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5 Benefits of Opting Software Testing Services for Your Business

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Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Technology

5 Benefits of Opting Software Testing Services for Your Business

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Have you ever wondered why some software and apps are overwhelmed with users while others have few users? The secret lies in the software’s performance, capabilities, and ability to fulfill users’ needs. Users are looking for a friendly, reliable, high-quality, and user-centric application.

Read also: Enhancing Supplier Collaboration: A Key to Business Success

All these metrics can determine the software’s success or failure. Therefore, before going public with the software, you should do all the necessary tests to ensure it meets customer needs. Apply these tests to users and in-house software to ensure they perform optimally to meet business and user needs.

The tests are an absolute must, and you should ensure they are concise, diverse, timely, and objectively driven. Therefore, you must hire someone with the skills and resources to conduct comprehensive tests. Here are some reasons to do all the tests and apply your business. 

1. Impacts Of Managed Testing

Rather than focusing on specific tests, you can expand the scope to cover different tests done by an expert. The problem with limiting the software test scope is that it is impossible to identify all the issues. If you focus too much on performance, you can ignore security issues, such as compatibility and user-friendliness requirements.

The only way to cover every aspect is a managed test, which experts can do since they have the tools, skills, and experience to test every software component. If you want objective and error-free software, hire software testing services, and allow them to test every software component. They have the tools and resources to subject the software to customized and diverse tests, ensuring it meets all the basic and complex performance and deliverability metrics.

An expert-managed test can help your software meet all the market requirements and standards and surpass the top-performing software. This can translate into higher subscriptions, uptake, revenue, and returns for the capital invested in software development.  

After employees accomplish the application development, outsource the tests to other third parties who are more objective in ensuring performance and quality. This should be the norm even if you buy the software from vendors. 

2. The Potentials of Data-Centric Testing

One of the commonly ignored software test protocols is the data test. Although it may not seem integral to the test, it can affect software reliability. First, data feeds the software and is integral to crucial functions like analytics and output reliability. Apply the classical case of GIGO.

Therefore, you should test the data and integrate metrics to ensure only quality data goes into the software. This is not a test per se but an imperative of data quality checks to ensure the system is reliable and produces realistic results based on the data quality.

You can opt for automated test systems instead of leaving all the quality assessments and tests to employees. These tests involve testing data quality and examining the automated data testing system to ensure reliability. Automated data tests do not need human input to review all the data test protocols, focusing on reliability, quality, source, and other metrics. 

3. Exploring Automated and Autonomous Testing Potentials

Even the automated test process could have some significant weaknesses; you need an expert to test all these systems for weaknesses. Based on the test outcomes, you can enforce strategies to strengthen the capabilities and security benefits. 

Testing these systems aims to ensure robustness, reliability, and suitability for their roles. Since they operate constantly on the software background, they should be reliable and free from bugs or errors. 

Any issues with such automated tests could affect the entire organization. For example, an automated test focusing on data collection and processing could impact business decisions and investments. Therefore, you should hire a test expert to test the algorithms for quality, reliability, and suitability for data processing needs.

Remember, the algorithm plays a vital role in data input and output. As such, any limitation could crash the software, affect quality, affect business decisions, or hinder customer services. Whether you outsource or build software, this is one of the must-do tests. 

4. Comprehensive Software Diagnostics

It is much easier to mistake software quality, especially when it meets all the essential functions and business needs. You should avoid this mistake since software has various algorithms and independent functions. Therefore, you should ensure all these functions perform efficiently and complement each other, ensuring quality outcomes. 

The test should focus on more than just the essential software functions; otherwise, the team can ignore other issues affecting software performance. When you outsource diagnostic and test services, the team will diversify the focus to identify its strengths and weaknesses. 

To expand the scope of software testing, you can explore next-gen, functional, data-centric product and application testing. These tests focus on different capabilities, ensuring comprehensive outcomes and application reliability.

All these tests are likely to reduce potential errors that may occur in the future or any unidentified bug that may replicate. Regardless of the software quality, vendor, and reliability standards, you should deploy managed testing to test the software usage. 

5. Cost and Quality Implications

The greatest mistake you are likely to make is launching software before doing quality tests. Eventually, the software may experience downtime, especially when users overwhelm it. You can never know these mistakes; however, if you invite an external team, you can get insights. 

Secondly, doing all these tests can be time and cost-intensive. In the long run, failure to do the tests can also lead to expensive software issues. Therefore, the test can save you from such futurist expenses by ensuring you correct the error before launch. Finally, the outsourced software team has all the tools and skills to do the test fast, saving you more costs.

