12 Strategies for Boosting Team Productivity in Startups
To help startups boost their team productivity, we’ve gathered twelve insightful strategies from top founders, CEOs, and managers. From implementing multi-faceted productivity strategies to boosting productivity through task automation, these industry leaders share their best tips for creating a productive startup environment.
- Implement Multi-Faceted Productivity Strategies
- Foster Autonomy and Purpose
- Enhance Productivity Through Clear Goals and Communication
- Empower Teams and Enable Asynchronous Communication
- Promote Communication, Training, and Team Building
- Adopt Agile Methodologies for Productivity
- Combine Flexibility and Learning
- Give Your Teams a Say in Decisions
- Run an Internship Program and Community Management
- Streamline Workflow Through Process Documentation
- Align Employee and Business Values
- Boost Productivity Through Task Automation
Implement Multi-Faceted Productivity Strategies
Working in a startup is both demanding and exhilarating. In order to maintain order and still be efficient, there are a few strategies you can consider:
- Set clear goals and expectations. Make sure your team members know what is expected of them and how their work contributes to the overall goals of the startup.
- Provide regular feedback and recognition.
- Give your team members the authority to make decisions about their work.
- Encourage your team members to collaborate with each other and share ideas.
- Use productivity and project management apps to streamline work: Asana, Monday, Trello, Slack, etc.
- Encourage your team members to take breaks and have a life outside of work. This will help them to be more refreshed and productive when they are at work.
These strategies have allowed us to build a powerful company in the FinTech industry and should help you build a successful startup as well.
Jean Smart, Founder and CEO, Penelope
Foster Autonomy and Purpose
At Salarship, our secret strategy for increasing team productivity is to foster a culture of autonomy and purpose. When employees clearly understand their impact and are given the freedom to make decisions within their expertise, they definitely become more engaged and motivated.
Of course, giving more autonomy only works for small startups. It wouldn’t be recommended for companies with over 10 employees because aligning the efforts of many “autonomous” employees becomes almost impossible.
Nathan Brunner, CEO, Salarship
Enhance Productivity Through Clear Goals and Communication
In the dynamic world of startups, the path to prosperity hinges on one crucial element: team productivity. Imagine a team that operates seamlessly, like a finely tuned engine, driving your startup’s success to new heights. This can be your reality!
Begin with crystal-clear goals and unwavering priorities, the cornerstone of productivity. Open, effective communication amplifies collaboration, supercharging your team’s potential. Streamline processes, empower your team, and provide feedback for sustained growth.
Invest in skill development, embrace flexibility, and foster a cohesive team. Utilize agile task management and data-driven insights for precision. Prioritize wellness, celebrate successes, and embark on a journey to a brighter, more productive future.
Eric Chebil, CEO and Founder, Cher®
Empower Teams and Enable Asynchronous Communication
As a fellow founder, here are some top tips for boosting startup productivity. Running a software startup for over a decade has taught me to set clear OKRs aligned to company goals, review regularly to maintain focus, and enable asynchronous communication with tools like Slack and Notion. This empowers teams to collaborate when and where they want.
Also, we should promote work-life balance through sane schedules, PTO, and respect for personal time, invest in professional development through conferences, training, and mentoring. By growing skills, you boost morale.
The key is trusting your team and helping them thrive, not micromanaging. An empowered team is a productive one!
Ankit Prakash, Founder, Sprout24
Promote Communication, Training, and Team Building
For startups, boosting team productivity hinges on a few key strategies. First, ensure everyone understands the company’s goals to align efforts. Promote open communication for idea exchange and address concerns. Equip your team with regular training and offer flexible work arrangements to cater to individual productivity peaks.
Recognize achievements to motivate, streamline workflows for efficiency, and foster a positive, collaborative work environment. Lastly, prioritize team building to enhance trust and cohesion. In essence, a harmonious blend of direction, communication, and motivation drives startup productivity.
