Too Much Noise!

It’s Monday morning, and Tubid team resumes work after an eventful weekend. Clara walks in together with Janet. Clement and Wambua walk in almost immediately after them. Susan, the MD, is heard striding through the corridor to her corner office while Sheila is setting up the meeting room for the weekly meeting. A few other employees are seen setting up laptops on their desks while chit-chatting about the weekend experiences.?

After about 15 minutes, everybody is settled, and those attending the weekly meetings report to the meeting room. Susan walked straight to her office and did not have a chance to talk to anybody yet. She was already on a morning phone call (personal). Vibrantly, she greets everybody before the meeting kicks off. Clara says a short prayer, then the meeting starts.

Susan places an envelope on the table containing some A4 papers, yellow in color, and everybody is immediately attracted to them. The head of sales, Janet, usually starts presenting her week’s plan. As she stands to speak, Susan courteously interrupts, and asks her to wait a moment.

With her left hand placed over the yellow papers, she stands and starts to hand over a copy to each team member with the blank side up! Anxiety builds, and all the faces are screaming silently. She then sits and says, “Over the weekend, I came across a short article which I’d love everyone to first take a look at before proceeding with the meeting”.

Phew! It's just an article! Silent thoughts in everyone’s mind. They knew that Susan had raised some issues in the last three meetings regarding inefficiency, and they felt that the yellow papers were “something no employee wants to be served on a Monday”

She asks everyone to read the article, and the first 15 minutes of the meeting will be used to discuss the points raised in the article. Susan really wants to eliminate the noise in the company and focus on results. The article is short and precise and has actionable tips she wants to implement immediately.?

The article is written by Steve Tevez, a project management expert and process optimization enthusiast seeking to help businesses increase efficiency, make more profits and reduce operational costs. Learn more about Steve here

WITH ZERO COST, YOU CAN DO THESE TO INCREASE BUSINESS EFFICIENCY NOW!

Efficiency is the cornerstone of success for any organization. The vigorous business landscape today demands efficiency and the ability to do more with less is a competitive advantage that cannot be underestimated. But how can you increase efficiency in your company, and do it quickly? Walk with me.

1. Streamline Workflows:

Start by mapping out your key processes and identifying bottlenecks. Simply start at your reception area or call desk. Map out how customer calls are received, made and redirected. This is an important area of any business. Without customers, you cannot have a business!

2. Goals:

Efficiency begins with a clear sense of purpose. When everyone knows what they're working towards, it's easier to stay on track. Here is a test for you: Make a quick call to any department in your business right now and find out if they know exactly what they are working on today. The answer you get will tell you where your business stands!

3. Prioritize Tasks:

Adopt the Eisenhower Matrix, which categorizes tasks into four quadrants based on importance and urgency. Focus on high-priority, high-impact tasks first and delegate or eliminate low-priority ones to maximize productivity. Activity: Review your task list right now and prioritize!

4. Optimize Meetings:

When are you having your next meeting? Meetings can be a major time sink. Do you have clear agendas, time limits, and relevant participants? If not, take action right now. Call whoever is responsible for arranging meetings to have the agenda, time limit and participants. Also, try stand-up meetings, they are quicker.

5. Eliminate Interruptions:

Interruptions disrupt workflow and decrease productivity. Encourage employees to establish focused work periods and minimize distractions. Chit-chats are huge inefficiencies in workplaces. Tools like noise-cancelling headphones and "do not disturb" policies can help.

6. Encourage Collaboration:

Promote a culture of collaboration within your organization. Cross-functional teams can brainstorm ideas, share knowledge, and find innovative solutions more effectively than siloed departments. This won’t cost you a dime.

The team spends to next 15 minutes discussing these points and making actionable plans to be implemented. The meeting shifted slightly and took slightly longer than usual, but Susan was happy that her team would start implementing these tips immediately.

Visit pmtevez.com for collaborations to improve your business efficiency or simply drop an email to [email protected]