Team Productivity How-To
If working environment is healthy and team members have proper relationships with each other, working in a team is always beneficial. For example, AON’s research shows that engaged teams are 17% more productive, resulting in 21% increase of profitability. We believe these numbers can be increased!
Let’s discover 10 productivity tips to boost your team’s effectiveness and achieve higher results together!
1. Know People’s Strengths
Everyone has their own talents and expertise. A great leader knows in which areas every team member is especially gifted, which helps distribute tasks most efficiently. Finding out about everyone’s talents should start during the interview stage. A specific skill-set should become the base of a successful and productive team. Some might be good at creative tasks, while others might perfectly handle what requires exceptional meticulousness. Such a personal approach will both help you achieve high results and motivate teammates, as they will do what they enjoy and contribute even more.
Also, besides strengths pay attention to weaknesses, as simple carelessness can play a cruel joke on you. When a person needs to handle a task, but they can’t imagine what to start with, it might strongly discourage them.
2. Encourage Education
How to be more productive at work using education? Employees feel engaged when they learn new things and see the progress. Also, the feeling that the company invests in their knowledge is motivating, as people understand their value at the workplace, feel supported and believed in. This also gives a feeling of certainty in one’s position in the company.
Starting from webinars and online courses and ending with global conferences and even personal mentorship, all these will motivate your colleagues to achieve more.
3. Clarify Goals and Expectations
Set clear tasks, explain goals, communicate your expectations in group and in one-on-one meetings. Every person should have a job instruction and a pool of responsibilities and opportunities.
When as a team leader you set a task, provide an extensive description of what result you would like to see and if there are any deadlines. Provide references and examples for the person to base their work on. If your colleagues raise extra questions, try to answer them as soon as possible.
The more details you share, the more precise the outcome will be. Consequently, the workflow will be smoother.
4. Ensure Proper Communication
Set communication rules and build a correct feedback process within your team. Specify tools priorities, whether colleagues should call/email/message you if they have urgent questions, which time is the best option to talk or text, and so on.
Also, set regular feedback sessions or meetings. Teammates should receive your assessment of their work. Meet with each of them and discuss what was done well and what wasn’t, find out what obstacles arose, what tools they lacked. Also, such meetings are great for sharing positive feedback that boosts motivation and engagement. Those who hear that their contribution is highly valued, try to do their best to meet the company’s expectations the next time.
5. Provide Incentives
When people have a strong reason to work hard, they do so. The best situation is when this reason combines monetary and non-monetary rewards. Appreciation of one’s efforts is always important, so when a company offers some kind of incentive program, people work more effectively. Willis Tower Watson’s research says that 63% of employees believe that benefits affect their work productivity.
Among such incentives are cash bonuses, extra vacation days, time off, vouchers for services or goods, small gifts, and so on. Sure, a team leader often can’t make these decisions, still, you can talk to the company headship and facilitate the introduction of bonuses, if you still don’t have any.
6. Benefit from Technology
Providing a convenient ecosystem for tracking tasks, business messaging and document storage is as important as all the 5 previous points. Modern technology helps not only to organise the workflow but also to automate many routine tasks, and answers the question: “How to be more productive at work?”. A study by Ultimate Software revealed that 92% of office workers believe that technology helps them in becoming more efficient and satisfied with their work.
We’ve already covered 6 ways technology contributes to your work productivity every day. It is about software designed to help with organisation, collaboration, remote communication, networking, time tracking and simplifying daily tasks. Discover 35 useful tools for work and choose the best options for you and your team! Of course, don’t forget about Collabio Spaces and let it help you to manage your everyday routine — creating and sharing documents, scanning and signing papers, making reports, calculations, and many other files.
7. Motivate and Inspire
Act as an example for your team. Show that there are no impossible goals and tasks. It is a job of every leader to motivate your colleagues to follow the schedule, to be proactive and creative. Visit your office at the same hours as others and let them see that you’re adhering to the same rules.
8. Grant Autonomy and Responsibility
Don’t be afraid to delegate. Provide your mates with the freedom to choose the way they perform their tasks. Be sure to assist them, if necessary. Still, constant control will only make them feel tied up and unmotivated. When people feel empowered, they try to achieve more, which ensures high results.
Permit people to skip inessential meetings, to choose the best office hours for themselves and keep in mind that it is better to get a day off, than reach a burnout. Sure, there should be a clear set of rules for everyone, but they are intended to set clear structure and help to fulfill goals, not limit one’s productivity and creativity.
9. Conduct Team Building Events
Friendly communication is crucial for cohesive teams. Regular team-building meetings when you see each other in the informal environment inspires a lot. It gives participants a chance to see that they are well treated as a person and at work, and gives space to perceive others in an equally good light. Informal events directly affect the psychological spirit in the team. A good mood, a friendly team atmosphere, even a couple of jokes in the middle of the working day — all this allows employees to feel relaxed, confident and to do more.
10. Build a Great Work Environment
According to Udemy’s research, 52% of employees state that they are more productive in a quiet office. 38% of respondents prefer separate spaces to work in.
However, the correctly chosen sound accompaniment can facilitate smooth working processes! Robert Half surveyed more than 1000 workers and discovered that listening to music makes 71% of respondents more productive. If you want to use this hack at the office, ask your colleagues about their preferences, set a suitable playlist and enjoy!
What’s more, ask them what would make them more satisfied with their workplace. This might be new ergonomic chairs, brighter light or even more marker colors! Workdays consist of this trivia, they are absolutely worth your attention!
Well, that’s all for today, and if you want to learn more productivity tips for teams, check out this article and find out what can harm your team productivity!
