While economic recessions almost always afflict job markets, one of the more overlooked aspects of a downturn is the impact it has on employee morale. As unemployment rises and new job opportunities run scarce, many workers tend to settle with less-than-ideal positions.
But as the unemployment rate begins to fall throughout Canada, employers may want to begin taking a look at their staffs, what they're engaged in and how they are impacting the business as a whole.
A survey released this week by Fonality and Webtorial finds workers at small and mid-sized businesses spend 50 percent of their day on necessary but unproductive tasks. These duties include routine communications, filtering incoming correspondence and various other trivial procedures.
"No one has examined the impact of inefficient communications on small and mid-size business, and the findings are not only stunning, but they point to a need for immediate change," said Steve Taylor, editor-in-chief and publisher at Webtorials. "We found that reducing a (worker's) unproductive time by 25 percent can yield an extra six weeks in productivity each year, per employee."
As small business confidence continues to rise - according to the most recent CFIB report - small business owners throughout Canada should consider adopting comprehensive cloud computing services, as well as worker incentive programs to further optimize productivity.
