When you're running a team, you're dealing with a group of skilled individuals who needs to to achieve common goals. Team productivity is the ability of this group to work together efficiently and effectively.
In this blog post, we will share valuable tips for managers - methods that can boost your employees' productivity, hence - the team's productivity.
A productive employee is one who is able to complete a high amount of work in a short amount of time, while also maintaining a high level of quality.
A productive team can accomplish more in a shorter amount of time, and is essential for any organization that wants to succeed in today's fast-paced business world.
There are several strategies you can implement, as a manager, to improve your employees' and team's productivity. Here are our top picks:
1. Define clear expectations and goals
All managers know the importance of accountability when it comes to painting the big picture of "productivity" to the company and stakeholders. To make sure to get measurable, accountable work from your team members, it is crucial to first communicate what is expected of them in terms of their roles and responsibilities, and how their performance will be measured.
Define the scope of each task as well as the time expectation.
Make sure to use S.M.A.R.T goals - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
Use a smart software that enables your employees to view their time tracking vs. time expectation in order to help them stay focused. Ovvio understands this vital need and is currently is developing a new time measurement tool set to be released soon exactly to address that!
2. Promote communication and feedback
This is crucial in building trust and maintaining a productive team.
Communicating on a personal level as well as professional, providing feedback on their performance, both positive and negative will help your teams understand how they are performing and what they can do to improve.
Also, be open to receive feedback from your employees - show them that this is a two way street.
Communication is key to a productive workforce - Luckily, technology has made it possible in multiple ways. However, this doesn’t mean that all communication methods are necessarily all efficient and time-saving.
According to various studies, emails take up around 28% of the employee time. In the last years, big brands have shifted their businesses to onboard more flexible communication methods. Productivity solutions for task, team and project management, such as Ovvio, where companies can collaborate on all essential details instantly is on the rise.
Onboarding the right productivity solution for your company not only promotes and improves collaboration, but it allows collaboration at lightning speed!
3. Prioritize and manage workloads while matching skills to tasks
Proper delegation of tasks is essential for team productivity, and might even serve to improve overall mental wellness, as it ensures that everyone is working on the tasks that they are best suited for. This can be achieved by assigning tasks based on each team member's strengths and workload. Having said that, ensure that employees are not overwhelmed with too much work and that they have the necessary resources to complete their tasks efficiently.
When employees find it easier to meet deadlines, it will be easier to ensure successful results for the company. By using the right productivity solution with time tracking capabilities, you can define clear deadlines and see how much time was spent on particular tasks, or if it was executed promptly.
Having a wide overview of your team members' workload can help you manage the tasks and therefore help the employees to complete their tasks effectively.
Using Ovvio's kanban view mode can easily provide you a clear image of all your team members workload, and allow you to manage it from a higher level.
Track task progress, intervene if needed and delegate further tasks with confidence.
4. Encourage a positive and supportive work environment
Promoting teamwork and collaboration, rewarding employee contributions will contribute to a culture of respect and trust.
Team culture is not just about direct reporting and checking boxes. It's about building relationships with each team member, and a bond between all. A productive team is the one with a strong team culture, so be prepared to invest time to nurture it.
Have frank discussions about what your team should value and why.
Allow more flexible work arrangements - Better work/life balance, reduced stress and increased job satisfaction is reported from employees that implemented hybrid workspaces.
Use collaboration tools to ensure healthy collaboration between all team members, and to keep a productive workspace even in hybrid work environments.
Create traditions and rituals that celebrate your values, such as: Innovation - Hackathons, Customer service - Customer love prize, Mindfulness - Monday morning yoga and so on.
Provide incentives and recognize high performance - Set financial incentives to connect them to the business core.
5. Offer skill development and training opportunities
Investing in employee development to keep them up-to-date with the latest trends, technologies and best practices in their field is an incredible incentive to keep teams engaged. Respected and connected employees will work more confidently, motivated - and productive.
Remember to foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning - Encouraging employees to share their ideas for process, system and policy improvements will show respect for their skillset.
Employees who take ownership of their own learning and development can contribute in more ways than expected.
6. Lead by example
As a manager, always remember that you are also a role model for good work habits and productivity. Your team looks up to you, so make sure you’re setting the right example for them.
