Big businesses grow and expand as the market environment changes, and do so even more rapidly now than ever with the accelerating tech growth of today. With this growth and expansion comes a new requirement for corporate positions to evolve with the corporation itself, and it has become critical for the overall success that every position is filled by an employee whose workload is role-based and goal-oriented, the goal being overall success.

Today’s COVID-19 debacle is a prime example of how well-functioning corporations face surprise twists that can make or break a business, and that goes for every one of your business’s departments as much as it goes to your business itself.

Productivity is synonymous with getting things done.. Whatever scale your business performs at, a structural understanding of the business and a clear yet fluid job designation must be in place. In a corporate setup, productivity works its way from a departmental direction; is the administrative department managing its daily, weekly, monthly…etc. workload efficiently? Is the marketing department targeting the right audience at the right time? These are all questions that once answered, can determine the level of productivity your business is performing at.

Internal operations must not revolve around one department’s work in favour of the other. When managers start to feel like their departments are useless, they will feel the same way about their jobs and their subordinates will get that impression as well. As a business, your number one mission is profit and success, which entails your job description: goal-setting. Upon setting periodic goals managers can set up strategies that optimise the work of employees within the departments.

For individuals the same goes; how will you approach business as usual? How will your performance lead the business to achieving its annual goals? Tasks will automatically take long-term and short-term forms, and business tools will document these and set timelines and deadlines for them. As a result, the following processes will become key to assessing productivity:

Management

Managers connect the base of the company pyramid  to its vertex; they communicate the large-scales goals and transform them into tasks. An open approach will help employees determine these tasks’ importance, priority, duration and outcome. It comes down to a simple to-do list, and with every check mark indicating completion, your business comes closer to its goals and your assessment of productivity becomes easier.

Human Resources

Employees are a business’s most valuable asset. Working in engaging workspaces affects the well-being of an employee which ultimately equates to the bottom line. Lack of wellness drives up costs of healthcare, leads to more sick-days, and loss of productivity. .

Communication 

Big businesses incorporate technology to maintain communication, a process that must stay open between any two employees regardless of their positions in the company. Open physical spaces and open virtual channels allow for this communication to happen, and cancel out intimidation and hesitation. It also helps inspire everyone to work efficiently and productively. Email updates regarding various situations must be in place. Today’s COVID-19 crisis is an example of this; if it is acknowledged, addressed and updated regularly, employees will sense care and feel reassured.

Technical Support

Your business cannot function without the proper tools. If one employee faces a technical malfunction, be it with the computer mouse or in communicating with a client, this failure must be addressed quickly. These scenarios become structured in your business in the long run, and the reactions to them become automatic. However, these reactions must be updated in the form of policies and regulations. If a policy for working from home is in place, then a virus outbreak becomes easier to deal with as employees can just set up offices at home, update their management boards regularly and stay in contact with their managers for new priority tasks or completed tasks that need adjustment or discussion.

It can take a business years to make a mark. While there are traditional methods to achieving success, maintaining it can take some tailoring to fit every business’s unique goals and processes. In all cases, however, employees are a business’s most valuable asset, which must be valued.

Key takeaways

• COVID-19 debacle is a prime example of how well-functioning corporations face surprise twists that can make or break a business.
• An open approach will help employees determine various tasks’ importance, priority, duration and outcome.
• Open physical spaces and open virtual channels allow for communication to happen, and cancel out intimidation and hesitation.
• If a policy for working from home is in place, then a virus outbreak becomes easier to deal with.

By Omer Saleem, Director and Deputy CEO of Proven.