Reducing staff and increasing productivity: is it possible?

Increasing, or at least maintaining, productivity while simultaneously reducing staff is a major challenge for managers. This concern has become common, given the country's current economy and the fact that some employees are still working from home .

In the relentless pursuit of efficiency and greater results, entrepreneurs end up leaving some basic steps aside, compromising effectiveness and, consequently, the result.

Many factors influence a company's productivity. However, contrary to what many managers believe, large investments in technology, attempting to replace human labor, do not always guarantee productive returns. The vast majority of processes in companies are related to human resources, which, when well optimized, become a rich source of production.

It's important to consider people management to improve processes, reduce costs associated with excess staff, and increase productivity according to the company's needs.

In the lines below, we will see some ways to achieve this result.

1 – Define processes

Productivity means delivering more in the shortest possible time with the highest level of quality. Processes and standards improve the way employees monitor all stages of their production process, allowing them to eliminate errors and failures and define a goal for employees to achieve one step at a time throughout their workday.

Following standards, procedures, routines, and priorities helps achieve goals and objectives more quickly. Don't let employees decide their own time; it's up to them to define their priorities and their productive schedule.

2 – Delegate responsibilities

Every team must have a leader. Employees need to be aligned with the company's planning and understand which goals must be met within which deadlines.

However, in the midst of this process, it is natural for some employees to lose their way for some reason and therefore, the presence of a good manager is essential, who positions themselves as a leader and leads the team towards their objective in the healthiest way possible.

3 – Flexibility in exchange for responsibility

Offering flexibility for specific cases in exchange for responsibility brings benefits to both the employee and the employer. Allowing team members autonomy in some aspects of their activities can keep them more motivated and productive, performing their tasks more efficiently.

However, by being flexible, the manager must have greater control over activities and identify a way to constantly monitor their team, ensuring that there is no drop in productivity.

4 – Availability of tools

Essential materials and tools for smooth work should always be available to employees. Of course, there should be no waste, but under no circumstances should the lack of any basic item affect employee productivity and scheduling.

Always plan your company's needs in advance, including basic materials and equipment, always thinking about the greater good: the bottom line.

5 – Use technology for everyone’s benefit

Optimizing tasks, reducing costs, and in some cases, reducing the workforce while still maintaining the same productivity are pillars of good management. And for this, the use of technology to benefit both employees and employers is crucial.

There are several ways to use technology to drive results in companies. We'll explore some of them in the following sections.

Updated equipment and systems

Equipment and systems undergo continuous technological evolution and need to be replaced and updated periodically. Furthermore, when purchasing such tools, consideration must be given to quality and performance aspects compatible with the company's intended use, ensuring they operate optimally and meet its needs without overloading, failures, or defects due to improper use.

Providing equipment compatible with the work performed by the employee is in line with their productivity.

Internet access control

Controlling internet access is a common practice in companies and is increasingly important and necessary. Unlike a company-imposed work policy, access control doesn't require common sense or employee willpower to prevent access to websites outside the scope of work.

With the large number of accesses coming from cell phones , with social networks and instant messaging applications, there are almost no business sectors that are not affected by inappropriate internet access.

There are several tools on the market that block access to specific websites, improving the productivity of many companies on a daily basis.

You can find more information on this topic in the Internet Access Control Guide for Businesses .

Remote team management

We know that many companies still have employees working from home, and many will make this a permanent form of work.

But how can you monitor employee productivity remotely?

Managing and controlling remote teams, implementing production processes and software and tools like Business VPN , can greatly help managers maintain employees working from home.

We've even created a free Home Office Guide

1. Reasons to adopt Home Office
2. Home Office Challenges
3. Legal Issues
4. How can I adapt my company?
5. Tools and technologies that can help
6. Home Office Equipment Tips

Conclusion

Optimizing tasks, processes, customs, and technologies can certainly improve the productivity of work teams. Perhaps, after reading this, it will be easier to identify whether it's possible to reduce staff while maintaining the same production quality. We understand that the current economic climate is sensitive, and it's natural for companies to reduce their teams and optimize production processes to improve their cost-benefit ratio.

I hope I've helped you realize that reducing staff and increasing productivity is possible.

To the next!