At any given time, the goal of any organizational leader should be to enable their team to work smarter, not harder. Working “harder” is actually something of a misconception – it’s failing to see the forest for the trees. There’s a limit to how “hard” the average employee can work before the quality of their output begins to suffer. At that point, what happens? They become disengaged. Volume may increase, but quality suffers. Nobody is happy, least of all your clients. If you make sure they have access to the tools and techniques you need to do their best, however, the opposite occurs. Quality increases, and you still free up valuable time in their day so that they can focus on essential matters that truly need them.
With that in mind, there are a number of core tools and techniques that you can use to increase efficiency and empower your team that are absolutely worth a closer look.
1. Digital Forms
A digital form is deceptively simple, but in reality, it’s so much more than you’re likely imagining.
Consider the lengthy process of getting even one paper form filled out and approved. It needs to be created. It needs to be filled out. That form needs to pass through a series of hands to get approved. The data on that form then needs to be entered into a computer. At all stages, that form could be lost. The information could be entered in incorrectly, introducing errors and limiting its value.
With a digital form, all that changes. The form itself is filled out in a fraction of the time. Anyone who needs to approve it is notified instantly so they can take the appropriate steps, and nobody is waiting around. The data is already digitized, so there is no worrying about anything getting recreated incorrectly.
Digital Form Advantages
For example, consider the process of adding a task to your team’s task management system (more on productivity tools later). Especially if you are taking requests from outside parties, entering the information can sometimes take just as much time as the project itself. With a digital form, that data can be collected from the person requesting the project and added directly to your workspace with an API integration. Even better, with conditional formatting, forms can be dynamic and work for a variety of different request types.
With a digital form, that same information that would be sent via email and then re-entered into your system is collected in a fraction of the time, with little to no effort on your part.
Now, imagine the same benefits applied ahead of the start of an upcoming project for a client. Work gets started faster, and more time and attention is devoted to bringing that project to life.
Even something as simple as a digital form can save tremendous time. Those employees can then focus that time on those matters that truly need their attention.
2. Project Management Tools
Most organizations probably already have some type of “project management” tool available to them – even if it’s just a series of spreadsheets that are passed around from team member to team member.
But where AI-driven project management platforms really support and empower workers comes through the improved efficiency you get through things like automation.
By automating time-consuming, repetitive tasks, you are once again freeing up time to focus on more time-sensitive matters. Anything that features a repeatable process that needs to be done quickly is a prime candidate for automation.
But as these AI-driven tools are fed more data, this can also help enhance decision-making. This is especially true when it comes to looking at historical data. You can use the insights generated by these tools for better resource management, for example. If a project requires a number of people to collaborate and all work on different parts at the same time, you can make sure people are where they need to be so that work begins as quickly as possible.
You can also use predictive analytics to help with accurate risk assessment. If you know what types of risks you’re most likely to face, you can be proactive about avoiding them now – before they have a chance to become much bigger and potentially more expensive problems later on.
All this is to increase productivity so that the project gets done as efficiently as possible. But in this particular case, it also makes sure that everything is going smoothly so that a project manager can spend less time simply making sure that everyone is on the same page so that they can devote more of their attention to things like strategic planning.
3. Communication Suites
Finally, understand that even your best employee isn’t working in a vacuum. Their output is often the product of many people working in tandem with one another.
This means that communication and collaboration can’t just be easy. They must be frictionless. Therefore, you need to find a communication tool that keeps everything they need under one roof.
Instant messaging. Telephone service. File sharing. Teleconferencing. Mobile functionality. At a bare minimum, these are the features that such a platform must contain.
When you make it easy for people to work together, they’re more likely to do exactly that. A team must rise to the occasion, becoming much more than the sum of its parts. If you give them access to a single tool that enables all this and more, there’s truly no limit to what they’ll be able to accomplish.
Added Efficiency With the Right Tools
These are just a few available tools designed to enhance collaboration, streamline workflows, and reduce time-consuming tasks. Remember that there are only so many hours in a day. Success will come down to your ability to make the most of your available time.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about the most advanced project management tool or the most basic productivity app; the core objective remains the same. You want to do whatever you can to help teams maintain that delicate balance between quality and quantity.
Whether you’re in charge of a fresh startup or a blossoming business with a rich history under your belt, that is what the term “empowerment” means in this context. Taking this position and leaning into these tools and techniques will lead to a more engaged, high-performing team – which is a very exciting position for any leader to be in.
Image Credit: Photo by ThisisEngineering on Unsplash
