Team prioritisation 'how to' template | Breathe

Managing priorities effectively can be challenging, especially for SMEs where multitasking is the norm. Poor prioritisation can lead to missed deadlines, decreased productivity, and team frustration. 

Our team prioritisation ‘how to’ template offers a structured and practical approach to help SMEs streamline task management, improve team focus, and align efforts with business goals. 

Why do SMEs need to effectively prioritise?  

Effective prioritisation is essential for operational success and employee satisfaction. For SMEs, having a clear approach to managing priorities helps to: 

• Minimise operational disruptions: Ensure tasks align with business goals and avoid chaos 

• Improve communication and transparency: Clearly communicate priorities to keep everyone on the same page 

• Enhance productivity: Focus efforts on high-impact tasks for better results 

• Support employee wellbeing: Prevent burnout by managing workloads and expectations effectively 

• Adapt to changes smoothly: Quickly realign priorities as business needs evolve 

How to prioritise teamwork for success in the workplace

Prioritising effectively in the workplace, is all about enhancing team productivity and performance. Whether you're part of an SME or managing HR, learning to balance priorities ensures that your team stays focused, motivated, and aligned with business goals.

This mini ‘how to’ guide is designed to help you structure team priorities to create a more organised, productive, and agile workforce.  

1. Start with clear business goals

Everything starts with understanding what matters most to your business. When you can clearly define the overarching goals, you can begin to direct teams to align their efforts with those priorities.  

Action Points:

• Identify top business goals for the quarter and/or year

• Communicate these clearly to all departments and teams

• Encourage team leaders to regularly review and update their workstreams to these objectives

Top tip: Regular alignment meetings can prevent teams from veering offcourse. Keeping a pulse on priorities helps you adjust as business needs change. 

2. Prioritise your people

When employees feel valued, heard, and part of the larger vision, they naturally perform better – so it’s important to keep them in the loop, as well as listen to them.

Action points:

• Book in regular one-to-one check-ins to understand team workload and capacity

• Offer training for time management and effective prioritisation skills

• Emphasise work-life balance to prevent burnout (which often results from taking on too many tasks without clear priorities)   

Remember: People can't do their best work if they're stretched too thin. Prioritising wellbeing should always be high on the agenda.   

3. Create a framework for prioritisation  

Once goals are clear, a structure for managing tasks is essential. Help your teams decide what's important by creating a decision-making framework that helps them easily evaluate the importance of their tasks.  

Action points:

• Introduce the Eisenhower Matrix (urgent vs important) to identify where team efforts should go

• Use OKRs (objectives and key results) to link individual or team tasks to larger company goals

• Establish a regular cadence of weekly planning sessions to set short-term priorities  

Top tip: Encourage teams to batch similar tasks together for efficiency and to prevent task-switching fatigue.  

4. Leverage technology for smarter prioritisation  

Technology plays a vital role in staying organised and on top of what's important. Equip your teams with the right tools for task management and collaboration.

Action points:

• Introduce project management software like Trello, or Monday.com to centralise task lists

• Encourage team leaders to use calendar blocking or timeboxing techniques

• Automate repetitive tasks whenever possible to free up time for highpriority work, with software like Breathe  

Automation isn't about replacing people - it's about giving them back time to focus on work that matters.  

5. Create a culture of continuous learning

Team prioritisation is a skill that can always be improved. Encourage a culture where learning how to work smarter, not harder, is celebrated. Create opportunities for your teams to develop new skills that help them prioritise better.  

Action points:

• Offer training sessions on productivity tools, workflow automation, and project management

• Foster a growth mindset where team members feel comfortable discussing workload challenges and adjusting priorities openly

• Use real-life examples of successful prioritisation to inspire teams

Prioritisation is a skill that evolves - continue to encourage reflection and growth.   

6. Adapt, review, and adjust priorities regularly

No plan is perfect. Flexibility is key when managing shifting priorities in a dynamic workplace. Teams need to learn to regularly review their task lists and adapt to changing circumstances.  

Action points:

• Build flexibility into the team’s workflow by allowing for regular review and adjustment of priorities

• Implement weekly, monthly and/or quarterly retrospectives where teams can reflect on what worked well and what could be improved

• Create an environment where it’s okay to say ‘no’ or delegate tasks that don’t align with current priorities.  

Top tip: Ask your teams at the end of every week: What should we stop doing? What should we start doing? What needs to be continued?