According to a recent Entrepreneur article, the most common business problems include confusing processes, redundant procedures and poor communication. This results in low morale, upset customers and lost revenue. Most importantly, all of these interrupt effective workflow. Below explains how to avoid these problems through improving your workflow.
Continual Monitoring
The first step in improving workplace flow is through continual improvement. This is possible through continual monitoring of business processes. Consider creating specific measurements and a monitoring system, which could be flow charts, time sheets or other numerical reports. Set goals through measured benchmarks and continually compare business process results for improvement purposes. The key is thorough documentation and dedication to change.
Concise Communication
Miscommunication is one of the biggest obstacles to proper workplace flow. Consider establishing standardized procedures for employees to communicate with each other and with customers. Many employees and management are often on the go and will naturally fall behind on emails. Set the expectation that management will oversee and assist with following up on information requests and approaching priority deadlines.
Clear Division of Labor
Be sure to clearly establish departmentalization roles and individual job responsibilities. One of the biggest sources of confusion for customers is when they must navigate through different departments to solve their problem. Less is better when it comes to solving customer’s problems and increasing workflow. In addition to this, clearly establish employee’s job responsibilities and hold them accountable.
Use Positive Psychology
One of positive psychology’s leading experts is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He is well-known for his concept of psychological flow or total focus. According to Csikszentmihalyi, workplace flow can be achieved through having clear goals, continuous feedback, removing distractions and encouraging intrinsic motivation. If possible, consider training employees on the psychology behind achieving total focus and workplace flow.
Data Backup and Recovery
Unexpected data loss can have disastrous consequences for any business. The sudden loss of data and interruption of business will financially hurt any company. Unless your business is using a cloud computing service, consider physically backing up your data. Even better, keep a data recovery company, like We Recover Data, on file in case of emergencies.
You can improve your workplace flow through continual monitoring, concise communication, clear division of labor, using positive psychology and data recovery preparation. Learn more about the most common business problems, here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229368.