Conclusion

Do not launch software before conducting all the tests. Whether the software is for your employees or customers, you must perform all the tests, focusing on quality, reliability, performance, and security. 

Outsource software testing services to be comprehensive and objective about your tests. 

 

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Archives, GT Podcasts

GT Podcast – Community Connection Series – Episode 11 – Junction City: ELITE City of Kansas Taking Growth to a New Level

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In this episode of Community Connection, we will speak with Economic Development Director,  Mickey Fornaro-Dean, to learn about what makes Junction City, Kansas such a special and unique opportunity for business. What are the workforce, transportation, and land opportunities that are being capitalized on? And what the heck was Custer doing in this opportunity-rich community?

For more information on Junction City-Geary County Economic Development Commission,  visit https://www.jcgced.com/

Check out more of our GT Podcast – Community Connection Series here!

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

Small Business Revenues are Up – But New Challenges Emerge as Businesses Continue the Pandemic Comeback

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Kabbage from American Express has been tracking recovery trends and growth outlook of U.S. small businesses. Polling 563 small business leaders, our latest installment exhibits how small businesses are adapting to a shifting market as they look beyond pandemic-wrought challenges, adjust for inflation and modify hiring approaches.

Small businesses are preparing for a new type of market. One that’s not driven by the direct impact of COVID-19 – but rather, one determined by the economic aftermath of the pandemic.
Economic indicators like inflation will require adjustments, but the new data illustrates how small businesses are making changes and adapting.

COVID Concerns Wane

Our data suggests U.S. small businesses are now less impacted by the pandemic. In the latest Small Business Recovery Report, responses showed over 90% of businesses did not have to stop, slow, limit or shut down their companies due to the Omicron COVID-19 variant, while 70% stated they weren’t affected at all.

With pandemic challenges subsiding, U.S. small businesses are growing. Respondents reported their average monthly revenues increased 77% in the past six months, from $47,900 in July 2021 to $84,935 in February 2022. Additionally, average monthly profits have increased an average of 39% in the same period.

Although, these growth percentages are heavily weighted toward larger small businesses. The smallest small businesses—those with fewer than 20 employees—reported a 13% increase in average monthly revenues and a 12% increase in average monthly profits from July 2021 to February 2022, while large businesses reported 145% and 29%, respectively.

Adjusting for Inflation

Respondents reported increasing prices by an average of 21% across industries, largely due to increased costs from their vendors (54%) and of raw materials (45%).

Looking ahead, 65% of businesses plan to keep prices at this inflated, current rate for the next six months, while nearly one in five (18%) said they plan to raise prices even more. Combating increasing costs of their own is a primary contributor, and over half (53%) expect their business to be impacted by supply chain issues for the next three months to a year.

A Shift in Hiring

The Department of Labor’s February jobs report shows that employers added 678,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate declined to 3.8% – the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. economy two years ago.

With more headcounts filled from a decline in the unemployment rate, those record numbers were corroborated in the Small Business Recovery Report.  Three quarters (75%) of the smallest small businesses said they are not hiring. Yet, challenges persist among medium and large small businesses as 59% reported hiring today is just as, or more, difficult than it was at the end of 2021.

Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, Uncategorized

How Remote Business Owners Can Prevent Burnout & Stay Sane While Working from Home

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How Remote Business Owners Can Prevent Burnout & Stay Sane While Working from Home

Do you manage your own business from home? If so, you likely love all of the many benefits of working from home which includes not having a long and inconvenient commute to and from an office, lower overhead costs from not having to pay for a workspace, the ability to wear pajamas every single day if you wanted to… the list goes on. However, there is one big issue that plagues many home-based business owners at some point or another: dealing with burnout.

Ray Blakney  the CEO and co-founder of Live Lingua, a renowned online language school, has shared his insight with us on how to prevent burnout and stay sane while working from home

He said “In my journey of managing both the Live Lingua online language school and Podcast Hawk (a SaaS product that helps people get booked on podcasts) from home, I’ve seen firsthand how vital it is for home business owners to take preventative measures to keep themselves from getting burned out. I, myself, have experienced a huge bout of burnout in the past and know how much it can negatively impact a business owner’s motivation, inspiration, and entrepreneurial fire, ultimately posing a threat to their company’s growth and progression.

That all said, here are my tried-and-true tips on ways to prevent burnout while managing your business from home each day.

