The crusade of all managers is increased productivity. Forming a high-performing team is no simple task, and the way you lead the company’s talent makes all the difference in the bottom line. If you’ve ever wondered how to improve team productivity, here are eight answers that can deliver great results. By putting these steps into practice, you can encourage collaborative work, goal overcoming, and create a framework in which each professional can develop and present his or her best. If you want to know more information about team productivity you can check at Zoetalentsolutions
1. Finish off the myth of the multitasking trader
Some people may find a sign of proactivity or insist that they can embrace this methodology. But despite good intentions, our brain is not all that aligned with the concept of multitasking. A study published by the American Psychological Association highlights that multitasking reduces productivity by up to 40 percent. This is because switching between many activities compromises focus increases stress and mental fatigue.
In such cases, adopting an online management tool is the way. In short, do not encourage a professional to commit to more than one task at a time. And following this line of reasoning, do not delegate too many tasks, causing the person to be overwhelmed. This will avoid potential emergency relocation in the future and the risk of missed deadlines.
2. Implement a task management system
This is the golden tip that contributes to the execution of all the other tips in this text. Adopting management software is critical in how to improve staff productivity. For example, you move forward in day planning, task tracking, communication integration, team management, and time tracking. In addition to these advantages, you create a unified file storage and scheduling environment related to each project, with clear deadlines and goals.
You can follow the status of real-time tasks and features of people’s performance metrics. This allows you to easily identify which process step needs special attention.
3. Measurement of time
Nothing better than tracking hours worked to study how to improve staff productivity. To do this management, an automatic timesheet is important to automate processes and facilitate measurement. With a management platforms, just a simple ‘play’, pause and deliver to record time and perform activities.
And from a time intelligence system, you can get the information you would never know about your team and your business. By measuring time, time intelligence gathers and organizes data, turning numbers into relevant information to inform managers’ decision making.
4. Align individual interests
The best way to get people to work together is to find a point of convergence between their interests. Make it clear how each team member’s work contributes to a larger goal. And also how individual goals can relate to this overall goal. This is a process that involves a very transparent definition of responsibilities and adjustment of expectations. Two crucial factors for team engagement.
After all, with it, you can define exactly the sequence of tasks that each employee must perform, sharing goals and making communication official.
5. Plan tomorrow, literally
A great exercise in planning, task prioritization, and time management, which results in a way to improve overall team productivity. Apply to your daily life and encourage your team to make their list with three indispensable topics. This routine is even more natural if you have a management platforms. The tasks on each employee’s list already serve as a basis for highlighting what is essential for a truly productive next day. And you, as a manager, can monitor tasks in real-time, manage demands, reprioritize them and replace those responsible when needed.
6. Reduce digital distractions
The procrastination is always lurking, ready to undermine progress. It’s an email newsletter about a subject of personal interest, it’s WhatsApp posts and Instagram peeks. However, to help improve staff productivity, digital distractions must be contingent upon. First, by making people aware of the impact that such interruptions in task progress have on individual and collective outcomes.
Another measure that helps to escape these distractions is a unique platform for team communication. In the system, messages and task assignments are formalized and facilitate conversation between people. The employee does not need to enter the email to check if a delivery has been approved. Or check the WhatsApp group for a given project to see if there is a new demand.
The third measure refers to another tip of this list: the scheduled breaks. Set a timeout for browsing social networks, or encourage scheduled breaks for a moment of rest. All of these steps are necessary to understand how to improve team productivity and optimize people’s time.
7. Encourage and respect scheduled breaks
Establish a routine of strategic breaks. During these breaks, encourage staff to listen to music, relax, take a walk outside their workstation, and talk. What may seem unproductive precisely contributes to overall productivity. Different studies prove that these breaks stimulate creativity, memory, and concentration.
One method that has been around for some time in business is the Pomodoro technique and may serve as a reference. It is either dividing time into 25 minute periods, separated by brief intervals of up to five minutes, or alternating 50 minutes straight from work with a 10-minute break.
