Posts Tagged ‘productivity’

One of our goals in business is always to increase both our productivity and the productivity of our team members. Here are ten tools that can be used to help with increasing productivity through our daily activities:

1. Remember the Milk. This is one of my favourite online tools – I am a natural list maker, so an online application that allows me to create as many lists as I need, while allowing me to access them wherever I am, well! Due dates can be set, priorities made and tasks can be set to repeat as often as needed. Remember the Milk is a great tool to keep on-top of your To-Do list. link.
2. Campaign Monitor. One of the best online tools to assist with sending online campaigns, newsletters, etc., to your clients. Campaign Monitor allows you to see stats of how many people opened your campaign, how long they read your campaign, what links they clicked in your campaign, and whether they forwarded it to a friend. link.
3. Sharepoint Online. One of Microsoft’s online tools, Sharepoint allows you to access, modify, share and create new documents with other users, while still using the Microsoft Office suite (as opposed to an online document editor). link.
4. Google. Google is so much more than just a search engine – there is Google Docs, that allows you to do document sharing; there is Google Calendar, where you can share you calendar with many people; Google Analytics helps you keep a tab on what is happening on your website (how many visitors you get, what keywords bring them there, etc). Google Alerts is one of my favourites, as you get an email whenever a website or blog on the Internet mentions any specified terms (for example, you could get an email whenever someone mentions your company’s name). link.
5. YouSendIt. Those files that you need to send to a customer that are too large in size for your (and their) email server to handle? Instead of mailing them a disc with these files burned on to it, YouSendIt allows you to upload the file to their website, so you just have to send a link where they can download the file to the recipient. link.
6. RescueTime. RescueTime is an online time management application that allows you to track and optimize the time you and your employees spend on each task they are faced with. link.
7. Roboform. A lot of companies have password-protected areas of their websites for their clients. Roboform allows you to easily keep track of your username and password for each of those sites, and automatically fills in those forms with necessary information. link.
8. Replace Text. This program allows you to search and replace strings of text from multiple files at the same time – a much faster way to accomplish this than going through every file that may have that string of text in order to search and replace that text! link.
9. Evernote. Use this program to save your ideas, likes, dislikes, thoughts, etc, and access them again using any computer or mobile device. link.
10. AutoHotkey. Hotkeys are keys on your keyboard that, when hit, will perform a specific action (such as “Ctrl+C” to copy text or images). AutoHotkey allows you to create your own hotkeys to help make processes you do faster. link.

In the fourth quarter last year, Canadian labour productivity experience its largest gain since the first quarter of 1998 (1.4 per cent). As well, manufacturing sales were up 2.4 per cent in January – this was unexpected, as economists had been expecting a 0.6 per cent gain. (Source)

So what does this mean for us? It is definitely a good sign, but there is always a chance we expect more of this than there actually is. By just taking a look at what happened in the fourth quarter, one may think that it’s time to start hiring more workers for the expected increase in business – however, if businesses try to grow to the size they were previously too quickly, it may once again result in strains on those businesses. While the growth is definitely something to embrace, stay cautious about getting too far ahead of what your business can handle at its current state.

Productivity is a constant issue in today’s society. With the technological advances of past years, the demand for increased productivity has become very great. Improve your productivity can be simple, by following these ten quick tips.

1. Track your productivity, and note increases and decreases. Many factors can affect the productivity of a warehouse. Anything from weather to the day of the week can affect your productivity. If you keep track and note changes in productivity, you may learn effective methods to keep your employees productive.
2. Keep Areas Clean. A common problem for people is that their area is too cluttered. This means that employees waste countless minutes each day looking for something within their workspace. Allowing employees 5-10 minutes at the beginning or end of their shift will allow them to set up and organize everything to their liking for work.
3. Maintain Accurate Records. A major problem for manufacturers is their inventory. If a manufacturer runs out of a specific material, they may have to wait days for their supplier to restock. This wastes time and brings production to a screeching halt. Keeping your inventory records up to date will prevent running out of any necessary supplies to keep day to day operations productive.
4. Maintain Equipment. Another major issue for manufacturers is equipment. If a machine is not properly cared for, the likelihood of it breaking down and requiring intensive repairs is much greater. Maintaining equipment can also extend the life of your machines, saving your hard-earned money.
5. Optimize Layout & Space Consumption. One of the biggest inefficiencies is the location of materials and tools. If a material is in one corner of the plant, and the tool to work on such material is in the other, employees are wasting precious time wandering around the plant floor. This also increases the chances of them being distracted and wasting time chatting with other employees.
6. Automate When Possible. While some people worry that this eliminates jobs, automation can actually make the employee’s job easier, and overall increase productivity. Automation also reduces the risk for human error, resulting in more shelf-ready product.
7. Keep Morale High. This concept seems simple. If your employees are happy, they will be more likely to work harder. However, determining what increases morale can be hard. When reviewing the productivity records you have been tracking, note any positive changes in morale, and try and duplicate them. On a nice day, let employees out fifteen minutes early. This keeps the employees happy and speedy, which will increase your overall productivity by leaps and bounds.
8. Optimize Labelling/Paperwork. Employees need to know specific information about products and equipment. However, if they have to look at several pages to retrieve all the information they require, this can be time consuming, and confuse the employee. Try to optimize all the information they need so that it fits on one page. That way employees can carry the page with them and check it for reference whenever required.
9. Remember Training is a Priority. While training can be costly, showing an employee where you keep specific items they require will help them to work more efficiently. Learning where an item is the first time they are in the location will help them remember, rather than having to go and find it themselves.
10. Communicate with your employees. Communication is key between an employer and their employees. Not only will this help to keep morale high, employees may notice things you don’t. While you may think that a machine is efficient in it’s current location, your employees may note that it would be easier for them if it were situated somewhere else.