As we work, we create routines that define our process. We become accustomed to these routines, and after awhile we stop questioning our efficiency.
The way you operate could be making your business less productive.
Bottlenecks are common in business practices. You may be doing something you believe is making your business more productive, but it’s actually slowing down your process. These bottlenecks might be temporary problems. However, there’s a good chance you have long-term bottlenecks that are having a negative impact on your productivity.
Generally, bottlenecks can be broken down into both short- and long-term issues. Short-term bottlenecks can’t be eliminated completely because they can be caused by so many different things. However, long-term bottlenecks can pose significant challenges for organizations.
It’s up to you to find and fix these bottlenecks. We’ve broken down some of the most common productivity bottlenecks, and how you can fix them to increase your efficiency.
Bottleneck #1: Too much paperwork
Do you have a lot of clients? Maybe you keep records of previous transactions? If you’ve been working for a while, then you’re probably used to paperwork.
Paperwork is both a short-term and long-term bottleneck that you need to get rid of. It’s a short-term bottleneck because it takes time to fill it out and store it in files. It could immediately interrupt your other work and take time. It’s also a long-term bottleneck because it’ll take a lot of time to find this paperwork when you need it in the future.
Find this bottleneck by looking around your office. Is it full of unorganized paper? Do you send someone to find specific paperwork and they’re gone for a few hours? It’s time to digitalize your data and organize your files online. It’ll take a few clicks to find the information you’re looking for.
Bottleneck #2: Hiring too frequently
If there’s a project that will take a long time to complete, you might be tempted to hire more workers. You’ll probably consider bringing in freelancers to temporarily work on it.
Hiring new workers won’t increase productivity.
More workers create long-term bottlenecks. You already have a group of workers who are familiar with your business and how to work on the project. When you bring in more people who aren’t familiar with the process, you have to take time to explain their job and what they’re trying to accomplish. This will only slow everything down and make your team less productive.
Fix this problem by analyzing your employees’ work. Is the project still on time? Have your current workers gotten less done because they’re explaining the job to the new hires? Try giving work to your most-trusted employees, or doing the work yourself.
Bottleneck #3: Lack of planning
Every task should have a clear plan that’s broken down into many steps. One large task without specific steps is definitely a long-term bottleneck.
A lack of plan leads to more traffic. If there’s only one lane, there’s more traffic because all the cars are trying to get on the same road. However, if there’s four lanes there’s less traffic because there’s more room.
Don’t suffocate your work with one lane of productivity. Create more room by breaking a large task into separate steps. Then make your schedule around these segments of tasks to be more productive.
Bottleneck #4: Manual Data Tracking
Have your own store where you have to track inventory? Maybe you need to gather data for your own research?
Tracking this data manually is a time-consuming bottleneck.
You can waste your entire day entering data into your system. You can fix this bottleneck by automating your data entry. If a customer orders a product online, have that processed in your inventory system by deducting that product. Don’t let your entire day go to waste because you have to manually put in each order.
Look for Bottlenecks
Although these are common bottlenecks, they might not apply to your situation. Be on the lookout for bottlenecks that are slowing down your business, and work toward eliminating them.
One comment
Great article.
I have found the Weekly Review and peer feedback to be a great way to identify bottlenecks. One of the nasty aspects of any bottleneck, especially those that are created due to routines, is that they don't look or feel like bottlenecks. They look like excellent examples of how a workflow should be formed and make you feel productive. To Do > Do > Done. Simple. What is missing from this perspective is the duration of the action or actions and their frequency. Time and energy that could be spent elsewhere.
After taking note of several actions and tracking them using FT's analytics, I started to see various areas that I spent a lot of time in that I either didn't need to do or I was no longer the right person to be responsible for the action. I renegotiating a number of my routines and freed up a good 2 hours per week.
Great article.
I have found the Weekly Review and peer feedback to be a great way to identify bottlenecks. One of the nasty aspects of any bottleneck, especially those that are created due to routines, is that they don't look or feel like bottlenecks. They look like excellent examples of how a workflow should be formed and make you feel productive. To Do > Do > Done. Simple. What is missing from this perspective is the duration of the action or actions and their frequency. Time and energy that could be spent elsewhere.
After taking note of several actions and tracking them using FT's analytics, I started to see various areas that I spent a lot of time in that I either didn't need to do or I was no longer the right person to be responsible for the action. I renegotiating a number of my routines and freed up a good 2 hours per week.