There is no doubt that the last decade has seen a remarkable surge in entrepreneurship, but if recent statistics are to be believed, this boom could soon come to an end.

The number of new company formations fell by more than 10% during 2017, from 657,790 in the previous year to just 589,008. This highlights a tough business climate that makes it hard for ventures to thrive, causing many aspiring entrepreneurs to shelve their plans of launching a new company.

For business that already exist, this type of climate also makes it hard to maintain an efficient and profitable venture. In this post, we’ll look at three ways in which you can boost your company’s efficiency in the current climate.

1.Leverage Automation Where Possible

Whether it relates to sending receipts to vendors or leveraging technology to undertake manufacturing processes, automation has become a key asset in modern business. Automation has also undergone a significant evolution during the digital age, as it has switched from being a relatively luxury to an absolute necessity that can reduce labor costs while simultaneously improving operational efficiency. This will require a significant upfront investment in your business, but the long-term savings and boost to productivity more than repays this over-time.

The key is to fully analyze your businesses performance and identify the areas in which automation can have the biggest impact on costs and overall efficiency.

2. Optimize your Insurance Policies to Protect your Venture

Spiraling costs can have a significant impact on your businesses level of efficiency, particularly in instances where this forces you to make cut-backs and re-invest less capital into the venture. This is why it’s imperative that you invest in the right insurance coverage and protect every aspect of your business. You should also ensure that you are not over-insured or failing to achieve genuine value for money.

One way in which you can achieve this is to optimize individual policies by seeking out expert financial advice, preferably from an independent entity such as Hymans Robertson.

3. Increase Employee Engagement

On a final note, business efficiency also relies on the engagement levels within your firm and the productivity of each individual employee.

According to the Workplace Research Foundation, highly engaged employees are much more likely to boast above-average productivity to the tune of 38%. Given that each employee has their own unique cost-base, boosting their output through engagement will deliver a higher return and far greater efficiency across the board.

This must be considered as a complex and long-term project, and one that is led collaboratively by both management and staff members.