How Should You Measure Productivity in Startup Tech Companies?

Everyone wants more productivity, but how can you measure it?

Don’t you wish you and your team were more productive during the day? Of course you do. We all do. But most of us spend our time fruitlessly thinking about greater productivity, or searching for productivity hacks on the internet rather than actually measuring—and defining—what productivity is.

There are multiple ways to define productivity, including:

How much time is spent on a given task. You could define productivity simply in terms of how much time is spent per task. Assuming all tasks are equal, it’s more productive to get one done in 15 minutes than it is in 30 minutes.
How many tasks are completed in a day. You could also take a high-level approach, ignoring time per task in favor of tasks per day. This is much more reflective of your team’s overall output, since individual tasks are subject to more variables.
How effective those tasks were. That’s all well and good, but what if those tasks didn’t improve your company’s bottom line? For completeness, you’ll somehow need to measure how effective or productive those tasks were.

If you want to have an effective approach, you’ll need ways to measure all of these dimensions.

I suggest using:

Time tracking software. Time tracking software is a good start, but it’s easily manipulated and can’t give you even a ballpark value of your individual tasks. It’s best used as just one of several tools for productivity tracking.
Project management software. You should also have some kind of high-level project management software, which can help you keep tabs on how many tasks per project you’re creating, and how those projects unfold.
Goal tracking (for individuals and teams). Productivity often depends on what your goals are, how you define them, and whether you and your team achieve them. Make sure you spend sufficient time on goal tracking as part of your equations.

From there, you’ll need to conduct experiments to see how you and your team’s productivity improves. Tweak your office environment, incorporate new tools, or work to boost morale, and see how it changes things.

If you’re interested in more tips on how you and your startup team can be more productive and see better results, make sure to contact me today for a free consultation!

About the Author

Jose Vasquez is a serial entrepreneur and tech specialist dedicated to helping startup tech companies grow and succeed. As the founder of Build. Brand. Blast., Jose has worked with dozens of enterprises to find direction, gain momentum, and achieve results.