Posted in Management Best Practices

Increase Employee Efficiency with These Actionable Steps

Efficient employees drive business success, but boosting productivity often starts with effective management. This blog outlines practical steps managers can take to optimize workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and empower their finance teams to perform at their best. If you plan to hire in 2025, turn to the experts at PrideStaff Financial.

Start with the basics:

Business trends ebb and flow over time, but the basics of good management don’t change. This requires that you pay attention to the most common reasons why productivity suffers. Think about these basic questions on how your team functions. Do employees attend meetings all day, leaving no time to get work done? Can some meetings be eliminated? Can you give employees permission to skip meetings if they have a more pressing deadline? Do multiple meetings leave staff with blocks of time too brief to get meaningful work accomplished? Are employees thanked for their hard work and accomplishments? Does your staff have the equipment and training that they need? Are your productivity apps really helping? Does your onboarding process support a new employee’s ability to ramp up quickly? A solid internal review of your own work habits, combined with a review of team productivity, can spur year-long results for you and everyone around you.

Make an investment:

Are you using many tools to complete a single process? Take some time to investigate whether there are tools that can combine steps or complete the process from start to finish. This will help minimize miscommunication, data inaccuracies, and bottlenecks. It could also save your department some cash. Managing an entire process using one tool is a great way to increase quality control. You’ll have a greater understanding of your team’s workflows and more control over your processes when you don’t have to chase data across multiple platforms. It also frees up time so your team(s) can focus on high-priority tasks. Look for tech that offers a robust platform with many tools, instead of just one specialized product.

Include the team:

If you’ve dictated all goals in the past, consider a change–ask how your team thinks things are working before setting new targets. Find out if they feel like they’ve got the tools, training, or experience they need to do their jobs well. Listen and try to understand the points employees are making so that any new goals address their concerns. Consulting your team about process improvements may also uncover areas for improvement that aren’t on your radar. For instance, your accountant may have ideas on how to fine-tune your invoicing system to improve how quickly invoices go out. You’ve gathered vital information on a key process that impacts cash flow and can work with the accounting team to set defined, realistic goals for improvement.

Match tasks to skills:

A common mistake managers make is under-evaluating their employees’ skill sets and over-asking employees to do multiple projects that may not align with their skills or move too much outside their role. Knowing your employees’ skills and behavioral styles is essential for maximizing efficiency. For example, an extroverted, creative, and out-of-the-box thinker can come up with great innovative ideas. However, they might struggle with mundane, unstimulating work. So, before giving an employee an assignment, determine whether they are the most suitable person for the task.

Start with the basics:

Make an investment:

Include the team:

Match tasks to skills:

PrideStaff Financial’s highly skilled staffing consultants are ready to support your hiring needs.