Stick to a Daily Work Schedule

Understand that there will always be more emails to respond to and a mountain of tasks to complete. However, this doesn’t mean you should work 10-12 hours a day or late into the night to try to get more things done — overextending yourself is a recipe for burnout! In order to keep your morale, motivation, and entrepreneurial spirit high, it is vital that you set a schedule of your daily working hours and make it a priority to stick to it. Shut down your computer at a certain time each day so that you can recharge and maintain a healthy life balance.

Take Breaks — You Deserve It!

In an in-office environment, coworkers will want to take lunch breaks with you or meet you in the break room for coffee and a quick chat. You will also sometimes leave your cubicle or office for in-person meetings with colleagues. However, while working from home, it is so easy to spend hours staring at your computer screen without getting up to take any breaks. There is also a high probability that you don’t even take a real hour-long lunch break to relax and regroup — you just eat a quick meal at your desk while sending emails to your team members.

To get a productivity boost in the middle of the work day, take a much-needed break! Go into the kitchen to make a healthy and delicious lunch that you will really enjoy and then go for an invigorating walk around your neighborhood. You can also go grocery shopping or run another quick errand to give your brain a break from staring at your computer screen. Or, simply take half an hour to sit outside in your backyard, meditate, and breathe in the fresh air! Breaking up the day will help re-energize you and prevent an afternoon slump in productivity.

Work in New Environments

Every morning, do you usually just wake up, make a cup of coffee, and then start answering emails right away? This can definitely get monotonous and lead to burnout — consider switching up your environment once or several times a week by taking your laptop to work elsewhere! You can work in your favorite local coffee shop, in your city’s library, or even in a park if you have a portable wifi hotspot. Getting a change of scenery each week can help spark new ideas for client strategies — on top of this, you may end up connecting with other home-based business owners that you can partner with on future projects!

Make Time for Your Hobbies

The last thing you want to do is be a workaholic that constantly stresses over business tasks. To recharge and recuperate throughout the workweek, engage in your favorite hobbies on a regular basis. For example, make time for that weekly pottery class you’ve always wanted to do or plan to meet up with your friends at a hot yoga session every Wednesday morning. Or, if you love to read, take the time to relax on the couch with a fantastic book each day. Taking part in your favorite activities is a surefire way to prevent burnout and stay balanced.

Take a 1-Week-Long “Rest Vacation” At Least Once a Year

This has been absolutely pivotal in keeping me balanced and preventing burnout. Way earlier in my entrepreneurial journey, I was incredibly burned out and filled with stress from not taking a day off for years. My wife saw that I was struggling and then surprised me with a 1-week vacation at an all-inclusive resort — it completely changed my life and reignited my entrepreneurial passion! By the end of the trip, I was completely rested, happy, and excited to get back to work. This vacation was a total game-changer for me.

I recommend all business leaders to take a “rest vacation” for one week at least once a year. During a “rest vacation”, it is vital to disconnect from work entirely — let your employees and associates know that you won’t be available for calls and that you will have extremely limited time on the internet and for answering emails. Keep in mind, however, that this shouldn’t be a trip where each day’s schedule is packed with sightseeing tours! The goal is to relax and recharge by lounging by the pool, getting beachside massages, and simply resting.

After a few days, you should feel de-stressed, re-energized, and at ease. Also, by the 6th or 7th day, you will likely be excited to get back to working on your business! You may even realize that your productivity and work output is much higher than usual for months after your trip!

Summing It All Up

Burnout can be drastic for home-based entrepreneurs, as it can cause them to lose motivation and forget why they started their companies in the first place. If you manage your own enterprise from home, prevent burnout by sticking to a daily work schedule, taking much-needed breaks, and working in new environments. Also, make time for your favorite hobbies and take “rest vacations” every year! These preventative measures will help you keep burnout at bay and always stay motivated and excited about your entrepreneurial pursuits”.

 

Archives, commentary, Global Trade Daily

A Comprehensive Guide to Picking a Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Partner for Your Business

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The right third-party logistics partner can help your organization improve customer service, control costs, and increase efficiency. It’s important to properly vet possible logistics partners to ensure your brand and services are well represented and the partner can deliver according to your needs.

Below are some of the things you consider in choosing a right third-party logistics partner: 

Establish Communication

Logistics have gotten more sophisticated in recent years. This logistics partners need to maintain high levels of communication and data sharing between the provider and the company. It’s important to find a third-party logistics provider that you can trust and one that shares your brand’s culture and values.

