Productivity is paramount to success at small businesses. More often than not, our Global Resources Reviews experts find glaring productivity mistakes in many companies they visit. Mistakes are sometimes inevitable, but they should be avoided whenever possible. Here are several productivity killers that plague many small businesses that yours should definitely avoid:

Lack of Group Hierarchy – All group projects must have a leader. Otherwise, the group will not perform in a timely and productive manner. Lack of a leader that dictates hierarchy often results in time wasting moments like those “5 minute” meetings that last an hour. A team leader must be designated to get the members to do things on time and to keep everyone in the loop.

Frequent Coffee Breaks – Don’t allow your employees to have multiple coffee, tea or smoke breaks. This often leads to time wasting. Let your employees have a regular lunch break instead. Minimize the time employees spend away from their desks as much as possible so they meet deadlines.

Not Prioritizing Email Responses – This is a very common mistake that sometimes sets projects back. Teach your employees to promptly respond to emails where more than one other person is waiting on a reply. If two or three people are waiting for a response to get going with a project, it should be provided at once. Tell employees to prioritize such emails over all the other things that fill up an inbox.

Noisy Coworkers – According to a recent survey conducted by CareerBuilder, noisy coworkers are one of the top ten productivity killers at work. Noise can especially be a problem at open space offices. A single noisy employee can distract or disturb several others. Therefore, maintain a quiet or low noise policy at the office during all working hours. If there are employees who need to talk on the phone a lot, have them seated away from the others to reduce overall noise level.

Overwork – Small businesses are more prone to have overworked employees. It’s quite common to see one person handling the work of two or three at small companies that have recently started. Overworked employees can never truly be productive. Therefore, make sure you fill vacancies immediately at your workplace. Hire freelancers to handle menial tasks. Occasionally monitor the tasks employees undertake to ensure that no one is working too much or too little.

If your small business needs to improve productivity or any other aspect that increases sales, contact us at GR-US.com for a thorough evaluation.