Typically, in this space, we talk about the trends you small business owners can take advantage of. But today, let’s address a trend that may negatively impact you—loss of productivity.
A recent survey from Slack shows that small business owners lose an average of 96 minutes of productivity every day, which adds up to three weeks of lost productivity a year.
Where does the time go?
- Non-work-related distractions (57%)
- Procrastination (47%)
- Waiting for status updates from multiple tools and stakeholders (28%)
Context switching between apps and tools is a relatively new time-waster cited by 17% of the small business owners surveyed. According to the survey, the average small business owner juggles four different digital tools daily, and nearly a third use five or more digital tools. Context switching results in more lost time:
- Searching for information in the wrong places (30%)
- Repeating messages across platforms (29%)
- Negatively impacting productivity (24%)
One of the survey’s conclusions is that all this wasted time is due to “siloed technology.” The survey says 59% of small business owners introduced new tech to overcome this challenge this year. They expect the new technologies to:
- Simplify tasks (62%)
- Save time (59%)
- Improve products or services (51%)
Generational differences
Gen Z respondents say they’re the best at managing their time—47% rate themselves as “excellent” at time management, compared to 33% of millennials, 25% of Gen X’ers, and 24% of baby boomers.
As for solutions, all the business owners say their top way to boost productivity is by learning to focus more. They say having “the ability to increase their focus would help them address wasted time and boost productivity.”
Millennials say using tech is their second-most influential strategy for driving productivity. Gen Z, Gen X, and baby boomer business owners say setting boundaries and saying “no” when they can’t take on more work are numbers two and three for helping them be more productive.
Tech’s the key
Jaime DeLanghe, Vice President, Product Management at Slack, says, “For small businesses competing with limited resources, technology is crucial. It enhances productivity, augments every employee with AI, and helps build deeper customer relationships while driving growth.”
If you (or your staff) have been lagging lately, try to get to the root cause and find the tech solutions that can best help you.
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva at rieva@smallbusinesscurrents.com, follow her on Twitter @Rieva, and visit her website SmallBusinessCurrents.com to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva’s free Currents newsletter.