Do Your Due Diligence

They did not create all logistics providers equal. If you’re selecting a new provider or changing to a different provider, it’s important to look for logistics partners with the resources and capabilities you need to reach your business goals. Providers should also be able to integrate to your existing systems, or be willing to work with you to find an agreeable solution.

Ideally, look for outstanding service across financial history, brand stability, experience working in your industry, experience in specific geographic regions, owned vs. rented assets, and compliance with regulations.

Along with talking to the providers themselves, do outside research and read reviews from other companies that worked with them. If possible, ask the provider to connect you with satisfied customers. If they stand behind their service, they will be happy to showcase happy customers.

Look for Diverse Offerings

Logistics providers typically specialize in a few domains, including commodity services, industry services, and logistics services. Their offerings can range from sourcing, shipping, transporting, and customs management. Also multi-function supply chain management and oversight for specific industries or specialization in particular sections of the supply chain.

Service add-ons are valuable to both parties. A single provider can supply several services to make your supply chain scalable and seamless. You can look for value-added amenities like IT asset management, quality control, and high-tech logistics solutions. Some common service add-ons may include rush order or emergency order handling, product kitting, reverse logistics programs, and returned material authorization agreements.

Choose Partners with Advanced Technology

A third-party logistics provider’s IT infrastructure is vital to your needs and their own. Your possible provider should own and operate the contemporary technology needed for their side of the partnership, including warehouse management systems, fleet tracking systems, and inventory analytics and controls. You could also look for order fulfillment systems, freight theft or damage management, and wares tracking using RFID or EDI.

The logistics industry is undergoing rapid change. It’s important to find providers with advanced technology solutions to address your needs as the business evolves.

Look for Customization

Depending on your industry, you may need more customization options for your business. An experienced third-party logistics provider can help you optimize inventory and deliver excellent service for your customers. Building to order, rather than relying on stock, allows you to reduce inventory and production costs.

Opt for Omnichannel Expertise

Omnichannel is essential in the modern business world and necessary for enhanced customer experience. Your third-party logistics provider should understand the ins and outs of omnichannel commerce and how to provide that exceptional experience for customers.

Look for partners with repeatable business models, proven performance with previous customers, and experience with your business type, industry, or customer base. Depending on your needs, you may want to opt for a dedicated provider that focuses on one part of the supply chain or specific product types.

Work with a Network of Locations

Effective logistics partners have strategic network configuration with optimized distribution centers. It’s vital to understand the third-party logistics provider’s warehousing asset ecosystem, such as rented or proprietary storage facilities. If your products will need many storage stops on domestic or international routes, you will need a provider that owns and manages these warehouses for quality control and security.

You should also investigate more details about the warehousing assets, including the facility sizes and capacities, scalability, and future expansion plans. Are the warehouses close to ports, airports, highways, and railways? How many trailers and containers do they typically handle in a day? Is there anything you need to be aware of about service during the busy seasons or in the event of high shipping demands?

Focus on Excellence in Service

An experienced logistics partner will dedicate to service excellence and quality management. Your third-party logistics partner will have a significant impact on how your own business and customer service functions, so you want to be sure you’re choosing a provider that’s committed to delivering for you and improving their own product.

A provider with a dedication to service excellence will continue to optimize their own processes and will look for opportunities to install better solutions whenever possible. They should be invested in their service and its success, like you are to your own company and product, and always looking to excel.

Find Brand Alignment

Your logistics partner reflects on your brand and impacts your business. To ensure you represent your brand and your vision, you need to look for a provider with a long history of success, adherence to compliance and regulations, financial stability, and a continued interest in investing in the company, facilities, equipment, systems, and resources for optimal logistics.

With the right partner on your site, you can grow into a solid relationship with a third-party logistics provider that can grow and evolve with your business. While switching to different providers occurs as business needs change, it’s much simpler to find the right provider at the start and work on developing a long-term partnership.

Key Takeaways

The supply-chain management industry has undergone radical changes in the last decade. Many third-party logistics providers emerged on the market in response to this boom and the increasing opportunities with a global marketplace. Not every provider has the tools, resources, and expertise to deliver for you, but, so do your due diligence and find a provider with a positive reputation, proven processes, and a willingness to adapt and grow.

