Does your business not function as efficiently as you would like? Now is the time to assess your current business setup and improve productivity from both a managerial and employee perspective.

Improving Productivity from a Management Perspective

Review and Improve Technology

As a business owner, you are constantly busy with running your business. This can cause you to be unaware about your business process, and where it could be updated. It is crucial to review your current software and technology and how they interact with your business. If they don’t match your business model, it is time to try a different setup that will naturally be more efficient and better suits your business’ needs.

Adopt a Mindset of Continual Improvement

Let your employees know that you want them to improve items of concern before they become problems for the business. Proactivity is crucial for increasing productivity, as well as just making life easier for employees in the future. A way to show your devotion for improvement is to encourage learning opportunities for your employees. Provide your support in these endeavors, both internally and externally. An employee that feels supported will want to go above and beyond for your business.

Identify Performance Goals

Communication with your employees is the most important aspect of a business. The culture you create will either limit employees or motivate them. Performance goals are the way to do this. Give employees goals with deadlines and commit to the due date. It’s also important to give positive feedback and constructive criticism to your employees at the end of each project so they feel properly valued in the workplace for their contributions.

Improving Productivity from an Employee Perspective

It’s important to inform employees on how they can improve their own performance and productivity in the workplace. Create correspondence with these components in mind.

Avoid Unproductive Meetings

Most companies become involved in routine meetings for administrative and team purposes. It’s in good practice that employees take the time to write notes for their timely meeting whenever something of note happens. This strategy works better than scrambling to look prepared when the meeting comes, because your issues can properly be addressed. Simply creating a shared agenda that employees can contribute to before the meeting will boost productivity and provide better content to address.

Create a Balanced Work Schedule

As an employee, it can be very difficult to manage time with multiple tasks and deadlines that create an overwhelming environment. It is very easy to feel burnt out in the workplace. Having a better schedule can improve energy levels and boost morale. Employees must utilize their breaks efficiently. For example, have a change of scenery when it is time for a break. Exercise can vastly improve the way one feels at work. It is important to move around and get the blood flowing while at work, because of the natural, sedentary nature. It can be a smart tactic to implement time blocks for tasks. Stay focused on a task for an hour and then walk around for a stretch after the fixed duration. This will create a beneficial rhythm where an employee can feel productive without feeling burnt out.

Do Not Attempt to Multitask

Fun fact: multitasking is actually a myth. It is not possible to complete multiple tasks at once. You actually complete tasks slower this way because your brain can only focus on one task at a time. Multitasking is not productive despite the way it is shown. Having a task schedule for multiple items due is a better way to effectively use your time than trying to commit to all of them at the same time.

Office productivity can vastly improve when both business managers and employees are dedicated to improving their quality of work. Productivity does not change instantly but these ideas can help a business step in the right direction towards improvement.

Like many small business owners, you may plan on working until you are ready to retire. And, once you reach that point, you may expect to sell your business and live off the proceeds. Or, you may have partners or children who can keep the business operating once you are ready to step away.

However, smart business owners plan for all eventualities. They plan for success but they have a fallback plan in case their efforts don’t bear fruit. As a business owner whose business is probably by far your biggest asset, it makes sense to think about those things that could go wrong and take steps to protect yourself now.

What steps should you consider taking that can protect your future financial security? Consider these contingency strategies:

Put a Retirement Plan in Place

The only constant in business is change. And many changes can harm a business’s financial viability. What would happen to your retirement dreams if your business experienced a serious setback? New technologies come along and make some businesses obsolete. New competitors erase older, established firms and economic downturns impact consumer and business spending. Natural disasters can seriously damage a business’s operations and cause widespread financial loss.

Funding a retirement plan during your working years can help protect your future financial well-being. Additionally, a retirement plan can provide important tax benefits. For example, your contributions to your retirement plan are typically tax deductible while earnings on investments in your retirement plan account grow tax deferred until you begin taking distributions.

As a small business owner, you can choose from a variety of tax-advantaged retirement plans. Each option has distinct advantages and disadvantages when it comes to costs and the burden involved in plan administration. The input from your financial professional can be helpful when reviewing the appropriateness of a particular retirement plan with regard to your business’s specific situation.

Establish a Buy-Sell Agreement

If you have one or more partners or co-owners, it makes sense to have a buy-sell agreement. A buy-sell agreement helps ensure that you (or your beneficiaries) will receive fair compensation for your ownership interest. The agreement also facilitates the orderly transfer of ownership and management. A buy-sell agreement can be drafted among shareholders of an S corporation, partners of a partnership or an LLC, or even between an owner and a key employee.

When carefully crafted, a buy-sell agreement can:

• Help provide a smooth transition of control, management, and ownership to those who wish to continue running the business
• Spell out the financial aspects of the transition
• Establish a fair and reasonable price
• Help ensure the financial security of your family and other beneficiaries in the event of your unexpected death
• Create a built-in buyer for your interest in the business
• Establish, under certain circumstances, an estate tax value for the stock.

There are two basic types of buy-sell agreements: cross purchase and entity purchase (stock redemption). With a cross purchase agreement, the remaining owners agree to buy the departing owner’s interest in the business individually. With an entity purchase agreement, the business itself agrees to buy the selling partner’s ownership interest.

Life insurance is a common way of funding a buy-sell agreement. The proceeds of the policy are used to buy out the departing owner’s interest in the business.

Develop a Disaster Plan

No matter where your business is located, it is a wise precaution to assume that a natural disaster will impact it at some point. Adequate preparation can minimize damage to your systems, your equipment, and your physical plant, and may even protect you and your employees from harm. A key component in preparing for a natural disaster is a disaster plan.

Your disaster plan should include sections on personnel safety, management succession, and data preservation. It should outline the steps employees and managers must take in the event of a disaster.

Small business owners who conduct regular reviews of their business’ operating health are more likely to detect potential issues before they develop into major problems. Some areas should be monitored regularly since they hold the greatest potential for harming a company’s long-term financial health.

Cash Flow

You should be concerned if your cash flow is insufficient to cover expenses because payments for goods or services are slow in coming. Beware also if your cash reserves accumulate rather than being put to work. Excess funds may be parked in short-term investment accounts, but ideally, they should be put to work growing the business.

Gross Profit Margin

If it is shrinking over several quarters, your production costs may be rising at a faster pace than your prices. Or, it may because you are charging less than in the past. Either way, declining gross profit margins are a threat to the financial health of your business.

Receivables

If they are growing faster than sales, it is a sign that your customers are not paying what they owe you in a timely manner. You may need to take steps to improve your collection procedures. Be proactive and consistent about issuing invoices and providing any necessary supporting documentation. In addition, contact customers as soon as you detect any delays in payment and stay on top of accounts that are past due.

Debt

Almost every business carries some debt. It’s generally not a problem as long as it is kept under control. Too much debt is a different matter in that it can eat up your cash, cut into your profits, and reduce the return you’re getting on your investment in the company.

Assets

Turnover rates are an important measure if your business carries inventory. When inventory turns over slowly, cash flow suffers. Your best approach is to determine how many days’ worth of product you’d ideally like to have on hand and adapt your purchasing to meet that goal. Additionally, keep an eye on fixed assets. If you have equipment that’s not being fully utilized, you may be able to repurpose it. If not, it may be time to sell or donate it.

Professional Input Can Be Valuable

Business owners should evaluate a broad range of financial information when making decisions. The input of a financial professional can be helpful in the assessment of a business’s overall financial health