Member Article

SMB Productivity: Strategies for Long-Term Success

Jeff Erwin, CEO, Intego & Flextivity

One of the most pressing issues facing small and medium sized business (SMB) owners is how to manage staff productivity effectively. While advances in technology and the mobility of employees make it more challenging, small business owners need to remain productive and keep their employees productive in order to successfully grow their businesses. One simple but effective way to stay a step ahead of the curve to create a productivity strategy tailored to your workplace environment.

Online services have transformed the workplace for the better but at the same time, given the tremendous distractions the online world presents, many business owners have struggled to keep staff focused and efficient. Your employees no doubt require the Internet for work purposes, but how do they balance the social use of the Internet with their work requirements?

Sometimes employees need assistance in maintaining their productivity. This is best evidenced by a Salary.com survey, which found that approximately 64% of employees visit non-work related websites every day at work. While it is normal and expected that a certain amount of work time will be spent this way, what are the limits and how can you help the employee find this balance?

With so much conflicting business advice, tackling productivity issues can be challenging. Take social media as an example: a recent report by Proskauer found over a third of businesses blocked access to social sites, up 29% from the year before. This was in direct contrast to what Microsoft found; 46% of employees believed that social media actually helped their productivity. The truth is undoubtedly somewhere in the middle.

With such opposing views, the first step is to find out if there is an issue with non-work related usage of the Internet, and if so, how bad is it?

Increase the Carrot, Reduce the Stick

Begin by analysing your business from every angle; this will help create a strategy tailored to your specific requirements. This process should:

• Assess overall performance to identify inefficiencies and possible solutions
• Look deeper; what are each employee’s working habits, behaviour and output
• Consider technology solutions to aid the management process
• Educate staff so they understand why changes are taking place
• Monitor any results and celebrate success as a team when progress is made

Next should be deciding how to discuss your productivity policies with your team. You may feel you lack the experience to approach the topic without appearing invasive, accusatory or confrontational. After all, if approached without caution staff could feel alienated or distrusted, which can affect general morale and team spirit.

This is why the right tone is crucial. Resist the urge to patronise or scold individuals. A better way is to focus on self-improvement and education with a goal of rewarding productive employees, rather than punishing them. Research shows that people take more responsibility for their own productivity when they feel empowered and listened to.

Balancing Trust and Team Moral with Policies

According to IDC, 63% of companies monitor workers’ Internet connections. While monitoring employees is an effective method to identify “cyberloafers,” such solutions need to be accompanied by evidence of a “duty of care” intended to reduce unacceptable employee activity. One of the most salient aspects of this is commonly referred to as an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) - a specified set of rules that works for you and serves as guidance for staff outlining what is appropriate, or inappropriate, behaviour and use of technology provided by the company.

That said, from 2005 to 2011, the number of remote workers grew 73%, according to the Telework Research Network. Measuring the output of remote staff is an increasingly important business topic, especially as people embrace more flexibility at work. Therefore, you should also consider location-based policies: some affordable, cloud-based solutions like Flextivity from Intego allow location-based Internet and application use policies and controls to help manage those working remotely. In this way, you can balance trust and team morale while putting common sense checks in place.

Be clear about what filtering or monitoring will be in place and then follow up with a conversation. Employees are more apt to be successful when they know what is being measured, and most do not mind being held accountable as long as they understand what they are being held accountable for.

Productivity as a Business Agenda

The above forms a solid foundation for any business, but it is important to remember that everyone is different. One person might appreciate an Internet policy built around openness, while another could benefit from certain restrictions and request guidance on how to be more productive.

The most significant lesson is, regardless of how long you have been in business, there is always space to improve. Make sure a feedback process is in place. Communicating with staff will help deliver the desired business results, so offer the opportunity to debate what is acceptable and ask what your team thinks unproductive behaviour is.

Someone may see an occasional check of his or her phone as acceptable, while another could consider it distracting. Therefore, when determining an effective Acceptable Use Policy, ensure you gather feedback before determining what is and is not an appropriate activity at work. Allowing people to express their opinions provides them a sense of ownership in the company and will motivate them in the long-term.

SMB IT Meets Productivity

It is crucial you tailor the strategy to your business and people. This is particularly important for any IT solutions you might need. IT might fall under your remit or be the responsibility of a single IT person. Most smaller businesses have restrictive computing budgets and IT is more reactive, rather than strategic.

Consequently, it might be worth considering an affordable, cloud-based solution that enables managers to easily administer activity-monitoring policies, as well as general security measures. Productivity depends on transparency, visibility and trust, as does security, but if you find yourself questioning the value of such an approach, consider the following two cases:

Case One: Your most senior staff is suddenly being distracted by social media but he/she is unaware of just how much of their time is being wasted. With the right solution you see how often social media is being accessed and then work with them to stop distractions by only allowing them social media access during certain times of the day.

Case Two: Your sales person is required to send out a minimum of 10 proposals per day and should be making calls and documenting them, but you start witnessing a reduction in sales opportunities. Is your company’s digital work environment built for productivity? By implementing an activity monitoring solution you can learn more about their behaviour - the amount of time spent using applications or browsing non-work related websites - which, with the right management style, could be used to improve their sales performance.

These are just two examples where productivity and your bottom line can be improved with the right approach and integrated tools. Listen to your staff, consider their feedback and create a process that drives productivity for everyone. This is how you ensure greater business success.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Intego .