Three Culture Tips for Increasing Efficiency in the Workplace

In essence, improving workplace efficiency is about helping employees work smarter, not harder. Thus more can be produced (i.e. help more ... Skiptocontent Categories Back HRInsights ProductAnnouncements Performance&Culture Hiring Benefits&Comp Onboarding PeopleData&Analytics VoicesinLeadership OurSoftware Back Overview VideoTour">VideoTour PeopleData&Analytics Back EmployeeRecords Workflows&Approvals Reporting&Analytics MobileApp Hiring Back ApplicantTrackingSystem(ATS) MobileHiringApp Onboarding Back NewHireOnboarding Offboarding ElectronicSignatures Compensation Back TimeTracking{+} PaidTimeOff(PTO) TRAXPayroll{+} Culture Back PerformanceManagement{+} EmployeeSatisfaction(eNPS) Packaging Back ComparePackages Subscribe Back test TryitFree Performance&Culture • 7min ThreeCultureTipsforIncreasingEfficiencyintheWorkplace ByBrianAnderson•June20,2018 Mostorganizationshaveonethingincommon:they’reinterestedinimprovingtheirresults. Onepowerfulwaytoachievethisisbyincreasingworkplaceefficiency.Efficiencyintheworkplacemeanswhenemployeescarryoutthecorrecttasksintherightway,withtheleastwasteoftimeandeffort. Inessence,improvingworkplaceefficiencyisabouthelpingemployeesworksmarter,notharder.Thusmorecanbeproduced(i.e.helpmoreclients,makemoremoney,providemoreproduct/services,growthebusiness)withthesameamountofresources.Efficientemployeesareproductive.Theyknowhowtoorganizetheirtimeandefforttocompletetasksontime. Thereareseveralfactorsthataffectemployeeproductivityandefficiencyintheworkplace,suchasworkenvironment,leadership,jobsatisfaction,training,processes,andculture. Whenitcomestohelpingemployeeslearntomakethemostoftheirtime,itoftencomesdowntomakingimprovementstoyourday-to-dayculture. Efficiencyandculturearebothlong-termstrategicconcerns,andtheygohandinhand.Whenyouremployeeshavethetrainingtheyneedforindividualefficiencyandthestructuretheyneedforgroupefficiency,youcancreateaculturethatmakesthemostofyourresources—bothhumanandfinancial. Herearethreeculturetipsforincreasingefficiencyintheworkplace: 1.UnderstandPersonalTimeManagement Weliveinanageofdigitaldistraction.Withthetechnologicaltoolsavailabletoday,employeescanaccessmoreinformationthaneverbefore. Onthefaceofit,speedingupthetransferofinformationseemslikeasteptowardgreaterefficiency.Butthere’satradeoff:thishigh-speedinformationcomeswithanincreaseindistractingdigitalnotificationsandanexpectationforrapidresponse. Sinceattentionisthecurrencyofthedigitalworld,technologycompaniesdotheirbesttogetasmuchofitaspossible. Arecentexamplefromoneperson’saccidentalFacebookhiatusillustratestheprincipleoflimitingdistractions:overthetendayshewentwithoutloggingintothesocialmediaplatform,Facebooksenttheauthor17emailstryingtogethisattention. Theseincludedphotosofdistantacquaintances,amemethatmorethan600peoplesharedinagroup,andotherbitsoftrivialinformationthathewouldnormallyscrollrightpastifhewereonhisFacebooknewsfeed. Whydosuchunimportantpiecesofinformationprovesoeffectiveatdistractingus?Withtechnology“saving”somuchtime,it’seasytobelievewe’dhaveaquicksecondtokeepupwithminortasksandpersonalinterestswhileinthemiddleofmoreintensiveprojects. Butevenastechnologygivestimewithonehand,ittakeswiththeotherintheformofminordistractions—andeachofthesemicro-distractionshasalargertimecostthanthefewsecondsittakestochecksocialmediaorretweetameme:onestudyfromUCIrvinefoundthatittookupto20minutestoreturntoworkafterasingledistraction. Howdodistractionsfitintothelargerpictureofwork-lifebalanceandproductivity? LearnMore