Think about it: a 10% improvement in employee productivity across 20 employees seems small but is quite significant. Let's do the math: 20 employees X 8 hours per day X 10% = 16 hours/day X 5 days in a week = 80 hours a week, the equivalent to 2 additional employees without the expense! That is significant. Here are several easy ways to increase your profits and employee productivity.

#1: Setup a company-wide Wiki or knowledge base. A Wiki or knowledgebase makes it easy for your team to share knowledge, quickly, easily and intelligently. Whether it's a new client onboarding process, new product launch or simple steps to enter an order in your systems, process checklists or anything your employees do on a regular basis should be added/documented in your company's wiki or knowledge base.

#2: Upgrade any computers that are more than 3-4 years old. Since computers double in speed and power every 18-24 months, a three-year-old computer is slow compared to today's standards. Are budgets tight? Then replace the power users' PCs first. Remember, your time or time waiting costs money – it's the expensive part and pales in comparison to spending $800 or so on a faster PC.

#3: Increase Internet Speed and Setup Internet Fail-over. We hear from a lot of clients that the Internet speed is too slow. And yes, Internet bandwidth used to be quite expensive. It's a fair priced commodity now and the ISPs compete aggressively to win your business. Today, you can have 10/20/50Mbs of Internet speed for a few hundred dollars or less. This upgrade alone can increase your team's productivity immensely. With Internet speeds being so fast and cheap, consider installing a firewall that load balances or acts as fail-over to ensure your team stays connected.

#4: Exercise More. Really? Yes, really – your body is the most powerful asset you have and your health is critical – you only get one shot. Invest in exercise, eating healthy and getting at last 7 hours of sleep a night. This strategy works. People often get great ideas after spending an hour in the gym or just going for a brisk walk. The workout releases endorphins which help you solve challenges your mind is chewing on.

#5: Play with your spouse, kids, grandkids, brothers, sisters, or pet. You work to live not live to work and each day is a treasured gift. Make the most of it. Years from now, you will remember that 1st scary roller coaster ride with your daughter but the marketing project that got a day or so behind will not be remembered. There is no day like today. Live it up. Again, playing is good for your brain.

#6: Take vacations – more and frequently. Studies show that vacations and scenery changes recharge your mental health, make you happier and happier to be around. Whether it's a long weekend in the Georgia Mountains, a week cruise with family and friends or an International rendezvous, just do it. When you come back, you will see your business, team and clients in a different light and you will likely see opportunities that you didn't notice before.

#7: Give your team members 2 or 3 monitors each. In 2003, the University of Utah conducted a study that showed that employees are 20-30% more efficient with dual monitors compared to one. Calculate your savings at http://www.pronetsinc.com/multiplemonitors.

If you have questions or challenges in your business, talk to us. We help our clients identify time and productivity drains and ways to overcome them. We'd love to be a resource for you.