The Complete Guide to Increasing Work Efficiency in 2021

Work efficiency involves using the least amount of resources such as time and effort to produce the highest quality output. TheCompleteGuidetoIncreasingWorkEfficiencyin2021byLiamMcIvorMartinFebruary8,2021Wonderinghowtoincreaseworkefficiency?Ifyou’renoticingdelaysinmeetingdeadlines,failuretoreachtargets,andreducedcreativity,theremightbeaproblem.Alltheseaspectspointtoonething—workplaceinefficiency.It’stimetore-evaluateyourteam’sefficiency.You’llhavetofigureouttherootcauseofinefficiencyandlookforfoolproofwaystoeliminateit.Inthisarticle,we’llcoverthekeycausesofinefficienciesatwork,smarttipstoincreaseefficiency,andthebesttooltotrackefficiency. ThisArticleContains:(Clickonalinkbelowtojumptoaspecificsection)WhatIsWorkEfficiency?4KeyCausesOfWorkInefficiency8SmartTipsToImproveWorkEfficiencyEndorseAFlexibleWorkspaceStartWithTheMITsCommunicateEffectivelyWardOffTiringMeetingsSteerClearOfMultitaskingCreateAComfortableWorkEnvironmentWorkSmartWithTechnologyTrackTimeSpentOnATaskAToolToHelpYouImproveYourWorkEfficiency3KeyBenefitsofWorkEfficiencyLet’sdivein.WhatisWorkEfficiency?Workefficiencyinvolvesusingtheleastamountofresourcessuchastimeandefforttoproducethehighestqualityoutput.Butwhyshouldemployerstrackefficiency?Employersmustkeepaneyeoutforefficiencyattheworkplacetoensurethattheteamisworkingatitsoptimizedpotential. Anefficientemployeewouldmethodicallymanagetheirtimeandefforttotickofftheday’sentiretasklist,withmaximumattentiontoquality.Abusinessrequireshighefficiencyandincreasedproductivityratestogrowandachieveprofitability. Butwhatisthedifferencebetweenworkefficiencyandproductivity?Thekeydifferenceisquality. Here’swhatwemean:Producing100pensaminutewouldprobablyspeakhighlyofyourworkforceproductivityrate.Butifhalfofthemdon’twritewell,itisn’tamarkofhighworkefficiency.Ultimately,productivityandefficiencygohandinhandastheymeasuretheratioofinputtooutputofwork.However,efficiencyalsomeasurestheaddedelementofquality.4KeyCausesofWorkInefficiencyThefirststeptotackleinefficiencyistodigintoitscause. Herearefourtypicalreasonsforworkplaceinefficiencies:1.DistractionsAtWorkOneofthemostcommoncausesofemployeeinefficiency(especiallyforaremoteemployee)isworkplacedistractions. Someexamplesofsuchdistractionsinclude: Socialmedianotifications.Teammembersdiscussinglastnight’sgame.Checkingemailsconstantly.2.IneffectiveCommunicationChannelsIfeffectiveteamworkrequiresspendingexcessivetimeandenergyoncommunication,itmeansthecommunicationchannelsarefaulty.Additionally,languagebarriersdecreaseefficiencyasemployeescannoteasilyexplaintheirperspectivetoeachother.Remoteworkerswhoarepartofaglobalteamandmaynotspeakthesamelanguageoftenfacethisissue. 3.LackofMotivationAmajorreasonfordemotivationatworkisapoorrelationshipbetweenemployeesandtheirmanagers.Unfulfillingworkandlackofaccountabilitycanalsoleadtodemotivationattheworkplace.Whenemployeesaredissatisfied,they’renolongerinterestedintheirwork.Thismeansthattheywon’tspendthetimeandefforttobeasefficientaspossible.4.Burnout