Youmightremembertheexcellentadviceinthisarticleaboutpersonaltimemanagementactivitiesforemployees,buthere’sthebiggerquestion:howdoyouencouragethosekindsoftimemanagementpracticesinyourorganization? Withaccesstosmartphones,it’shardertocontrolonlinedistractions.CompaniesareabandoningemailmonitoringandUScourtshavedeterminedthatlimitingbathroombreaksto90secondsisillegal. Ifyouwereasshockedtoreadaboutthe90-secondbathroombreakpolicyaswewere,that’sagoodsign;youhaveatleastsomenotionofwhatmakesforatolerableworkenvironment.Itmightbeanextremeexample,butitillustrateshowsomeorganizationsprioritizefiscalefficiencyovereveryotherconcern,includingtheemployeeexperience. Ifyouremployeesaregoingtocontinuemanagingtheirtimeefficientlywithoutyoulookingoveryourshoulder,theyneedtoowntheprocessandbeallowedthatworkplaceflexibility.Soinsteadofspendingtimeandmoneytryingtohaveleadershippolicemediause,focusoneducatingyouremployeesoneffectivetimemanagement.Thiscanbeassimpleasdevelopingatutorialforsortingandfilteringtheirworkemailorasfunandinvolvedassettingupacompanyguildonthishabitgamificationapp. 2.DevelopEffectiveCollaboration Theprinciplesofeffectivetimemanagementextendintoteamtraining.Prioritizingteambuildingopportunitiesandteachingteammembershowtoidentifyandpreventon-the-jobdistractionshelpsquiteabit,becauseafterall,notallnotificationscomefromFacebook. Acoworkeraskingforaquickhandwithsomethingcaninterruptaperson’sworkflowjustasmuchasatextmessagecan. Thisiswhereunderstandingtimemanagementprinciplesintersectswithyourculture.Doyouremployeesexpectinstantresponses?Whathappenstoemployeeswhodon’trespondrightaway?Whathappenswhentherequestisfromsomeoneinaleadershipposition?Howdoemployeesprioritizetheirday’swork? Youremployeeslearnhowtoanswerthesequestionsovertime,whetheryou’vethoughttoaddressthemornot.Peoplewillfindtheirwaythroughthemixofofficialpoliciesandindividualinterpretationsandtrytomeetexpectations. Ifleadershipdoesn’tfullycommunicatetheseexpectations,thenemployeeshavelittlechoiceexcepttolearnfromexperience,reactaccordingly,andhopeforthebest. Insteadofreacting,beproactiveinhelpingyourteamslearnhowtoworkmoreefficiently.It’simportanttodelegatewithinteamsandrealizetheimpactthatcanhaveonteamefficiency: First,employeeswereaskedtoparticipateina“HighFive”wheretheyspentthefirstfiveminutesofeachdaylistingouttheirtasks,prioritizingthetopfive,andreportingtoanaccountabilitypartner.Thisdailypracticehelpedemployeesfocusonwhatwasmostimportant,ratherthanrelyingonwhatwasatthetopoftheirinboxes,andtheprocessoflayingoutthedayinadvancemadeitclearwheneverthereweretoomanytaskstohandle.Thishelpedemployeesknowiftheyneededtodelegatetasksatthebeginningofthedaywhentherewasstilltimetofitthemintothedailyplanningsession,ratherthanasafternooninterruptions. Second,wehadeachteamidentifyhowtheirworkaffectedadownstreamteam.Forexample,ourproductdevelopmentdepartmentlearnedhowtheirtimeframeimpactsschedulingandworkflowforourmarketingdepartment,whointurnpreparesmaterialsforoursalesdepartment. Eachteammadegoalsforimprovingprocessesthataffectedthesedownstreamteamsandlearnedinturnfromtheirupstreamteamshowtostaybetterinformedabouteventsthatmightaffecttheirwork. Thesesimplechallengeshelpedouremployeesmakemoreoutoftheirdaysanddevelopabetterunderstandingofhowtheirrolesconnectedwiththebiggerpicture.Italsohelpeddevelopongoingconversationsaboutourmulti-teamprocesses. Theseconversationswillbedifferentforeveryorganizationdependingonyourmission,vision,andvalues.Butthemoreemployeesunderstandthestructureofyourorganization,themoretheywillrealizethatdelaysandchangesaren’tmeanttosabotagesomeoneelse’seffortsfurtheralongthechainofproduction.AtBamboo,wecallthisAssumingtheBest,andit’sanimportantpartofhowourcultureshapesourworkplaceefficiency. 3.GetProactivewithPerformance Theprevioustwotipsfocusonproactiveeffortsthatdevelopacultureoftrustinyourorganization.Ifthefirsthalfoftrustisunderstanding,theotherhalfisaccountability.Developingthataccountabilityleadstothethirdproactivesteptowardincreasingefficiencyintheworkplace:regularperformancemanagement. Whichismoreefficient:providingin-depthfeedbackonceayear,orrecognizingandrespondingtoissuesregularlythroughouttheyear?Aonce-yearlyschedulemaybeefficientforcompensationreview,butthelongeryouwaittogiverecognitionandfeedback,thelongeryouletsmalldailyinefficienciescontinue. Regularevaluationandcommunicationonperformancehelpresolvetheissuesthatkeepemployeesfromimplementingtheprinciplesoftimemanagementandcollaboration. Ifanemployeeknowsherworkisbeingmeasuredindependentlyofothersinherdepartment,thenshealsoknowsthere’snoreasontoplayofficepolitics.Orifanotheremployeeknowshecanseeksupportfromhismanagerwithoutjeopardizinghischancesforpromotion,thenhealsoknowshedoesn’thavetoshifttheblamewhensomethinggoeswrong. Onceagain,theconversationonhowtoincreaseefficiencyintheworkplaceneedstocenteronthetruedriverofimprovement:developingthecapacityandskillsofyouremployees.Thishelpsputthetimeandresourcecostsofperformancemanagementintheirproperperspective—asaninvestmentinyouremployees,notaninefficientuseoffunds. Conclusion Asyouimplementthesethreetips,you’lldomorethanjustgetaheadinyoureffortstowardincreasingefficiencyintheworkplace.You’lldevelopaconnected,effectiveculturethatpromotesgreatworkfromthebottomupandthetopdown. HRinsightsdeliveredtoyourinbox. GetcaughtupeverymonthonallthingsHR.Don'tworry,wepromisewewon'tspamyou. Signmeup BrianAnderson Copywriter BrianAndersonexpertlydecodesallthingsHR,drawingonadecadeoftechnicalwritinginthebusinessorganizationindustrytoprovideeditorialsupporttointernalandexternallearningprogramsatBambooHR.Hiswritingexploresthedifferentmotivationsthatshapetheemployeeexperienceandthepsychologyofhumanresources. Youmightalsolike... Performance&Culture • 12min HowtoStayAheadofPerformanceFeedback Howmuchperformancefeedbackisenough?Learnhowtocreateacomprehensiveyetmanageable360ºfeedbacksysteminyourperformancemanagement. ReadNow Performance&Culture • 7min TheBestQuestionstoAskinPerformanceReviews We’vecreatedaresearch-backedlistofemployeeandmanagerquestionsformoreeffectiveperformancereviews. ReadNow Performance&Culture • 7min EffectiveOne-on-OneMeetings:12ExpertsShareTheirHow-toTips Weaskedtwelveexpertshowtoconductmoreeffectiveone-on-onemeetings.Checkouttheirtoptips. 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