The main goal of most property management companies today is to grow and increase revenue year over year. Achieving this requires an “all hands on deck” approach, through which every employee must give it their all. But working efficiently doesn’t necessarily come naturally to everyone. In fact, developing a workplace efficiency plan and training your team is just as important as hiring well and adopting the right technologies. So, how can you boost your team’s productivity without creating a stressful environment in the process? Give the following tips a try.

Establish better time management

Keeping track of your employees’ time isn’t just about making sure they show up on time every day. It’s more about making sure the time they are putting in is being used optimally. The goal is to motivate your team to be more productive so they can accomplish more during working hours. This may involve helping to break bad habits, such as procrastination, and also eliminating distractions as much as possible. Investing in the right technologies can also help.

Adopt a flexible work schedule policy

Many business leaders believe that in order for employees to be productive, they must be physically present. But research has proven time and again that this simply isn’t true. In fact, to the contrary, studies have shown that working remotely can actually boost productivity levels by 13%. And given the mobile nature of our industry, property management companies are ideal candidates for this type of flexible work setup. It’s certainly worth considering.

Cut down on meetings

Connecting with your team and collaborating on projects is important, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to host endless meetings to do so. Sadly, studies have shown that employees spend 37% of their time in meetings. It’s safe to say that a good portion of that time could and should be spent on more important business initiatives. So, try to keep meetings to a minimum and when they are deemed necessary, follow these tips to ensure they are an efficient use of everyone’s time.

Use gamification

The concept of gamification is simple, really, yet it’s been proven to be a highly effective strategy that is used by such big-name brands as Microsoft and M&M. Basically it’s a strategy employed to influence behavior and motivate employees through games, and if used correctly, it can significantly boost productivity and efficiency levels. There are literally dozens of different gamification strategies, from employee of the month competitions to incentives, such as extra paid time off. Give a few a try and see if they’re a good fit for your company.

Embrace automation

Juggling many tasks is a necessary evil of working in the property management industry. But too much multitasking can easily lead to procrastination, missed deadlines and incomplete projects. In fact, switching between tasks has been proven to cut productivity by up to 40%. Rather than forcing your employees to handle dozens of different tasks, utilize the power of automation to do the heavy lifting for them. For instance, property management software can automate everything from administrative tasks to maintenance requests to financial management and more.

These are just a handful of strategies to help increase efficiency and boost productivity. As you try them, don’t be afraid to experiment a little to see what else might work better. And remember, improving efficiency takes more than just apps and technology. Although those are important tools, it ultimately requires continuous effort and ongoing commitment. Are you up for the challenge?