Optimizing Business Ops: 4 Tools and Tactics for Greater Efficiency

Nearly everyone knows what inefficiency in the workplace looks like. Three managers have to approve your vacation leave. You jump through an obstacle course of hoops to move a project along. Plus, it takes over six months to backfill open roles while the workloads pile up for everyone left on the team.

While these are blatant examples of inefficiencies, they can also emerge more subtly. In addition to vague or conflicting goals, aged processes and workflows are on the “elusive” list. Disorganization sometimes becomes ingrained in an organization’s culture because of established procedures and practices. Hesitancy around adopting new technologies may also set a company’s efficiency machine back.

Optimizing business operations takes a willingness to move both tools and tactics forward. It starts with an honest examination of what the company is doing and what it can do better. Here are four tools and tactics to consider for greater operational efficiency. 

1. Marketing Automation Software

Establishing an online footprint isn’t on most organizations’ marketing plans’ wish lists. However, teams must get up and running to Optimize business operations to attract audiences in today’s digitized landscape. Maintaining online audience engagement is just as critical, requiring constant website, social media, and content updates.

If you don’t have a centralized place to organize it all, the best-laid plans can fall apart quickly. Implementing software with marketing automation services lays the groundwork for workflow efficiency. Imagine being able to manage every social media page from a single dashboard. Use built-in AI to generate small-form content and get the ball rolling on longer pieces. Plus, keep your website looking sharp without having to put a few full-stack developers on retainer.

Marketing automation software has additional capabilities, such as managing online listings and reviews. You can learn from real-time analytics, helping your team track content performance, audience engagement levels, and website traffic. When everything is organized under “one roof,” you can assess the big picture in less time. You’ll also automate the most repetitive, recurring tasks, allowing the team to think through the strategies behind the work.  

2. Realistic, Streamlined Goals

Have you ever worked in a role where one key performance metric seemed to contradict another? Consequently, you and your co-workers felt like you were constantly facing an uphill battle. It was nearly impossible for anyone to meet all of the company’s metrics, despite putting forth their best efforts.

Unrealistic expectations do the opposite of what they’re intended to do. Instead of increasing efficiency and productivity, unrealistic goals stress employees out. When employees are stressed out, productivity and efficiency go down. A 2023 Gallup report revealed that 44% of the workforce is stressed, reflecting a steady increase over the past 10 years.

The main causes of unattainable objectives are poor leadership, a lack of communication, and perfectionism. If you want to increase efficiency, take the pressure off your employees. Determine what desired results are reasonably attainable and don’t try to layer on too much at once. Get feedback from the team, industry benchmarks, and internal or external peers. Also, remember to use models for setting goals to ensure they’re specific, relevant, and measurable.

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3. Time Tracking Tools

Sometimes unrealistic goals come from not realizing how much time it takes to complete competing tasks. Time trackers are a way to assess the ideal length of processes, projects, and various responsibilities. By recording how much of an employee’s eight hours are consumed by certain tasks, you can identify potential inefficiencies.

For instance, is half the week spent on meetings and brainstorming when what’s needed is more implementation? The opposite could also be true. Maybe the team doesn’t have a clear direction and ends up spinning its wheels. The strategy changes midcourse or deliverables get scrapped because they weren’t thought through.

Simultaneously, managers may assume projects should be completed sooner than current resources allow. Time tracking tools will collect enough data to show average completion times. Furthermore, you’ll see what processes are taking longer than others. There may be hidden bottlenecks in workflows or insufficient technology. In addition, management may need to reset its expectations while reoptimizing what’s not working for the team.  

4. Effective Collaboration

Poor communication leads to a host of problems, including inefficient operations. When employees don’t have the information they need, productivity tends to drop. Other effects of a lack of communication include lowered morale, animosity, and mistrust.

Employees can’t be efficient at their jobs if they aren’t on the same page. When communication is poor, you get duplication of tasks, backlogged deliverables, and unhappy clients. A lack of established processes and clear role responsibilities is an example. Say you have a smaller team with two graphic designers, a copywriter, and a social media manager.

No one is clear on who’s responsible for the various work it takes to put out a new commercial. There’s no set workflow for what tasks come first and for how they’re handed off. Consequently, your copywriter and graphic designers produce vastly different scripts for the same video. Sometimes the videos get made before the scripts are written or vice versa. No one knows what their role is and good collaboration doesn’t happen.

Things have to constantly get redone, creating a chaotic environment. Expecting employees to know what to do and when isn’t a solution. Establish clarity while using project management tools to help facilitate proper workflows. These sometimes overlooked steps in smaller organizations can make a world of difference when it comes to effective collaboration.  

Optimizing Business Operations

Efficient business operations don’t fall into place by accident. Companies need the right technology and workflows to make efficiency happen. Optimization also requires regular assessments to ensure tools or tactics aren’t antiquated. Achieving greater efficiency is a process in itself. As long as you set realistic, attainable objectives, you can streamline the rest.