contracting a reliable provider of outsourcing services as a form of backup to effectively turn the tide in your favour. Outsourcing companies are highly proficient in carrying out most non-core business processes such as technical support, accounting, administrative work, and more. Additionally, by offloading all your non-essential tasks, your staff can focus on doing what they do best (and what brings you the most profit). That way you can concentrate all your efforts on developing and growing your business instead of dealing with annoying spreadsheets and extremely persistent software updates all the time.

Encourage Open Communication

You’re neither omniscient nor all-seeing — you need constant input from your staff members to stay on target. However, don’t stop merely at that. Instead of asking your co-workers for simple reports and work updates, encourage them to share their thoughts. Sometimes their feedback can be extremely valuable to you as they can easily spot certain areas that need improvement that you otherwise couldn’t see from your perspective. After all, they do the same job every day; they are bound to have some ideas and suggestions on how to optimize things. Learn to listen to these observations and streamline their workflow as much as humanly possible.

Innovate

You don’t gain an edge over your competition by working smarter or harder than they are; you do so by being more creative. In general, innovation is what drives the market forward. Finding new solutions to old problems is what customers really want; so capitalize on it. Bring your team together and brainstorm ideas on a regular basis until you come up with something. Don’t be afraid of making bold moves or using unorthodox methods; do whatever it takes to stay relevant (and competitive) on the market.

Pull a rabbit out of your hat and surprise both your competitors and your customers.

In the end, it’s all about the synergy and working together as a single cohesive unit. By outsourcing, automating, and removing all the non-essential tasks from your daily schedule, you and your team can allocate all your resources to beating the heck out of your competition.