7 tips on how to increase the productivity of your team

1. Most ideas, not hierarchy

In one of his interview Steve Jobs suggested the following idea:

If you want to hire outstanding people and to force them to continue to work for you, you have to allow them to make many decisions. And you should be guided by ideas, not hierarchy. We should win the best ideas. Otherwise outstanding minds you have not linger.

Steve Jobs

Most ideas that express your employees, regardless of their positions. If the employee provides you with sensible thoughts, listen to it, regardless of his position on the ladder.

2. Install clear and understandable goals

Authors books "The Balanced Scorecard. From strategy to action "by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, mentioned that only 7% of employees fully understand business strategy their company and can say that they have to do in order to achieve corporate goals.

And according to the researchFinal Destination: Organizational Transparency ClearCompany, 44% of respondents from the general office workers faint idea to aspire to their company. If your employees do not understand what you want from them, what kind of productivity can we talk?

You, as a leader, must be clear and articulate in front of subordinates goals and objectives of your organization. Employees is important to recognize, as the fulfillment of their small individual tasks helps companies implement global plans. If employees do something, I do not understand what they are doing and what their motivation and involvement will remain low.

3. Lead by example

David Carpenter, a businessman and an economist from the University of Iowa, said:

As team leader, you must set an example of subordinates. It is easy to sit on the ground, shouting orders and finding fault with the staff. But a good leader must be prepared to understand the problem and help subordinates to find a solution, rather than simply to require them to results.

David Carpenter

Lead by example - a necessary quality for a true leader. Showing employees how to work, you kill several birds with one stone.

Firstly, do you motivate the team, personally asking her bar - people see that if you deal, so the task is achievable. Secondly, you legitimiziruete his role of leader - no one would talk behind your back, the boss does nothing useful. Thirdly, as you train your employees to serve them not only the manager, but also a mentor.

4. Do not be afraid to seem incompetent

Patrick Lencioni in his book "Five vices team" says that the main reason that attempts to create a bunch of successful professionals fail - lack of confidence.

How to build a relationship of trust with colleagues and subordinates? Lencioni says that this is possible only when the members of the band are not afraid to appear weak and vulnerable, to ask for help and support.

You, as a leader, do not fasten the know-all mask. Be honest. If you do not understand in any issue openly admit it and ask council that the subordinate who is more knowledgeable than you.

So you can show colleagues that ask for help - do not be ashamed. This will allow the team members to strengthen the trust relationship to each other. In addition, if your employees will not hesitate to ask for help from more experienced colleagues, they can avoid many annoying bugs.

5. Provide team comfortable jobs

Isaac Oates, CEO and founder of Justworks, believes that most affect team productivity workplaces employees. In his opinion12 expert tips to make 2019 your most productive year yet, Open plan (open-space) is counterproductive.

The workplace is a very important thing. If your office is the only way for the employees to somehow focus - is to wear noise-canceling headphones and play music, you can forget about creativity. The best ideas are born when a person is left alone or in a small group. Empower your people to places where they can quietly reflect.

Isaac Oates

These words are confirmed by researchThe impact of the 'open' workspace on human collaboration Specialists from Harvard Business School. They concluded that workers in open-space suffer more stress and more distracted, less communicate live and generally excluded from colleagues. Naturally, all this has a negative impact on productivity.

Most likely, you will not be able to seat all of its employees for individual offices, but there is an alternative - be installed in the office cubicle or a soundproofed booth. And if you are concerned about the physical form colleagues, You can transfer them to the standing jobs. According to the results of researchCall Center Productivity Over 6 Months Following a Standing Desk InterventionIt is good for productivity.

6. Spend less time on meeting

The survey showed the company AtlassianYou waste a lot of time at workThat the average office worker spends every month for about 31 hours at various meetings, meetings and brainstorming sessions. Perhaps this time could be to use a little more usefully.

Business meetings are one of the biggest obstacles to productive work. They are constantly distracted employees and knock them out of rhythm. But I do not think it will be a good decision not to meet at all or to come up with all sorts of funny rules like "do not spend Wednesday meeting" or "limit the meeting to 10 minutes." No, the organization must make the meeting effective and efficient.

Charlene Laube, HR-consultant HR Bartender

Save your employees' time. Carry meetings Only in the event that they have a clear purpose and agenda. Paul Graham, co-founder of a startup incubator Y Combinator, recommends choose a time for the meeting, which will suit the majority of his subordinates and not interfere with their work.

Organize a meeting either at the beginning or at the end of the working day - but not in his swing. Another option - keep the discussion does not live but by customer instant messages or video conferencing.

7. color office

Maybe it will seem a trifle. But studies suggest that the color of the walls in the office affects the productivity of your employees. A specialist from the University of Texas found Nancy KvallekEffects of nine monochromatic office interior colors on clerical tasks and worker moodThat the white walls of the bad effect on the ability to focus people.

She put three groups of workers in different colors of the room: red, white and blue-green. Subjects of white cabinet made the most mistakes when performing tasks. But the red and blue-green seems to help employees work more effectively.

Another studyBlue or Red? Exploring the Effect of Color on Cognitive Task Performances - by scientists from the University of British Columbia - has shown that people with a reddish tinge rooms better performing routine work that requires attention to detail, and the blue color, contrast, encourages creation.

So consider this when finally will be going to do office renovation.