Areyouremployeesfindingittoughtocopewiththeirworkload?Chancesare,theyarefacingburnout. Thiscouldbedirectlyaffectingyouremployees’overallproductivity.Employeesmightperformpoorlyonthejobandcanalsofacedifficultyintheirpersonallives. Forexample,burnoutsymptomssuchasphysicalfatigue,irritability,oranxietycantakeatollonemployeesandimpacttheirworkeffectiveness.8SmartTipstoImproveWorkEfficiencyHereareafewwaystoincreaseproductivityandefficiencyintheteam:1.EncourageaFlexibleWorkspaceAllowingflexibleworkhourscanhelpanemployeeperformmultipletasksasefficientlyaspossible. Withastringent8-hourworkday,astressedemployeeisforcedtosqueezetheirexhaustivetasklistintosuchashortperiodoftime.Doesthismeantheemployeeisefficient? Notreally.Strictworkhoursmayensurethattheemployeespendslesstimeonatask,butitdoesn’tnecessarilymeanthattheirworkistop-notchquality.Instead,anefficientemployeeshouldgetthetaskdonewhentheyareattheirproductivebest. Flexibleworkhoursalsoreducesthepossibilityofburnoutandprocrastination.Employerscanalsoencourageflexiblearrangementslikeremoteworkingtoincreaseefficiency,especiallyduringtheCOVID19pandemic. Apartfromeasedworkhoursandimplementingaworkfromhomepolicy,employerscanalsobrainstormonwhetheranentirelypart-timearrangementmightwork.Here’sadetailedguideonhowtoimproveworkplaceflexibility.2.StartWiththeMITsEnsurethatyourteamseparatestheMITsfromtheothersontheirdailytasklist. WhatareMITs?MITsrefertotheMostImportantTasks,whichyoumustcompletebytheendoftheday. Forexample,solvingarefundrelatedqueryofyourmostimportantcustomercanbecategorizedasaMIT.AnexcellentpracticewouldbetoindicatetheMITswhenprovidingato-dolisttoyouremployees. Employeescanfocusonthemoresignificanttasksandthenmaketheirwaytothesmallertasksthatdon’trequireasmucheffort—suchasadministrativetaskslikedataentry.Byprioritizingwork,employeescanboosttheirtimemanagementskillsandavoidprocrastination.3.CommunicateEffectivelyHaveyounoticedanemailthreadwithfiveemailsonthesametopicwhenjustoneemailcouldhavedonethetrick?Thesolutiontothisproblemissimple—writebetteremailsandcommunicateeffectively. Productiveemployeeswriteinformativeyetcrispmessages,whetheronemailorSlack. Andifthecommunicationisviaaphonecall,employeescanapplythesameconceptbytakinglesstimetosummarizethekeypoints.Managersshouldtrainteamsonhowtocommunicatemoreefficiently,bothinternallyandexternally. Thistrainingcanbepartoftheemployeeonboardingprocessaseffectivecommunicationisanintegralpartofworkplaceproductivity.4.WardOffTiringMeetingsWhilecommunicationisessentialwithintheworkplace,managersshouldn’torganizefrequent,time-consumingmeetings. Instead,employeesshouldusethisenergyinfinishingoffcriticaltasksathand. Ifmeetingsareunavoidable,encouragestandingmeetings. Standingmeetingskeeptheattendeesliterallyontheirtoesandhelpkeeptheenergylevelshigh. Althoughthesessionsarebriefandtothepoint,theycanhelpincreaseemployeeengagementduetominimizeddistractions,suchasmobiledeviceorsocialmedianotifications.5.SteerClearofMultitaskingMostpeoplebelievethatmultitaskingmeanshighefficiency. Butdidyouknowthatmultitaskingisactuallyamyth?Researchbymultiplepsychologistshasshownthatmultitaskingendsuphamperingyourproductivityrate—becausethehumanbrainwasn’tmadetomultitask.Multitaskingleadstoreducedfocusandinefficiency. Infact,ittakes40%moretimetoworkonasingletaskwhilemultitasking!Andifthereisademandingandimportanttaskathand,employeesshouldtrydeepwork. Deepworkinvolvesdirectingone’sentirefocusandattentiononasingle,cognitivelydemandingjob.Thisrequiresagreatdealofcomposure,andtheeffectivenessistrulyunmatched. 