Maximizing the productivity of your office is a challenge that never ends. Even when you’re seeing high levels of success, you want to make sure that you’re still on top of any potential improvements. So, it may be advantageous to consider the advice of the organizations and business leaders quoted below. It might just help you get your office running even more productively than before.
Consider a redesign
Sometimes your employees may find themselves in a rut – and for reasons that have little to do with the actual work they’re assigned. Peter Thomson, a fellow at Henley Business School, recently spoke to The Guardian about such issues. He noted that, as new technologies are implemented into offices – such as computers, smartphones and more – the general layout of offices will need to be reconsidered. He also stated that even the use of desks may represent an outdated mindset, illustrating how business owners may be able to reinvigorate their workforce by rethinking the place where they work.
“I think the big danger is to add technology for its own sake, as this doesn’t work,” Thomson told the news outlet. “It’s about reviewing the way people and offices use technology. In the past, we were stuck to the desk, but now we can recreate the office anywhere. It’s about freeing people from the shackles of the 20th century and getting away from the office production lines, which were created when most people worked in factories.”
Eliminate some unnecessary tasks
If you’re looking to improve the management of your processes, you may want to consider eliminating menial tasks for your employees. Opportunities exist to outsource some of the least-liked parts of their jobs – leaving them free to work more studiously on tasks directly related to their job titles.
“Being productive is not about the sheer quantity of stuff you get done — it’s about maximizing your effectiveness,” Neil Blumenthal, CEO of Warby Parker, recently told Business Insider. “That’s why the ultimate productivity boost is delegation. Delegation is about creating high-functioning teams by dividing and conquering — but in order to conquer, it’s critical to divide thoughtfully.”
Don’t be afraid to disconnect
This can be a challenging task to complete. Sometimes, being productive requires that you go offline. When you’re constantly checking email, website performance, chat services and more, you can never get a clear handle on what you’re working on. If you’re looking to reach peak productivity every day – either on your own, or by influencing it in a team of workers – then you may do well to consider setting aside a period of “offline time” every single day.
A recent report from McKinsey found that the average worker spends more than 25 percent of every week checking, reading and responding to emails. Imagine if the majority of this time could be appropriated for something more pressing and more directly related to the revenue of your business. One recent Forbes article identified both 60 minutes of daily offline time and limited email engagement as two keys to banishing low productivity in 2014 – illustrating how studies and leaders alike feel that finding time away from the Internet can help to offer a productivity boost.
Open up the lines of communication
It may seem like an obvious solution, but if you want a more productive office, then inspire your workers to talk to each other more. Ideas flow more clearly and misunderstandings occur less often when you talk in-person – inside and outside of meetings – rather than via email, phone or instant messenger.
“Talking generates ideas, and it makes companies – and individuals – grow,” T. Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Capital Management, told Business Insider. “Our public affairs director, Jay Rosser, tells me I would have been a good reporter. I work a beat constantly. I like to walk into people’s offices and hear what they’ve got to say. I want to know what my people are hearing, reading, and thinking. If they aren’t talking to me, I’ll reach out and ask them.”
Work hard – throughout the whole week
This is an easy productivity trap to fall into: not working hard throughout the entirety of the week. If you’re aiming for improved productivity, then the first place you may want to consider looking is at how well your team performs on Thursdays and Fridays.
“Monday ends up being a catch-up day,” Kimberly Stiener-Murphy, branch manager for Accountemps, told Fast Company. “If you want to make Monday a little more productive, you have to figure out how to set goals and expectations for your Thursdays and Fridays.”
Devising a strategy that will inspire your workers to be as productive at the end of the week as they are in the beginning is just one way that business leaders are recommending office managers improve their productivity. You should consider all the aforementioned strategies, and more, for your own team. Peak productivity will lead directly into peak levels of profit.