The ultimate guide to workplace productivity for managers
As a manager, one of the things you're responsible for is improving the productivity of your work force. You'll hear a lot about workplace productivity, so much so that it starts to sound like a buzzword. However, it's more important than you'd think. Here's your guide to helping your workplace stay productive as much as possible.
What is workplace productivity?
Put simply, workplace productivity is how much work is being done during a particular time frame for your work environment. As such, if your workplace is operating at total capacity, then your workplace productivity should be at maximum.
When looking at improving workplace productivity, your emphasis should be on improving the quality of the work, rather than the speed of it. You'll be looking to improve the efficiency of your staff, to see real results.
When looking at improving workplace productivity, your emphasis should be on improving the quality of the work, rather than the speed of it. You'll be looking to improve the efficiency of your staff, to see real results.
Signs workplace productivity is lowered
If you feel you aren't as productive as you could be as a business, there are some signs to look out for. These include:
If you're seeing these issues in your workplace, that's a sign that you'll need to improve workplace productivity.
- Missed deadlines
- Staff turnover increase
- Low work engagement
- Low quality of work
- Decrease in profitability
If you're seeing these issues in your workplace, that's a sign that you'll need to improve workplace productivity.
Measuring productivity
For managers about to embark on techniques to improve productivity, you'll need to find a way to measure it. This is how you'll see if your chosen techniques are working. You'll need to keep track of certain metrics, to see where improvements are happening.
These will include performance reviews, balance figures, stats, and more. If you are keeping track of all of these, you'll see where you'll need to make improvements.
These will include performance reviews, balance figures, stats, and more. If you are keeping track of all of these, you'll see where you'll need to make improvements.
How to raise workplace productivity
There are several ways you can start improving workplace productivity. Try some of these tips out and see if your business improves.
Set clear goals
Creating realistic goals is essential for any team, as they need to know what they're working towards. This should happen even at the hiring stage, with the goals you have clearly outlined in the job description.
With realistic goals, staff know just what they're working towards. It helps them stay motivated, and they feel accomplished once they reach that goal.
Have the right team
Improving productivity starts at the hiring process. As a manager, you'll want to find the right people with the right balance of skills you need. When you have the right team, you'll be able to increase your productivity on the whole.
Prioritise work
If you aren't already doing this, you'll want to start now. Work out which tasks need to be done first, and assign them to the right people. Creating a timeline that everyone can access is very useful here, as everyone can see what needs to be done next. This will help you stick to deadlines, as you'll be able to more accurately estimate how long tasks will take.
Avoid multitasking
A few years ago, the agreed wisdom was that multitasking was a way to be productive. Now though, we know that it actually has the opposite effect. If you're trying to focus on several things at once, then you can't do any of them well. Discourage your staff from attempting to multitask, as this will affect your productivity.
Avoid distractions
In modern day working life there are so many distractions that pull you away from your work. For example, there's social media and messaging apps that always feel like they're going off and grabbing your attention.
In the workplace, eliminate as many of these as you can. If you can make the workplace quieter and more focused, it's easier for staff to work at the job at hand.
Give feedback to your team
Finally, ensure that you're giving feedback to your team when needed. They need to know what they're doing right and what they can improve on. When they have this feedback, they can improve their work and so in turn improve workplace productivity. Remember that you need to be open to feedback as well, as your work affects the overall culture of the workplace.
With these tips, you should be able to improve workplace productivity and get your office working at close to maximum capacity. It only takes a few tweaks, and you'll soon see the difference.
Set clear goals
Creating realistic goals is essential for any team, as they need to know what they're working towards. This should happen even at the hiring stage, with the goals you have clearly outlined in the job description.
With realistic goals, staff know just what they're working towards. It helps them stay motivated, and they feel accomplished once they reach that goal.
Have the right team
Improving productivity starts at the hiring process. As a manager, you'll want to find the right people with the right balance of skills you need. When you have the right team, you'll be able to increase your productivity on the whole.
Prioritise work
If you aren't already doing this, you'll want to start now. Work out which tasks need to be done first, and assign them to the right people. Creating a timeline that everyone can access is very useful here, as everyone can see what needs to be done next. This will help you stick to deadlines, as you'll be able to more accurately estimate how long tasks will take.
Avoid multitasking
A few years ago, the agreed wisdom was that multitasking was a way to be productive. Now though, we know that it actually has the opposite effect. If you're trying to focus on several things at once, then you can't do any of them well. Discourage your staff from attempting to multitask, as this will affect your productivity.
Avoid distractions
In modern day working life there are so many distractions that pull you away from your work. For example, there's social media and messaging apps that always feel like they're going off and grabbing your attention.
In the workplace, eliminate as many of these as you can. If you can make the workplace quieter and more focused, it's easier for staff to work at the job at hand.
Give feedback to your team
Finally, ensure that you're giving feedback to your team when needed. They need to know what they're doing right and what they can improve on. When they have this feedback, they can improve their work and so in turn improve workplace productivity. Remember that you need to be open to feedback as well, as your work affects the overall culture of the workplace.
With these tips, you should be able to improve workplace productivity and get your office working at close to maximum capacity. It only takes a few tweaks, and you'll soon see the difference.
Author:
Eileen Harrison works with Essay Writing Service and Research Papers UK, creating content like websites, blogs, articles and social media posts. She also is looking to attract the attention of the target audience at Draft Beyond.
Eileen Harrison works with Essay Writing Service and Research Papers UK, creating content like websites, blogs, articles and social media posts. She also is looking to attract the attention of the target audience at Draft Beyond.
Key words: Project management, Tip, Knowledge, Self organization, Workflow