6.CreateaComfortableWorkEnvironmentEmployersoftenfailtosenseoverworkedemployees.That’swhyyoumustsupportdowntimeatwork.Forexample,youcouldencourageyouremployeestotakeavacationafterclosingamajordeal.Allotthoseextrasickdaysintheyear,oryoucangivethemanoccasionalbreatheriftheyareworkingovertheweekends.Thebottomlineisthatanurturingcompanyculturewillkeepyouremployeesstimulatedtotakeonworkchallenges. 7.WorkSmartwithTechnologyCanyouimagineaworldwithoutouronlinecalendarssendingusmeetingreminders? Technologyhasalreadybecomeanecessitytobusinesses,especiallywiththeincreasingpopularityofremotework.Companiesnowhaveseveraltoolstohelpthemoptimizetheirefficiencyandworkflow.Forexample,amanagerbasedinNewYorkcanmonitortheirChicagoteam’songoingdealswithaprojectmanagementtoolorcangethourlyupdatesthroughacommunicationtool. Themanagercanalsotrackhundredsofemployees’paymentstatusthroughapayrollsoftware.8.TrackTimeSpentOnATaskHowcanyoudistinguishthehighlyproductivepeoplefromtherest?Yourequireconcretedatatobackthisup.Forthat,youneedatimetrackingtoolthatcantellyouhowmuchtimeanemployeespendsonasingletaskinagivenday.Thiswillhelpyoupinpointwho’sanefficientemployeeinyourteam.Atimetrackingtoolcanhelpemployersanswercriticalquestionssuchas:Whatarethemostproductiveworkhoursinmyfirm?Isthetimebeingallottedtothetasktoomuchorjustadequate?Aremyemployeesbeingproductiveduringworkhoursoraretheyidlemostofthetime?Readmoreonthebenefitsoftimetracking.Butwhat’sthebestavailabletoolforproductivitymanagement? ATooltoHelpYouImproveYourWorkEfficiency:TimeDoctorTimeDoctorisanemployee-friendlyproductivitymanagementsoftwareusedbymajorcompaniessuchasEricssonandsmallcompanieslikeThriveMarkettoboostemployeeproductivityandefficiency.TimeDoctorisevenmoreusefulforfirmswithaworkfromhomepolicywhohavelimitedsupervisionovertheirremoteteam.Sinceproductivityandefficiencyarebothvitalforanyorganizationtogrowexponentially,TimeDoctor’sfeaturesaretheperfectsolutiontomaintainhighworkefficiencyrates. HowTimeDoctorHelpsImprovesWorkEfficiencyHere’saquicklookatsomeofTimeDoctor’spowerfulfeatures:1.SmoothTimeTrackingInthemanualmode,allittakesisoneclickandTimeDoctorstartsrecordingtime. Oncethetaskisdone,theemployeecansimplyclickonthestopbuttonforthetimetrackertopause. Thisway,privacyconcernsaretakencareofsincetheemployeehasfullcontrolofthetimer.Note:TimeDoctoralsooffersanautomatictimetrackingmodeformaximumflexibility.2.IdleTimeTrackingWonderingwhetheryouremployeesareactuallyworking,oraretheyscrollingthroughLinkedinandsocialmedia?TimeDoctorhasabuilt-ininactivitytrackerthatlogsidletimewhenthereisnokeyboardormousemovementontheirdesktop.Thisfeaturenudgesemployeestofocusonthetaskathand.Note:TimeDoctorisn’takeyloggerbutisaworkproductivitytracker.Tomaintainemployeeprivacy,TimeDoctordoesn’tmonitorwhichkeysarepressed. 