We’re all looking for new ways to improve productivity and cut down on time wasted at work. Yet it can be hard to know where to start. Here are some sure-fire tips to start boosting the productivity of your entire team. Here are 5 great tips to improve the productivity of your team.
Set specific goals
You can’t expect your team to deliver for you if they don’t have specific, actionable goals. Divide big projects into smaller milestones, and clearly explain each step to everyone involved.
Give and receive feedback
Feedback is the best way for everyone to improve productivity. It’s also the best way to learn what is and isn’t working on the floor. Let your team members know when they do something right. When they need improvement, focus on coaching rather than punishment. And encourage everyone to let you know when something isn’t going as well as it could.
Track results
How will you know whether productivity is improving if you don’t measure and track results over time? Define clear metrics and then put systems in place to capture and analyze relevant data.
Limit meetings
Meetings are a huge productivity killer. It’s fine to do a quick morning huddle or change of shift meeting with your line workers or machine operators, but keep it intentionally brief. Throughout the day, talk to people one on one or use asynchronous communications such as text messaging instead of dragging everyone off the floor and into a meeting.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
Ultimately, communication is the best way to improve productivity by keeping everyone on track. Let your team know when new projects come in. Tell them when something major happens at the company. Explain new ideas that could shift how things are done. It’s also important to encourage your team to “own-up” to their mistakes.
How you communicate also matters. Don’t ramble or go on tangents about irrelevant details. Keep it short and to the point, with a focus on how whatever is happening affects them. Leave time for questions, and be ready with clear answers. If you don’t know the answer, promise to follow up—and then do so.
We hope these 5 tips for improving the productivity of your team are helpful. Obviously there are many more things we can do as managers. The bottom line is simple: communicate, plan, treat people well, and avoid these management “don’ts”.
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