When productivity slumps, the work isn’t the only thing that suffers. Morale also sinks with it. Sometimes the morale issues cause the efficiency decline, sometimes it goes the other way. But if you need to improve your team’s efficiency, there are some tried and proven ways to do it. Be a good leader, and your team’s productivity and intensity will surprise you!
Establish Roles
Are the roles within your team clearly defined and well understood? If productivity is lacking, it could be a matter of confusion over who needs to take responsibility for what. For example, if no one knows they’re in charge of printing and reviewing report X, it’s unlikely to get done. If Sammy thinks it’s Sally’s job, he won’t want to step on her toes by taking the initiative to do it. Make sure the roles and responsibilities within your team are well defined and clearly assigned.
Set Clearly Communicated Objectives
If your workers have no better concept of your objectives than, “We need to do this, and do it as quickly as possible,” they aren’t in a position to help you meet your goals. Set clear objectives, such as improving production by 10 percent by quarter end, or producing X number of widgets per day. Then make sure that they understand what their stake in meeting the goals is: how will they benefit from the company’s improved efficiency? This might be a more stable job situation or a bonus, or even a pizza party, but they need to know what meeting your objectives does for them personally.
Delegate Wisely
Do you delegate simply by handing off the junk you don’t want to do to your team? If so, this is probably demoralizing your workers and driving down their efficiency and productivity. Give your workers authority over an aspect of the work, and assign them responsibility for the outcome. This endows them with ownership, and a sense of ownership always improves productivity.
Provide Better Collaboration Tools
Are workers so inundated with emails, voice mails, and instant messages that they can’t be productive? If so, better collaborative tools can cut down on meaningless correspondence and communications and allow your workers to receive the information they need to do their jobs while eliminating useless distractions. Vmoso is a proven platform for better office communication and collaboration.
Lead by Example
Have you ever visited a restaurant or fast food joint where the manager had their sleeves rolled up, working as hard as the workers? If so, you’ve likely noticed that the workers are also cranking out work as quickly and efficiently as they are capable of. Managers who work hard themselves establish an atmosphere of productivity and rarely have trouble getting their team members on board.
Ax the Busywork
Is your office snowed under with generating meaningless reports, attending useless meetings, or other unnecessary busywork? Streamline processes and eliminate stuff that isn’t essential for efficiency and productivity. This doesn’t just free up more time for workers to produce, it also improves morale so that they have a great attitude about digging in and getting things done.
Ready to take working efficiently to the next level? Get even more helpful tips in the next post, the Project Management Approach to a More Effective Workday.