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Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

Focus: Why It’s Essential for Entrepreneurs & How to Achieve It

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From passionate to ambitious, to motivated, relentless, creative, and visionary, there are so many traits that can help an entrepreneur rise to the top, but staying focused is the one ability that absolutely every business owner must have if they want their company to go big. Learning this has been pivotal in my business journey with Kardia. Without a strong and unwavering focus, entrepreneurs won’t be able to take their company to the next level, let alone reach their maximum potential.
Why The Right Focus Is Critical for Business Owners
You can’t have focus unless you know where you’re going and what it looks like when you get there. That’s why a detailed vision is so important for your personal life and for your company too. Your vision and your focus go hand in hand. They direct each other. As an entrepreneur, that vision starts with the reason you started your company in the first place, where you want to take your company now, and an understanding of the kind of impact you want to make with it in the world. Then, everything you do needs to align with that. If not, you will get sidetracked.
It’s important to remember that focus doesn’t necessarily mean completing tasks — sometimes, people get caught up in doing the same thing over and over again and they call that being focused because they’re checking things off a list. From personal experience, that can actually backfire on you. In one of my first companies, I spent a lot of time running from task to task and putting out fires. I felt busy and I was focused on whatever was in front of me at the moment, but what I didn’t do was check in to see how my focus was lining up with my vision and the impact I really wanted to create. As it turns out, it wasn’t. I was focused in the wrong direction and that took me completely off course, which was part of the reason why the business ultimately failed.
That’s why checking in with your vision, and making sure you’re always on track with it, has to be part of your daily focus. That way you know what you’re doing matters and exactly why and how it’s moving you toward your goal.
How Entrepreneurs Can Sharpen Their Focus
Just like time management and organization can be improved with effort, so can an entrepreneur’s focus. It’s all about self-awareness — business owners need to ask themselves what they really want out of life, what they want out of their business, and what they want out of the decisions that they make each day. When they have clarity on these three factors, they’ll actually know what they need to be focused on at any given moment.
If what you’re doing isn’t lining up with one of those three things, then why are you doing it? Checking in regularly and asking yourself that question often, is a great way to make sure you don’t get sidetracked by things that don’t truly matter to you and your bigger vision.
Poor Focus Versus Good Focus
As mentioned above, not all focus is productive or beneficial to entrepreneurs. Micromanaging is a great example. The hyper-focus might be getting a task done exactly the way you want, but in the long run it’s going to put your company at a huge disadvantage because everything about your business starts and ends with you. That’s not scalable.
A much better focus, and use of your time, is empowering and inspiring people with your bigger vision. That gives them a direction and clarity on where they need to go. Then all you really have to do as their leader is help by supporting them to do their job the best they can. Let them grow and learn, rather than focusing on whether a task got done in one specific way.
The best leaders have a great vision and communicate that vision to their team on a regular basis. They help each team member understand how they fit into the bigger picture and what they should be focusing on to help that bigger vision come to life. Which is why the focus for your team meetings should include a review of what’s happened, where the company is currently headed, where things are working and where they aren’t.
The more you get your team involved the more engaged and focused they will be. And by getting them involved more often to find solutions, your company will benefit hugely from their different perspectives because new points of view lead to new and better ways of doing things. You just can’t get that through narrowly focused micromanaging.
To Wrap It All Up
The ability to stay focused is the one trait that really helps entrepreneurs empower themselves to ultimately bring their vision to life. Understanding what good focus is and what bad focus is in business, makes a huge difference to your ability to move your company forward. And when entrepreneurs can sharpen their focus through better self-awareness, bringing clarity to what they really want out of their life and business, it helps them make better decisions, which leads to better results. That means there’s a much greater probability of advancing to the next level and having your company reach its full potential.
___________________________________________________________
Christan Hiscock is on a personal mission to change the conversation in the business world, moving away from the pursuit of success, to focusing on fulfillment instead. Because if you’re fulfilled, success is a given, but not so much the other way around. He can often be heard saying, “You mean more than you know,” because he believes that as people learn to understand their worth, their fears fade and amazing feats become reality. He considers this the foundation for all his achievements as the Co-Founder and CEO of Kardia and leader of 14 thriving companies. Through Kardia, which means heart in Greek, Christan is determined to bring more heart into the business world. Heart in the form of kindness, compassion and altruism. Heart that fuels, roots and guides each company to do the right things for its team members, clients and for the greater communities they serve. www.hellokardia.com
Community Connection Podcast with Special Guest Matt Z Ruszczak
Archives, GT Podcasts

GT Podcast – Community Connection Series – Episode 7 – Rio South Texas- Bordering on a World of Opportunity.

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In this episode, join GSLI’s Eric Kleinsorge as he talks with Matt Ruszczak on why the Rio South Texas region is thriving for businesses.  Not only can you access markets via land, air, and sea, but now space.  Learn about the industries that thrive in this region and get answers to whether or not your business should be considering an expansion to this booming region.

