You'll often hear older people lamenting the passage of time. Usually it's when they are talking about how quickly their children or grandchildren are growing up. Most of us our guilty of wasting a bit of time each and every day. Many times we are aware of what we're doing but other times it's not quite so obvious.
When you're watching TV or playing on your phone you know that you're not being as productive as you could be. Do you realize that when you're struggling to complete tasks using outdated methods or technology you're just as guilty of being inefficient? These time sucks can end up costing you more than just hours out of your day. They can be expensive and lead to lost customers and more. Today we have some areas to keep an eye on and some tips for increasing your efficiency. We'll also have tips for using Stockpile simple inventory system to help.
Employee Procedures
No employer intends to make their employees less efficient, but sometimes it still happens. Carefully review your employee procedures to make sure there aren't any areas that are slowing people down. How do employees sign in to work? Is the process as fast and efficient as it could be? It's probably obvious that if you have a punch clock and employees have to wait in line to clock in that's a time waster. Other inefficiencies aren't as glaring. What about other work processes? Do employees often end up waiting for managerial approval before they can move on to the next task? Does your company practice peer review? While this can be a great way to ensure accurate results it can also take up a considerable amount of time, particularly if employees have to wait on others to review their work before they can move on to the next step in the process.
Meetings
How much time is spent in meetings? You've probably heard it said "that was a meeting that could have been an e-mail." Don't be that boss. If the information can be disseminated electronically, do it. Meetings take up more than just the minutes you spend sitting in them. People often prep for the meeting before they come, make idle chit chat before and after, and take some time to get back into whatever they were working on before they left for the meeting. Tick-tock, time's a-wasting.
Outdated Tech
The outdated technology in your office probably isn't as obvious as a calculator watch or a record player. The difference between what you have and the latest and greatest is probably a lot more subtle, and therefore easier to miss. When it comes to operating systems the companies are quick to inform you that a new version is available, so you're probably up to date (or at least well aware of how out of date you are.) Other systems can be harder to track. If it's a system that you paid a lot of money for, chances are the upgrade isn't free or even cheap either. That can make it easier to justify passing on the newest version. What you can't afford to overlook is the cost of using outdated software and systems. If your technology is slow or unreliable you are wasting time trying to get it to work. Wasted time can also be frustrating for your employees and customers and that negatively impact your business as well. Watch for processes that seem to be taking longer than they use and ask for employee feedback as well. Those dealing with it on a daily basis will be able to tell you which systems are working properly and which ones are slowing things down.
Inventory Issues
Suffering from inventory issues can cost you time and money. It shouldn't be hard to locate items in your inventory. You should also be able to quickly and easily locate items and ascertain how much inventory you have on hand. That should be true whether you have one location or many. Other data that you need about your inventory should be easy to access as well. Why sift through tons of information that you don't want to see? Stockpile simple inventory system is a fully customizable inventory management solution that allows you to choose which fields to add to item records. Plus, Stockpile is mobile compatible which means you can access your data from your favorite mobile device. You shouldn't have to be in the office to know what's going with your inventory. If you can carry your entire music catalog in your pocket, why not your business inventory? Running reports shouldn't be a complicated process either. Stockpile makes it easy to compile end of year data and tax records. All it takes is a few clicks to pull up the reporting info that you need.
Time Is On Your Side with Stockpile Simple Inventory System
Don't let time slip away from your business. Sometimes being faster and more efficient is the best competitive advantage you can have. Set yourself up for success with Stockpile simple inventory system. Ready to get started? Try Stockpile today!
