Start Pill
Whether to improve negative numbers or to better those that are already soaring, stopping to think about how to increase the productivity of a Startup indicates something key to business success: openness to change. To do this, we believe that this change must be pragmatic and oriented to work with the tools already at our disposal.
It must be very clear that the main purpose of a startup must be good productivity, using as little time as possible in the development of tasks with an improvement in output. Maintaining this mentality will lead to an increase in labor efficiency.
When we are at a crossroad, one of those that we all reach when we decide to undertake a new business, prioritizing is very important. We are going to detail 10 tips that will be presented in the way you need: prioritized and actionable points.
How to improve and maintain good productivity in your startup team: The top 10 tips
1. Find a solid engagement survey for your employees
The engagement that an employee has with the startup directly influences their performance. It also shows how open they are to implementing the necessary changes to improve their productivity. Before thinking about interventions, you need to measure this by applying a good engagement survey.
In this regard, Leapsome’s list of questions show how to obtain a complete and broad feedback on different topics relevant to daily activities. It’s possible to collect the positive and negative opinions and, much more importantly, the employee’s opinion of how to intervene and improve. From here on, you’ll have a true broad perspective.
2. Allocate tasks and responsibilities wisely
The division of tasks is the basis of productive work. The first thing to take into account is the delimitation of roles, that is, who does what and how. You must avoid at all costs having people in your team doing everything, for everyone, and without a clear delimitation.
In this regard, it’s necessary to review the skills of your employees and see if they are really where they should be. Every team member has unique talents and abilities suited for multiple areas, but not necessarily they can be truly productive in all of them.
Once positions and responsibilities are delimited, the same should be done with the workload and delivery times. Having the tasks divided will allow each person to concentrate on the particular processes involved in their position, as well as to deploy their strengths to the maximum.
It’s very useful to see roles as personalities, rather than just a position. This is choosing wisely.
3. Make time for one-on-one meetings
We talked about the importance of engagement and its relationship with productivity. In this regard, for an employee to feel connected to the startup you need to have open and direct communication.
The importance of having one-on-one meetings and occasional check-ins allows the relationship to flow and you’ll know what is going on with each team member if needed.
It’s certainly a way to strengthen the working relationship and build more trust. Even if you are pressed for time, don’t miss the opportunity to add these meetings to your to-do lists and make them a part of the work culture.
4. Provide a nurturing working space
Nothing provides greater well-being than arriving at a workspace that is pleasant and promotes peace of mind to work. It is important that you provide the space for your team to feel that they have the best possible conditions.
From adequate lighting, sufficient physical space (whether in the office or remotely) and modern equipment, to the right air temperature. Feeling part of a team is also a physical relationship with the environment you are in.
5. Embrace remote working
The heart of any business is decision making and to make smart decisions we need data to analyze. After two full years of a global pandemic, remote working managed to show that you can be as efficient (if not more) from any place you want. Currently, 87% of Americans would choose to work from home if offered the opportunity.
Many factors play a role, but convenience and being close to family are among the reasons why. Allowing your team to work in the best conditions is accepting that these may be outside the confines of the office.
Today there are multiple tools to compensate for remoteness, so the quality of daily work will not be affected. On the contrary, there is a proven and sustained increase in productivity by allowing each employee to choose what works best for them.
6. Build autonomy and freedom of choice
One of the main factors that affect any team member’s performance is a lack of self-confidence. It’s of great importance that you allow your employees to be autonomous and trust their abilities.
It’s impossible for you, as a leader, to be involved in all the day-to-day processes of the startup, so learning to delegate will build a solid and capable team.
Similarly, create spaces for expression so that you can receive feedback. An employee who feels confident and respected will make the right decisions for the good of the team.
7. Bring constant training and preparation
Today’s market is dynamic and requires constant adaptation. In that right measure, training your team will provide value and will have them ready for any contingency that may arise. You can have the best people working with you, but each employee must evolve along with the startup for there to be real synergy.
A great way to increase productivity is to put the spotlight on soft skills. Normally the focus is on training on technical abilities/tasks, but it has proven to be very successful to work on the skills that underpin technical knowledge, such as communication, teamwork and organization.
8. Make things fun
Creating a fun and healthy atmosphere helps to improve team building and to make each employee feel that their workday becomes dynamic. To work hard it is important to have breaks and it adds great value that these breaks are accompanied by playful activities.
From board games or having a ping pong table to a room dedicated to games, everything is valid to refresh the daily routine. On top of that, playful activities are proven to decrease stress and tension, which negatively drives the productivity of the whole startup.
9. Give enough incentives and rewards
An employee needs to feel appreciated, that is the center of it all. It’s important that you create incentive systems, both for the completion of goals or metrics and for the fulfillment of basic premises such as the timetable. A team that is constantly rewarded will work more motivated and results-oriented.
Incentives can be tangible, such as office supplies, personal items or gift cards. They can also be intangible, such as courses, scholarships or recognition systems. Everything proves to have a direct impact on the development of group and individual motivation.
10. Use task management tools
It’s key that you can support your team in the way they organize and manage their daily tasks. Having digital systems available to manage deadlines, priority lists, to-dos and more unlocks many daily issues and improves workflow.
You must optimize budgets, purchasing processes, warehouse operations, invoicing processes, accounting, control of collections and payments and much more. It’s an underlooked priority that all of these processes need to have a digital background.
If the whole team is oriented to the same goal, having good communication, management and organization channels will lay the foundation for working synergistically. Don’t be afraid to make a good investment in these tools, they are an immeasurable source of efficiency.
The importance of good productivity for a team
Working on team productivity is not an easy task for a startup leader, but if the most important factors are taken into account, solid progress can be made. We reviewed 10 highly effective tips, let’s look at the most important aspects:
- Evaluate the level of commitment of a team in order to know how to act or influence it.
- Division of tasks is the basis of productive work. Organize and delegate.
- Communicate on a one-to-one level. Do it constantly.
- A comfortable working space is necessary for a healthy workflow.
- Remote working is here to stay. Embrace and accept all its advantages.
- Let your employees use their own style of decision making. Trust them.
- Invest in training and professional development.
- Create a fun and playful atmosphere.
- A rewarded teammate is a happy one. Work on a good incentive program.
- Use digital tools for time and work management.
The leadership of a startup must always focus on asking the question: Am I doing everything necessary to support my team? Productivity depends largely, as we learned, on the investment of time and resources. Try to take the necessary tips that’ll allow you to save time and money, and to make even more.
