How Little Improvements Add Up to Big Results
“You eat an elephant one bite at a time.”
“Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
Sayings like these have been uttered for ages, with good reason; big changes start with small steps. Too often, however, senior management is so focused on making massive transformations that they overlook the little things employees can do to yield big results.
Just what are those “little things”? Let’s review a few small changes that, when implemented by everyone in your organization, can add up to a huge increase in profits:
Reduce waste.
Paper. Materials. Electricity. Water. Each workday, employees use your valuable company resources to do their jobs. How much money could you throw to the bottom line if your employees printed fewer documents? Better maintained equipment to reduce downtime and scrap/rework? Consistently turned off lights in unused areas? Instead of overwhelming your staff with sweeping changes, focus on adopting one energy-saving habit, or changing one process at a time to minimize waste. Over time, small improvements will add up to big savings.
Take great care of every customer.
As your organization grows, so does your potential for customer service mistakes. Speed and quality of service frequently diminish, and customers are at greater risk of “falling through the cracks.” It’s much more expensive to land new customers than it is to keep your existing ones. So, train every customer-facing employee in your organization to boost retention by:
- Saying “please” and “thank you” when interacting with customers. It’s free and simple, but not everyone does it!
- Making sure that customers are satisfied at the end of a transaction. Employees may identify “at-risk” customers who might be ready to take their business elsewhere.
- Asking what else your organization could do for a customer. This simple query could lead to additional sales.
Improve time management.
If each employee was productive for an additional 15 minutes of each workday, how much more revenue could you generate over the course of a year? Nobody is 100% productive, but even small changes to the way employees spend their time could have a dramatic impact on your productivity.
Don’t assume your employees are good time managers; provide periodic reminders to help them:
- Block their time effectively. Remind employees to plan their days and tackle high-priority projects first.
- Be “serial focusers.” Multitasking is a myth because the human brain can only focus on concepts sequentially. Ask your employees to give their undivided attention to whatever they’re currently working on.
- Minimize distractions. Turning off email notifications, wearing noise-canceling headphones and other distraction-minimizing habits can improve focus and productivity.
- Make their fellow employees more productive. Something as basic as providing complete information in a single email can save multiple follow-ups and prevent delays. And that’s just one example!
Need to change your workforce strategy?
Whether you want to improve productivity, increase flexibility or completely transform your workforce model, PrideStaff is your ideal partner. Contact your local PrideStaff office today to find out how our Workforce Growth Solutions and On Target fulfillment process can help.
