A new report says spring cleaning ritual at work improves productivity through better organisation of information.
The report- done by office productivity solution provider FileVision- says small and medium businesses should be part of the ‘ritual’ spring cleaning.
“As information relationship management advisors, our role is to help SMBs streamline processes that will help improve communications, enhance customer service and provide immediate access to information,” said FileVision VP of Strategic Business Development Laurie Shufeldt. “Spring is an ideal time to audit the information flow in an organization to identify productivity killers and eliminate inefficient processes. Using our FileVision solution, customers can attack the most common office productivity killers by eliminating endless searching for information and inefficient data storage and improving workflow processes.
FileVision has identified the ‘top five productivity killers’ in office environments and has offered a technology solution that once implemented, helps organisations increase productivity.
Top Five Productivity Killers:
Productivity Killer #1: Disorganisation
Whether it’s too many post-its on a computer screen, electronic files scattered across the network in disarray, or stacks of paperwork that need to be processed, disorganization cuts productivity rates in half, if not more. Organisation isn’t just about how neatly papers are piled on a desk. It is about how easily and quickly information can be accessed.
The solution? Step one – streamline how you identify, locate, obtain, and maintain information within your organisation. Implement a good search and retrieval system that provides instant access to information through multiple search tools for documents, content, relationships and data. Digital versions of documents should be quickly and easily found through user-defined key words and criteria or through full-text search.
Productivity Killer #2: Lack of automation
It’s a fact that automation boosts productivity. SMB owners should evaluate all processes in the office and measure how much time each of those tasks takes and seek out technology solutions that automate tasks and free up employees’ time.
Productivity Killer #3: Inefficient internal communications
SMBs that have inefficient internal communications suffer lower productivity. Companies can make internal communications more efficient by recognizing that their business’ information knowledge base includes all ways in which team members communicate (email, verbally in meetings, memos, etc.). Silos where information is stored need to be integrated into the overall organisational plan.
For example, if a representative responds via email to a customer inquiry, that email should be automatically routed / tagged to the customer’s profile in the database. Or, voicemail messages should be notated electronically and categorised according to the record to which they correspond, so the information employees need to do their jobs better is at their finger tips.
Productivity Killer #4: Lack of planning and workflow processes
SMBs that lack workflow plans and processes suffer a killer productivity rate. To get started, organisations should research and identify a workflow system – most likely a technology solution combined with existing office procedures. A good workflow system should automate and monitor internal procedures, allow critical path processes to be assigned to tasks / information (data or documents) and enhance existing processes for improved task management along with multiple levels of accountability and control.
Productivity Killer #5: Handling the same papers (or data) more than once
Perhaps the only butcher to productivity bigger than too many cooks in the kitchen is too many of those cooks repeating the same steps and handling the same information more than once. This SMB dilemma could take many forms – from making duplicate paper copies of the same document for different filing systems to multiple people reviewing information independently of one another. The solution: Create one file that can be accessed, updated, and shared from one central information management system.
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