6 Tips for Maintaining High Workforce Productivity
As some employees begin returning to work while others settle in for a more long-term remote setup, companies are concerned with how these shifts will affect their productivity. Making small changes to habits can improve the levels of productivity within your business. Here are six tips on promoting productivity for your disparate workforce:
1. Take Regular Breaks
When employees are empowered to work anywhere, they’re more likely to work on mobile devices, where they can become easily distracted by ads and social media – leading to a decline in productivity. To combat this, companies should encourage their employees to take short breaks periodically throughout the day to check things unrelated to work. Implementing a plan for this decreases the chance of employees getting distracted while working throughout the day.
2. Follow the ‘Two-Minute” Rule
To make the most of the small windows of time that you have at work, try encouraging employees to practice following the two-minute rule: if you see a task that can be done in a short amount of time — around two minutes — do it immediately. Getting small tasks out of the way takes less time than having to go back to complete it at a later time.
3. Minimize Interruptions
For employees returning to the office, there is no doubt that coworkers will end up chatting. While occasional chat is inevitable — and, for extraverts and highly collaborative teams, may actually boost productivity — too many interruptions will ultimately reduce productivity and change work patterns. To combat this, employers can schedule social hours, request that employees keep their doors closed or implement partial work-from-home policies to allow employees to better address time-sensitive projects.
4. Have the Right Tools and Equipment
Employees must have the right tools to finish their work efficiently and on time. This includes anything from computers and printers to advanced IT solutions.
For businesses looking at a “work anywhere” policy, collaboration tools are perhaps the most critical employee empowerment asset. One of the leading solutions for disparate team collaboration is Webex Teams. Teams allows users to chat, call and send images and videos to one another when working on a project.
5. Cultivate Employee Connections With Feedback
Employees that are part of a disparate workforce can find themselves feeling disconnected if the organization doesn’t actively pursue employee connectivity. One of the best ways to keep employees active and connected with their work, no matter where they are, is to give frequent feedback.
Organizations should make sure managers communicate with employees often, letting them know when they are doing a good job as well as where and how they can improve with constructive criticism. This will help employees feel invested in their work and connected to their team, which inevitably boosts productivity.
6. Understand the Difference Between Efficiency and Productivity.
Productivity is about output, whereas efficiency is about optimizing output, resources and time. To improve efficiency, an organization should look to reduce the amount of time and resources that are required to produce a service. By contrast, companies looking to improve productivity should work on increasing the company’s production output. Both efficiency and productivity are essential to business success; understanding the difference between the two is key to improving either.
Focus on People
When looking to increase productivity in a disparate workforce, the focus should be on your people and how you can empower them to work productively anywhere.
3RT Networks has years of experience powering remote, hybrid-remote and in-office workforces for maximum productivity and efficiency. We help businesses assess their current IT infrastructure and advise on the IT resources and setup that would best meet their needs. To learn more about powering remote teams, download the free guide, Work Anywhere: 5 Ways to Promote Secure Employee Productivity.