Footprint Business Consulting

Distraction is a devilishly beautiful thing. It can be the door to inspiration and the wall blocking completion of a project all in one shot. But a long time ago someone who was either very crafty or quite oblivious gave distraction a new and more positive name: multi-tasking. The rationale was if your distraction addressed a task, then it was actually productive. The original task combined with the distracting task meant you were ‘multi-tasking’. The fancy new word gave distraction a positive swing, and everyone tried to master its nuances. Let’s stop right there and call a spade a spade: multi-tasking is still distraction, and the number one killer of productivity.

Let’s focus for a moment on the most common culprits for drawing your attention away from the task at hand: email, phone calls and instant messaging. According to a study done by TNS Research International, the constant interruptions to workflow by these distractions, leaves workers “feeling tired and lethargic”. More specifically, the study found workers who were drawn away from their main task more than 10 times per day had their IQ drop. For men, it was a 15 point drop and for women it was a five point drop. Those statistics may be proof that women are better multi-taskers, but it sure doesn’t win the argument for multi-tasking itself.

Perhaps multi-tasking is a Western peculiarity, as the East African people of the Swahili tribes understand the inefficiencies of its practice. Consider an old Swahili proverb: one who drinks water with one hand remains thirsty. Or more broadly: one who drinks water with one hand and fishes with the other remains thirsty and hungry. Translation: focus both hands on one task in order to meet the end goal. As an excitable Westerner with a tendency to give in to temptation, strive for persistence in removing all distractions from the workspace. Close down the email, turn off the phone, disable the WiFi if your task is not directly related to its use, and be diligent about staying on one single task. Read more…

Assessing business productivity is important if companies are to remain profitable. In a bad economy, competition is fierce. Companies of all types begin competing for fewer consumer dollars. Therefore, in order to be successful, they will need to reduce their overall cost of doing business while increasing worker output. Measuring and adjusting productivity is one way for them to do this. It allows a commercial enterprise to be profitable with fewer sales. For instance, measuring the ratio of labor per hour verses sales volume helps a business owner or manager know when it is time to increase productivity or to reduce payroll. This is not to be confused with efficiency, which takes into account the cost of labor and materials to produce a product.

The ratio of labor to sales tends to increase when the sales volume decreases. In order to remain profitable, a company needs to look for ways to trim their budgets. Since payroll is usually one of the largest expenses a company faces, it is wise to set limits on this ratio. Once that limit is reached, layoffs become inevitable if production cannot be increased.

This is one of the hardest decisions a business owner makes. Nevertheless, it is better to lay off 10 workers today so that the other 90 workers can remain employed tomorrow. Another option is to reduce all payroll hours so that everyone remains employed. In either case, a reduction is necessary if the company is to survive.

A second way to reduce the ratio of labor is by looking at ways to increase worker output. This proactive approach can be done before the sales drop. Things like adding new technology or replacing old machinery will increase worker output. Furthermore, investing in on-going training will also increase output. By taking action before there is a problem, an enterprise may be able to add workers during a recession. Read more…