Productivity has become a buzzword as of late. Why? Because organizations everywhere want to reap the benefits of reduced redundancy and maximized efficiency. And when it comes to the workplace, even a small positive change can have a large effect on revenue, employee morale, and overall performance.
Luckily, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to increase efficiency at work. Start with these five simple tips aimed at streamlining everyday processes.
Offer Flex Hours for Employees
Some people are morning people—eager to get started on their to-do list as soon as they wake up. Others need a few caffeinated beverages to get started, and even then, tend to do their best work later in the day. A little wiggle room in work hours can go a long way in accommodating these differences in people’s natural rhythm.
Some managers may be surprised to learn that flexibility increases productivity. This is why many companies are evolving past strict 9-to-5 requirements.
Flexibility may take the form of:
- Nontraditional work hours,
- The option to work remotely,
- Freedom in structuring breaks.
Of course, businesses must develop a system of checks and balances to ensure workers are still, well, working. Emphasize that flexibility is a privilege; taking advantage of the laxer rules is not acceptable.
Leave Room for Breaks
Most of the time, productivity does not look like people furiously focused on a task for hours on end. The human brain is not wired to focus endlessly without reprieve. Research has found that the ‘perfect’ break is 17 minutes long, following 52 consecutive minutes of focused work.
Even if state laws dictate something like 15 minutes of break time per four hours of work, it’s beneficial to give employees more leeway. Brain breaks are vital to producing good work, so it’s useful to view break time not as ‘lost’ but as ‘much-needed.’
Meet Only When Necessary
Most employees attend 62 meetings monthly—and consider over half of those as time wasted. This hack is really simple: Only hold meetings when necessary. Oftentimes, a simple email will suffice. Plus, pulling employees out of their workflow to attend meetings tends to reduce focus and increase frustration. If you currently have daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly check-in meetings plus a host of training and ad hoc sessions, reconsider this approach.
Gauge Meeting Effectiveness
When you do hold meetings, you want each one to count. Otherwise, you’ll find your team having to revisit topics and stall action items over time. Hosting a short staff meeting game at the end of each conference is an easy way to gauge topic retention. The anonymous live poll results will reveal which topics employees are grasping and which ones they’re missing. Using this information, leaders can structure meetings in a productive way moving forward and end the cycle of important information slipping through the cracks.
Stay Current on Tech Trends
Keeping up with change can be a real challenge in even the most modern workplace. Technology is advancing in leaps and bounds, plus implementing new strategies usually involves getting multiple busy decision-makers on board before rolling out advancements. Investing some time and energy into staying abreast on the latest workplace technology can have significant dividends down the line, however.
Sticking to tried-and-true methods typically saves time up front but can be counterproductive if it prohibits your organization from adopting new applications, devices, and workflow tools. Keep an open mind and consider how new collaboration tools will actually save time and frustration after adoption. There’s a reason cutting-edge organizations tend to stay on top of the latest technology and productivity innovations.
Boosting organizational efficiency is a matter of minimizing redundancy while furnishing optimal conditions for employees.
More News to Read
- 3 Tips for Running a Successful Family Business
- The Pros and Cons of RFID Technologies. — Click tips
- Building an Online Presence for Your Local Business
- A Growing Concern: Why the US Government is Worried About Botnets
- New Technique Developed by Rice Researchers Paves the Way for Better 2-D Catalysts