For more information on the Council for South Texas Economic Progress visit https://costep.org/

 

Check out more of our GT Podcast – Community Connection Series here!

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GT Podcast – Community Connection Series – Episode 6 – Great Falls, Great Opportunity

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In this episode of our Community Connection podcast, join GSLI’s Eric Kleinsorge as he speaks with Jolene Schalper about the advantages of Great Falls, Montana on both the business side and the quality of life.  Learn about the key advantages and industries that are thriving in Great Falls and why they are proud to call it home!

 

 

 

 

Check out more of our GT Podcast – Community Connection Series here!

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GT Podcast – Community Connection Series – Episode 5 – Tulare County, The Center of Business for California

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In this episode of our Community Connection series, our host Eric Kleinsorge speaks with President and CEO of Tulare County, Nathan Ahle, to find out why central California is such a business hot spot!

Check out more of our GT Podcast – Community Connection Series here!

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Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

Top Tactics to Improve Business and Employee Efficiency – The Eric Dalius Guide

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Even as the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way businesses operate to a great extent, the world over, improving business efficiency remains a top priority. According to Forbes, improving business efficiency not only boosts profits but also reduces employee stress. A few tactics that can help to boost employee productivity while saving time:

Delegate to the Maximum Possible

It is understandable that as an entrepreneur, you think that you are the best person to handle everything that needs to be done. Instead of trying to do everything and burning yourself out, the best policy is to hire competent individuals for all the critical functions and delegate both responsibility and the necessary authority to enable them to function efficiently. Not only do you get more time to focus on the things you can do to expand your business but also you can relax in the knowledge that vital functions are being handled capably and perhaps better than what you would have been able to do yourself.

Match Functions to Skills, Suggests Eric Dalius

One of the most effective ways of boosting employee efficiency is to give tasks that have the right fit with the employee’s competence and skills. If you are hiring for a fresh position, listing the key result areas and looking for candidates who fit the bill is the way to get things done better. Demanding that your employees be versatile and handle everything thrown at them well is not realistic. You could end up with results that are less than satisfactory. Performing a quick analysis every time you give a new task to someone will usually reveal if the person you are giving the responsibility has the competence to do it well.

Retain Your Focus on Attaining Specific Goals

Employees can only be efficient if they know exactly what they need to achieve. You should ensure when you are assigning tasks to employees that they are as specific as possible, and you and your employees are clear on what it entails, including the time frame. It can also help if you share with the employee how what they are doing has an impact on the organization. A good way of ensuring this is to have SMART goals – i.e., the objective should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely, observes Eric Dalius.

Invest In Training and Development 

You may instinctively tend to think that cutting down on training or eliminating it is a great way of saving on costs and improving profitability. However, the truth is that it can be very inefficient when workers are forced to learn on the job. Instead of forcing employees to learn without guidance, it is far better to invest time and effort to give them proper training that will make them more productive.

Implement Flexible Work Location and Hours

More than ever, after a certain stage in life, employees are concerned about their work-life balance. Giving the opportunity of working remotely, or if that is not possible, the freedom to come to the office at their preferred times can give the business the benefit of maximum productivity and efficiency. Not only will the employees be happier with this convenience, but also they will be able to focus more on their work. Remote working has become more of compulsion in recent times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic raging throughout the world. While many employers were skeptical about it being effective, the results have been surprising, to say the least, with a large number of organizations reporting an uptick in employee productivity. In the new reality, remote working may well become the norm with significant advantages to both employers and employees.

Make the Work Environment Happier and Less Stressful

It is no secret that happy employees are not only more productive but also more efficient and have a better quality of output. They are more inclined to be focused on their work and not distracted by things like checking out social media or personal emails. While asking employees for their suggestions on improving their workplace comfort is a good idea, special points of focus can be things like comfortable chairs, large enough desk space, less crowding, good lighting, the reduction of noise level, and clutter. Other issues could be too great a distance to access shared printers, copiers, and shredders or even the quality of the coffee. Regulating the temperature better and introducing greenery into the work environment can help a lot to reduce stress. You can even think in terms of installing pods where an employee can de-stress himself by lying down and listening to music.

Conclusion 

When you are trying to boost business efficiency, it can be easy to get bogged down with details and start to micro-manage everything. It can help to think of the big picture and scrutinize all processes and practices before junking any of them. Communicating clearly and adopting automation for repetitive tasks can make your business more efficient.