Jon James, CEO, Ignited Results
Adopt Agile Methodologies for Productivity
Adopting Agile methodologies can dramatically boost productivity in startups. Agile allows for quicker iterations, promoting adaptability and facilitating a quicker response to market changes.
Regular sprint reviews and stand-up meetings keep everyone on the same page and focused on prioritized tasks. This eliminates confusion and ensures that everyone knows their role in achieving short-term and long-term objectives.
Curran Van Waarde, Founder, CallScaler
Combine Flexibility and Learning
Establish platforms or tools like Slack, Trello, or Microsoft Teams where team members can easily communicate, share updates, and monitor project progress. Regular stand-up meetings can also ensure everyone is on the same page.
Also, understand that not everyone is productive at the same time. Allowing flexible work hours can let team members work when they’re most efficient.
Then, encourage team members to pursue courses, webinars, or workshops relevant to their role. Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, or LinkedIn Learning offer courses that can enhance skills and knowledge.
Finally, ensure that every team member knows their specific roles and responsibilities. This eliminates confusion and overlap and ensures that every aspect of a project is covered.
John Maharjan, Design
Give Your Teams a Say in Decisions
Empowerment is key. Over at ZenMaid, we’ve found that giving our team more say in decisions does wonders. It’s not just about doling out tasks and crossing fingers. We’re talking about trust. When your team feels like they’re part of the bigger picture, they step up. The work gets better. Productivity goes up. It’s as simple as that.
Now, here’s a hot tip: go beyond just telling people what to do. Create a vibe where everyone feels they own a part of the project. We’ve seen firsthand how this lights a fire under folks. When they see the impact of their choices, they push even harder.
So, give ’em some skin in the game. Let them in on the big decisions. It’s amazing what a little ownership can do. Your team won’t just meet the bar; they’ll raise it.
Amar Ghose, CEO, ZenMaid
Run an Internship Program and Community Management
One notable success story from our team’s productivity and growth is the establishment of an internship program. Recognizing the need for extensive educational materials, including videos, flyers for conferences, and social media content, several interns were recruited who later became an indispensable part of our team.
This hire highlighted the significance of nurturing talent and structuring a team for long-term success. Not only did the interns come up with new out-of-the-box ideas, but they also challenged our team members to become better.
Community management played a pivotal role in our marketing journey. It was the secret sauce that kick-started our marketing efforts. As we expanded, training the team in community management best practices for online and offline engagement became a priority.
Our team continued to grow, with the addition of a data analyst and a performance marketing manager. Building and structuring the team correctly was key to our company’s growth.
Anastasia Corjan, Senior Marketing Manager, CubiCasa
Streamline Workflow Through Process Documentation
A big one for me is having internal teams document processes for tasks, which allows for ease of actioning, rather than having to redo processes each time for a set task. Whether that’s documents to assist with a process or aspects of a task that can be streamlined via automation, a productive team is one that is process-driven!
Wendy Makinson, HR Manager, Joloda Hydraroll
Align Employee and Business Values
If you want to boost team productivity in your startup, you need to start with the hiring process and align the values of those you hire with the values of your business. This is something that we’ve always done at Infinite Outdoors, and it has really paid off for us.
By aligning the values of our employees with those of our business, we’ve made sure that we hire people who are truly passionate about growing the business and achieving our goals. This then translates to more motivated employees, and that means more productive employees.
So, if you’re a startup, look at the way you hire people and be sure you’re hiring the right people for the job.
Michael Maroney, Marketing Director and Lead Biologist, Infinite Outdoors
Boost Productivity Through Task Automation
In your startup, automating tasks can greatly increase productivity and efficiency. You and your team can concentrate on more strategic and high-value work by automating repetitive and time-consuming operations with the help of tools or software.
Automating processes can lessen manual labor demands, reduce human error, and boost overall operational effectiveness. Embracing automation may help you save time, increase accuracy, and ultimately drive growth in your company, whether it’s through automated customer service responses, inventory management, or marketing efforts.
Khunshan Ahmad, Founder, EvolveDash
