In most industries, it’s not uncommon for companies to dig deep into their pockets to hire productivity consultants. Why? Because they’re worth it. In our industry, however, you might find your best bet is to turn to a source with experience in green industry business ownership that will offer advice for free. And in this article, you’ll find just that. Read on for 5 productivity tips relevant to your business.
1. Have your employees come to you with two solutions whenever they have a question on how to do something.
In reality, they’ll spend more time thinking and problem solving themselves. If you’ve gone to business school, there’s a good chance you’ve learned the management principle that employees tend to feel more satisfied, more useful, and more committed to your business’ mission when they feel they have a say in the business’ operating decisions (higher employee satisfaction = higher productivity). Remember, your employees should be considered some of your most valuable assets. As an employer, you also have to know how to treat them in order to achieve the most value from them. Put this tip to use to encourage problem solving, and productivity will follow.
[Related:5 Ways to Ensure Great Work Ethic from your Employees]
2. Schedule some “me-time”
This one you might not learn in school (unless you went to school for psychology). Still, if you haven’t already, this tip can be valuable. In our industry, its easy to become conditioned to find gratification in working your tail off until you’re not only physically – but mentally exhausted, until one day you wake up and realize you’re a workaholic. This is because working those long days and sweating the small details of owning a business produces good results, which acts as “positive reinforcement” for this behavior. While some workaholic attributes are good, too many for too long can be a detriment to your life at home. After a certain point, stress will make you less healthy and less productive. Growing evidence frommultidisciplinary research shows that if you schedule a couple hours every week to spend doing something you enjoy and commit to no worries, you can boost your ability to focus and your productivity. Note: working out is not recommended “me-time.” No matter how busy your schedule, you have time to exercise - especially if you do physical work. Nor should exercise be seen as a burden. Rather, it is more like an investment to spare you from back issues and other health ailments that we are all susceptible to, as we get older. Physical careers might offer a good source of exercise, but they can also be the cause of health problems (that will also slow your productivity).
3. Plan Ahead – Doing everything last minute kills productivity
If you can admit that you’re sometimes a perfectionist, have fears of failure, or aren’t in the right state of mind to get your work done, you’ve shown some of the most common characteristics of a chronic procrastinator. When people procrastinate, they end up in situations that are more stressful than they need to be, and end up compromising what could have been the best work. While there is no single piece of advice that will work to correct anyone and everyone’s procrastination issues, one suggestion many people find useful is to make a habit of getting things done right away - even the smaller tasks that don’t have stressful deadlines. In order to do so, you have to plan ahead and prioritize. People who don’t have problems with procrastination habitually get things done as soon as possible, and are able to refrain from more rewarding, short-term alternatives. Because procrastination is a lifestyle tendency, it takes persistent self-reminders to correct this behavior, just like any bad habit would.
4. Outsource Intelligently – Do you need to manage your website or social media? Can you use subcontractors on non-core business activities like snow or fertilization?
In other words, if you take some time when making outsourcing decisions, you can end up saving time and money. At some point it will eventually be in your best interests to hire specialists or outside help for tasks like managing your website or subcontracting in different seasons, so that you and your employees can spend your time more efficiently. Making these decisions off of hunches can be costly, however. Know what kind of impact these activities have on your business and consider facts when weighing your options.
5. Setup Weekly Meetings – Have your employees save all issues for that weekly meeting. Tackle them then
This way, there are fewer distractions and less time interrupted with unexpected issues. It will also give you and your employees more time to think things over before discussing them, and any emotions that might be clouding rational thinking have time to simmer down. You’ll find this can also be an effective way to assure healthy communication between you and your employees, and an efficient way for employees to learn from each other’s issues.
For more helpful tips, check our our free eBook; Email 101: How to Leverage Email to Grow your Green Industry Business.