3.DetailedProductivityReportsTimeDoctor’sreportsgiveyouabird’seyeviewofeachemployee’sproductivitylevel.Youcanaccessseveralreportslike:HoursTracked:Providesthedailyorweeklytotalnumberofhoursworked.ActivitySummary:Presentsthetotalactivetimeoftheemployeeinthegivenamountoftime.Timeline:Offersacomprehensivesummaryofthetimespentbyanemployeeonataskoraprojectperworkingdayorweek.WebandAppUsage:Reportsthedifferentwebsitesandapplicationsemployeesuseatwork. Projects&Tasks:Displayshowmuchtimeanemployeehasspentworkingonaspecifictaskorproject.4.IntegrationswithPopularApplicationsTimeDoctorofferssmoothintegrationwith50+applicationsusedindailyworkplaceactivitiessuchas:Projectmanagementtools:Trello,AsanaCustomersupport:FreshdeskOtherpopularworkplacetools:Office365,GoogleAppsTheseintegrationshelpstreamlineworkflowandboostemployeeefficiency.3KeyBenefitsofBetterWorkEfficiencyYounowknowhowtomanageandincreaseteamefficiency. Let’snowshedsomelightonthebenefitsofbetterworkefficiency: 1.ImprovedClient/CustomerSatisfactionPleasingtheclientorcustomerisnoeasyjob. Yourteammustalwaysbeonyourtoesandfulfilleverylittledemand. Withemployeeworkefficiencykickingin,employeescanpromptlyrespondquickertoclientsandevenprovidefasterdeliveryofsolutions.2.ReductionofCostsTimeismoney,asclichédasthatsounds. Forexample,asasmallbusinessowner,youwereabouttohirefourpeopleforawarehousejob.However,younowfindoutthattwoworkersareenoughforthistaskduetoincreasedlaborproductivity.Thisway,youcancutdownoncosts.Andhowcanyougettheseinsights?ThroughaproductivitymanagementtoollikeTimeDoctor.Byallocatingresourcesoptimallyandefficiently,yourcostsautomaticallydecreaseovertimeandleadyouonapathtohigherprofitability. 3.BetterWorkQuality Improvedworkefficiencyalsomeansenhancedqualityofwork. Whenahighperformingemployeeisfullyawareandcautiousatwork,thereisrelativelylittlescopeforerrors.Suchworkcaliberelevatesafirm’scredibility,especiallyifyouhaveasmallbusiness.WrappingUpEmployersneedtounderstandtheessenceofworkplaceefficiencyandincreasedproductivity.Youcanimplementthesmarttipsmentionedabovetosuccessfullyboostyourteam’sefficiencyandwatchyourbusinessgrowwell. Andhowcanyougaugethecurrentefficiencyrate? UsingproductivitymanagementsoftwarelikeTimeDoctor. TimeDoctoroffersseveraladvancedfeaturestomonitorandanalyzeyourteam’sproductivitylevels. SignupforafreetrialandtryoutTimeDoctortoday!LiamMcIvorMartinLiamMartinistheco-founderofTimeDoctor—oneoftheworld’sleadingtimetrackingsoftwareforremoteteams.Heisalsotheco-organizerofRunningRemote,theworld’slargestremoteworkconference. GetmorestufflikethisInyourInboxSubscribetoourmailinglistandgetinterestingstuffonremoteworkingandproductivitytoyouremailinbox.Werespectyourprivacyandtakeprotectingitseriously.previouspostTSheetsvsHubstaff:2021Comparisonnextpost10TimeManagementTipsForBusyRemoteWorkersRelatedPostsHowtoHostanEfficientRemoteMeetingin2022(Tips,Tools)TheUltimateGuidetoProductivityReportingin2021(Techniques,Tools)HowtoMeasureEmployeeProductivityinHealthcareTimeTrackingforConsultants(Benefits,Tools)9PowerfulTipstoImproveTimeManagementintheWorkplaceWhatIsthePitmanSchedule&ShouldYourTeamAdoptIt?ResourcesBusinessBlogProductBlogTeamProductivityBenchmarkingToolScreenMonitoringSoftwareEmployeeMonitoringSoftwareTimeTrackingforAgenciesResourcesforRemoteCompaniesAboutDownloadTimeDoctorCaseStudiesFAQsTimeDoctorReviewsIntegrationsPrivacyPolicyTermsofServiceWhatCanYouDoWithTimeDoctor?https://youtu.be/9NBBk10axME