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By James Daniels

Many businesses waste hours of their working time every year, and, as a small business leader, it is paramount that you can find effective ways to stop this time from slipping through your fingers. Then, here are some of the top steps that you can take when you want to cut down on the time that your business is losing through inefficiency and a lack of productivity.

– Outsource your tasks

The first step that you should consider taking is to out-source many of your business tasks, especially if they do not need a specialist’s eye. Out-sourcing has become popular as a way to ensure that tasks are completed to a high standard and that in-depth attention is paid to them even if you do not have the time to do so yourself. Then, you should consider finding services like a payroll outsource company that can take these repetitive tasks off your shoulders while ensuring that all of your employees are paid on time.

– Use technology

Although it might have once taken all day to complete simple tasks, now, it is possible to use technology to do these tasks for you. There are many software applications out there, for example, that can help you to control everything from your finances to your deadlines without moving a muscle. You can also use technology to automate many of your less specialist tasks and to go paperless. This can prevent you from having to spend hours of the day rifling through folders to look for the document that you need. Technology can even make typing up reports and notes easier with the use of word processing software.

– Reduce meetings

However, although they may seem essential, one of the largest elements of your business operations that can prevent your employees from getting on with their work is your meetings. Meetings can be useful for communication purposes, but many meetings go on for far too long and end up being unproductive. Then, you should consider improving your meetings by chopping the length of them, and consider replacing the majority of these with written communications, or with meetings that can be held on instant messaging or video conferencing software.

– Motivate employees

None of the measures that you implement will be effective, though, unless you know how to motivate your employees. It can be difficult for employees to stay focused on the job if they are unhappy or distracted at work. Then, you can help to motivate them by creating a welcoming and inspirational work environment, by rewarding and praising them often, and by ensuring that your business offers excellent progression opportunities.

– Keep your records up to date

You also need to make sure that all of your records are keep updated if you want to save time in your business. By keeping your records up to date, you will be ensuring that you are prepared for the end of the tax year, and that you do not have to spend hours or even days collating all of this information at a later date.

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James Daniels is a freelance writer, business enthusiast, a bit of a tech buff, and an overall geek. He is also an avid reader, who can while away hours reading and knowing about the latest gadgets and tech, whilst offering views and opinions on these topics.