It’s no secret companies that put their employees first as their biggest asset have been outpacing their competitors. But in 2020, amidst a global pandemic with political and financial instability, effective understanding of your customers, your employees, and your market can make the difference between positioning your company to flourish in the “new normal” or being out of business. As the world continues to navigate the implications of COVID-19, now is the time to think about how you can prioritize employees by providing the right tools and technology to help them successfully multitask.
As a small-business owner, you likely turn to multitasking to manage multiple priorities and as the workplace has changed with more employees working from home, there is no doubt that you’ve become a master of multitasking to get things done.
Not only has the workplace changed, but technology requires more attention, or you may feel like you’re juggling 100 things at once between your personal and professional life. SMB employees — often short on time and resources — must frequently juggle tasks to meet their personal and professional goals. As a result, it’s easy for them to feel like they don’t get enough done in a day.
Being productive while working from home is more important than ever before. With SMB employees increasingly being called upon to handle numerous responsibilities simultaneously, multitasking is not about working harder, but working smarter. Here are three ways your employees can benefit from multitasking:
Well managed multitasking saves time
Multitasking enables workers to be more focused and efficient, ultimately saving time, whether employees are working from home or not. To achieve effective multitasking group tasks that have something in common, whether it’s a similar project, related content or an identical process, bundling tasks that have something in common will save valuable time that would normally be wasted switching from one train of thought to another. With the right technology, employees can multitask, and jobs can be completed faster than before.
Despite the saved time, many are losing balance when working from home because the workday feels significantly longer. In fact, 55 percent of SMB workers feel they work more hours each day now that they are working from home, and fortunately, 71 percent of SMB workers feel there’s more time in the workday because they are not commuting, according to Lenovo.
With the right technology, employees can be better at multitasking
Multitasking is a consequence of new realities and is a phenomenon that is even more pronounced now as many continue to work from home. It is therefore critical to provide employees with the right technology to combat adverse effects of task-juggling. Creating a technology environment with the right infrastructure and devices can enable SMB employees to work more effectively, therefore improving focus and efficiency.
A study by Digital Trends found the average laptop battery lasts 6.35 hours. This causes regular interruptions to work resulting in loss of efficiency. Thus, it’s important to find a laptop that has much more endurance through intense business uses and makes focused work possible by eliminating the chore of having to constantly monitor your laptop’s power levels or hunt for the nearest available outlet.
Multitasking will change the employee experience
With SMB employees finding new and different ways to work, the employee experience will continue to change entirely.
Employees can reap the benefits of increased focus and efficiency — which in turn can restore a greater work-life balance — if they are using the right technology. The tech tools employees have at the office will continue to be mirrored in the home office setting (extra monitor, collaboration device, stand-up desk, etc.) for SMBs. And according to a Lenovo study, 61 percent of employees feel they are equally if not more productive when working from home versus working elsewhere. Thus, employees will benefit from finding ways to multitask and overall morale may boost as a result.
There has never been a better time to put employees first and no better way than by implementing an effective technology strategy. SMBs who will come out ahead are those who embrace innovative approaches to this crisis and focus on the best ways to help employees do their best. This will require you to think about tech differently. Leaders will place more emphasis on understanding one of their biggest assets – technology – and how they empower their other biggest asset – employees – to harness technology tools for outcomes like effective multitasking.
Eric Yu is Senior Vice President and General Manager, Worldwide Small and Medium Business (SMB) Segment, PC and Smart Device (PC&SD) Business Group, Lenovo.
Employees stock photo by Flamingo Images/Shutterstock
