We’d all love our businesses to run at 100% productivity, but the sad truth is, this isn’t always possible. Downtime is inevitable, but there are things you can do to reduce the downtime and ensure preventable things don’t reoccur. Here are some tips to get your downtime down and make your business more productive.
Ensure someone is in charge of IT
One issue that some businesses can have with IT is that nobody is in charge of it. They simply don’t have a person responsible for infrastructure or a long-term plan. If your business is too small to have its own CIO, you should consider hiring a virtual Chief Information Officer to perform this role. They can make a plan for more reliable IT, and if something goes down, ensure that there is somewhere there to fix it as soon as possible.
Reduce staff sickness
Staff sickness can cause downtime. This is because you end up with people who can’t perform essential functions, so things slow down and may even stop. When you are hiring new employees, look for people who have a good sickness record, and make sure they know the sickness policy, such as notifying you with plenty of time.
Some other ways you can reduce staff sickness include:
- Giving people a good work/life balance
- Ensuring staff take their breaks and don’t burn out from stress
- Following good hygiene procedures
- Encouraging staff to work from home when they have colds and transmissible illnesses
Ensure maintenance is carried out
Regular maintenance is costly, but ultimately, it can save you money in the long term. This is because having maintenance carried out ensures that any issues that might arise soon are identified. It means that you can get things fixed now, rather than having a costly emergency repair down the line.
Regular maintenance can also help equipment to last longer. It means you don’t have to replace stuff as often, so you can make the most out of your investments.
See if your broadband can be boosted
Slow internet can often slow down operations and even lead to downtime. If you have slow broadband, then you are not alone. Internet speeds vary across the USA, and can still be poor in some areas, although improvements are being made. If you are in an area with slow, unreliable internet, it may be worth looking at ways to improve your connection. Some people can get an improved connection by switching providers, so it’s worth seeing what’s available in your area. Also, look out for any improvement projects planned locally.
Downtime is annoying, but it is often completely avoidable. You simply need to look and what is causing most of your downtime and tackle the underlying issue. In many places, it’s the same sort of things that cause downtime, from understaffing to tech breakdowns, so put a plan in place for these eventualities. Downtime is bad for business, as it literally means you aren’t making money until things are back up, which is why all businesses should take it seriously.
