Did you know that 90% of staff in the United States are reporting that working from home hasn’t affected productivity?
Whether your staff is working from home or come into the office, there are ways to fine-tune your production.
If you feel that efficiency is lacking, there are plenty of steps you can take to get things running smoothly.
Continue reading to discover the best ways to create a more efficient workplace for you and your staff!
1. Streamline Communication
If you want to create an efficient workplace, you must dedicate time to streamlining communication.
An excellent way to boost business productivity is to focus on your communication. In today’s world, you must be prepared to communicate in and outside of the office. With COVID restrictions, communication has been put to the test.
Your employees should be equipped with phones at home and in the office. They should also have access to the internet and a camera. Video conferences and meetings have been beneficial when people aren’t all together. Investing in mobile wifi devices can help your team communicate no matter where they are calling in from.
Aside from video conferences and phone calls, it is also important to use email and chat services. Chat services like Slack are becoming a great way to ask questions and get on the same page with coworkers. It is easy to use, and all of the information is stored for reference.
2. Practice Prioritization
Productive employees all have one thing in common; they know how to prioritize their work.
Prioritization will take time and guidance from superiors. Although each staff member should identify what is most important, it also depends on what the supervisor is looking for. Management should regularly meet with staff to discuss what responsibilities are most important.
Talk to your staff about the best times to check emails. Most people check them as soon as they come in; this can be good but also harmful for efficiency. When staff constantly check emails, they can easily get pulled away from what they are currently doing.
Teach your staff to set time aside for each of their responsibilities. Checking emails, making phone calls, and taking care of paperwork should get limits. It is also important to watch how many hours a day get spent in meetings.
Once the staff can put time limits on their activities, they can prioritize what is most important. Things that need to get addressed immediately should always take priority over other tasks.
3. Reduce Distractions at Work
Did you know that employees waste an average of 5 hours each week on their phones or nonwork activities?
Phones and conversations can quickly take up a large portion of the workday. Not only are those two of the largest distractions from work, but there are many others. Keeping up with the news, listening to music, and burnout can also lead to an increase in distractions.
If you want to improve workplace efficiency, you must do your best to limit distractions. Some offices are recommending that employees turn their phones on silent. This will help prevent them from checking text messages and calls all day.
Reducing workplace distractions is important for several reasons. Not only do distractions waste time, but they also take away from attention and increase the risk of mistakes.
4. Take Care of Difficult Tasks First
When it comes to improving efficiency, you should encourage yourself and your staff to start the day with difficult tasks.
Oftentimes, the difficult tasks that people want to avoid all day don’t even take much time to accomplish. Starting your day off with the hardest things, it will help free up your schedule and allow more productivity. Not only does this open up schedules, but it also gives people a sense of accomplishment.
Procrastinating on a difficult task can impact the results of quality and add stress. If staff get in the habit of getting these tasks out of the way, they won’t waste time working on other things that don’t take priority.
Many people claim that they have more energy and motivation throughout the day when working in this style.
5. Learn How to Delegate
Management and leadership roles require you to be able to delegate tasks successfully.
Without delegating, management will spend their time working on tasks that could go to someone else. It is important to understand the strengths of each employee so that you can better utilize them. Not only does this make staff feel more engaged and appreciated, but it also gives you time to focus on bigger picture items.
There are too many details and tasks that need to be done each day. Too often, it falls on management, which holds them back from working efficiently and productively. When meetings and responsibilities are becoming overwhelming, ask for help!
6. Continue Training & Learning Opportunities
Increasing workplace productivity is an endless responsibility for management.
As technology, trends, and processes change, it is important to keep your employees informed. When staff knows how to use the resources they have, they can increase efficiency and be more productive.
You must prioritize training opportunities for staff to refresh themselves on procedures. This will limit time wasted trying to figure it out on their own and time spent asking questions. When the employees are all on the same page, they can better support each other and focus on their responsibilities.
Whether you hold monthly training or smaller sessions every couple of weeks, you should see an improvement.
7. Keep Things Organized & Clean
A cluttered work environment can have a big impact on workplace efficiency.
Make sure that you are holding staff accountable for keeping their desk areas neat and organized. It is also beneficial to have cleaning services come to the office for the finer details.
A clean and organized work environment makes it easy for people to find assignments and keep things straight in their minds. When the area is cluttered and unorganized, it can increase distractions and pull people’s minds away from their work.
Keeping things clean will also help save time, as staff won’t have to search as hard for documents. Not only should the workplace be clean and organized, but also company computers and files.
8. Utilize Technology & Resources
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not utilizing your technology and resources.
Technology and resources are a great way to save time around the office and improve efficiency. The tools that your company has at its disposal should be a priority so that staff doesn’t waste time on projects. This can consist of things like computer software, vendor relationships, or even free business seminars.
Many people recommend utilizing Office Control to help manage company operations. This program can lead to happier employees because it allows them to work smarter rather than harder!
Instead of spending hours trying to make a chart by hand, pull out the computer and use a template. Templates are great ways to get started on work without information becoming overwhelming.
9. Prioritize a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Without a healthy work-life balance, staff won’t be motivated to work efficiently.
When staff prioritize their needs, they are often willing to work more productively and with fewer distractions. Without work-life balance, employees can become burnt out. Burnout affects their attitude towards work, their efficiency, and the quality of their work.
Take time to identify what your staff needs to have this balance. For many, a flexible schedule can help. This comes in handy when parents need to work while their kids are in school or daycare.
Other ways to increase the balance between work and life are by allowing work-from-home days and time off.
10. Avoid Multitasking
Multitasking is one of the largest contributors to workplace efficiency being weakened.
When you and your staff start multitasking, the quality of work and responses decreases significantly. Not only does it hinder the quality, but it also increases the time it takes to get something done. Although multitasking can’t be fully avoided, it should be controlled.
Teach your staff that it is better to focus on what is in front of them rather than responding to emails the second that they come in. Multitasking might take on an appearance of increasing efficiency, but it actually eats away at it.
Build an Efficient Workplace
There are many ways that you can create a more efficient workplace.
By utilizing this guide, you take the necessary steps to make your team more prepared and productive. Communication and working as a team will make your company more efficient and get projects done quicker. Business efficiency is difficult to maintain with distractions and limited resources.
Don’t be afraid to invest your time and money in learning opportunities and technology. Both of these factors can make a large impact on how your company functions.
Be sure to check out our blog for more articles about how to improve workplace efficiency and productivity!
Piran is the bestselling author of the Zobuz, TheHearus and other well known Blogs. Her books have sold hundred of copies and are published in different languages.
