As a business leader, it’s crucial to keep track of your team’s productivity to ensure your company is running at peak efficiency. However, tracking productivity can be a daunting task, especially when you have multiple departments and teams to manage.
According to research conducted by Zippia, measuring employee productivity is crucial, as the average worker is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes a day, or 31% of their eight-hour workday. Unproductive behavior can be caused by several factors, including stress, business inefficiencies such as a lack of coordination and collaboration, and general distractions. Zippia also found that the average employee is distracted every three minutes and it takes them an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to refocus on their task when they’ve been pulled away.
These productivity inhibitors can harm both your business and your employees. However, a cloud ERP solution can help break this cycle by improving communication and collaboration processes among team members. An ERP system stores and synchronizes data from across the organization, giving every team member access to the same information based on the permissions you assign them. By working with updated and accurate data and communicating through the ERP system, team members can collaborate more easily on company-wide or cross-departmental projects, understand their roles and responsibilities, and coordinate their actions as needed. This can help address productivity and promote a more efficient work environment.
Streamlining Business Processes
For small business owners or managers, witnessing growth is a significant accomplishment. However, such progress often results in complexity. To keep up with increasing demands and evolving requirements, acquiring new customers requires sufficient resources and adaptable business processes and workflows.
By utilizing the real-time data provided by your cloud ERP solution, you can scrutinize your current workflows for any inefficiencies or bottlenecks. Subsequently, you can identify strategic solutions, such as automating manual processes and standardizing disorganized procedures, to establish a more efficient, streamlined, and productive business.
Leaning on ERP to Track Productivity
If you’re ready to tackle the challenge of tracking employee productivity with a cloud-based ERP system that can track productivity across your entire business, here’s what you’ll need to do:
1. Set Goals and Metrics
Before you start tracking productivity, you need to set goals and metrics for your teams to achieve. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Setting SMART goals will help you measure productivity accurately.
2. Choose a Cloud ERP System
Once you’ve set your goals, you need to choose a cloud ERP system that can help you track productivity. There are many cloud ERP systems available in the market, and you need to choose the one that best suits your needs. Acumatica, for example, is a cloud-based ERP system that provides businesses with a comprehensive set of tools to manage their operations, including tracking productivity.
Acumatica’s capabilities include:
- Real-time tracking of activities. Acumatica allows businesses to track activities in real-time, giving managers a clear picture of how much time their employees are spending on different tasks. This tracking helps businesses identify any inefficiencies in their operations and optimize their processes to improve productivity.
- Time tracking and project management. Since great cloud ERP systems empower organizations to track the time their employees spend on each task and project, leaders can identify which projects are taking longer than expected and which employees are struggling to meet deadlines. This information helps managers make better decisions about resource allocation and prioritize their projects accordingly.
- Performance metrics. With the help of a system like Acumatica, companies have access to key performance metrics that help them track productivity across different departments and teams. These systems provide dashboards that display these metrics, enabling managers to monitor their employees’ performance in real-time and make informed decisions to improve productivity.
- Mobile access. Since cloud ERP systems are available any time and from any device, managers are more able to stay connected with their teams and improve business operations with real-time data.
3. Customize Your ERP System
Once you’ve chosen your cloud ERP system, you’ll need to customize it to fit your business needs. You should configure the system to track the metrics you’ve set and create dashboards that show you how well your teams are performing against those metrics.
4. Implement Time Tracking
Time tracking is a crucial part of tracking productivity. You need to know how much time your teams are spending on various tasks and projects. Your cloud ERP system should allow you to track time spent on each project, as well as billable and non-billable hours.
5. Monitor Progress
Once your ERP system is set up, you need to monitor progress regularly. You should review your dashboards and reports daily, weekly, or monthly to ensure your teams are meeting their goals. If there are any issues, it’s important to take corrective action promptly.
6. Use Analytics to Identify Trends and Report on Productivity
Using analytics, you can identify trends and patterns in your business operations. You can use this data to optimize your business processes and improve productivity further. Your cloud ERP system should provide you with analytics tools that allow you to drill down into data and identify trends.
How MIBAR Can Help
As mentioned, implementing a cloud ERP solution can have a positive impact on your business’s productivity by efficiently managing resources, streamlining processes, enhancing communication among team members, and measuring productivity. The benefits of increased efficiency, cost reduction, and improved employee engagement ultimately lead to an exceptional customer experience.
Learn more in 8 Simple Strategies to Boost Employee Engagement and the Bottom Line.
If you’re looking to enhance your company’s productivity and performance using a modern cloud ERP system, our team at MIBAR can help. We support affordable, user-friendly business management software solutions that can be tailored to meet your company’s current and future needs. Schedule a call with us today, and let us answer any questions you might have!
