Increasing productivity in the workplace

I'm sure you know it. During inspiring sessions, the MT sets ambitious targets for the next year. Strategic roadmaps are enthusiastically mapped out, through which those objectives can be achieved. But what seemed so obvious during the days on the moor usually turns out to be more difficult to achieve than expected in daily practice. Actual productivity is lower than hoped, results are lagging behind and optimistic targets must be revised downwards.

It is a well-known phenomenon that occurs in many organisations. Despite all good intentions, you are overtaken by the issues of the day and you get less done than you originally planned. Should you just resign yourself to that? No, you know. There are ways to turn the knobs in a positive way. We'd love to give you and your employees some tips!

1. Don't work harder, work smarter

Are you flying ever growing? to-do list your throat? Don't be tempted to hire extra people or 'just' work a few longer days. Working harder isn't always the answer to workload. Working smarter, though. For example, first take a critical look at the daily workload. How many duplicates are there in people and team workflows? Do colleagues work together enough and do they make use of each other's qualities? Are all processes logical and practical?

By taking such a fresh look at daily worries, you are likely to discover new opportunities. By practically connecting different systems, for example. Or by giving employees more control and letting them manage their own affairs. Digitise what is possible, that prevents you from continuing to do things twice.

In addition, provide a convenient knowledge platform so that everyone has access to information and can easily share knowledge with each other. Pluvo offers you a knowledge base for extra reference, so that your students only need a place where they can find everything, such as downloads, videos, and articles. You can then set exactly who sees what.

In addition, work more from shared documents, so you know what the other person is doing and whether everything is going according to plan. And, perhaps even more importantly: keep going that way working together more intensively, you make better use of each other's knowledge and talents.

2. Be careful with your focus

Calling colleagues, new e-mails popping up on the screen over and over again, a coffee machine hissing, a manager asking for an ad hoc update: all these disruptions can put a lot of pressure on productivity. After each disturbance, a person has to go through a number of phases again before he or she is back at the deepest level of concentration. That takes an enormous amount of time and energy. Many employees would be so much more productive if they could do their work in complete peace of mind.

If you are an employer, we have a few tips for you:

• Make sure there are sufficient one-person workplaces, or spaces where you can work temporarily protected.
• Offer employees the opportunity to work in a hybrid way, connecting as much as possible to someone's biorhythm or private situation.
• Can't you escape an office garden? Opt for sound-absorbing ceiling or wall coverings and make clear agreements about using the phone and disturbing colleagues.

As an employee, you also have an influence on your own focus:

• Try to work according to the familiar 'pomodoro technique', where you always set a timer to 25 minutes of focused work. After that, hold 5 minute break, and go again 25 minutes at work.
• Aware of turning off your phone, apps, and Outlook when you need to concentrate.
• Before you step into a concentration flow, create a mind dump, in which you write down all the loose ends and action points that are currently bouncing around in your head. After that, you will work much more focused. When you're ready again, grab your (digital) notepad and see what you want to do. Again, make conscious choices here!
• Do you want to retreat into your own bubble for a while? Use a headset with noise cancelling, and opt for concentrate-enhancing music. Various compositions can be found on You Tube and Spotify.
• Be aware of your energy guzzlers and givers. Don't stick yourself to one desk: find the right workplace for every task. Sometimes you're just fine with your colleagues, sometimes it's better to work from home.

3. Make room for creativity

The best ideas don't come about during a brainstorm or in a meeting. Especially when you are not busy with others, e-mail or routine jobs, you come up with creative solutions. Therefore, make sure that employees have sufficient opportunity to work in the off-stand to go.

Propagate a meeting-free day, where everyone has space to reflect on experiences or certain issues with their feet on the table. Watch developments from a helicopter view, or dream about opportunities that may lie ahead.

Make clear agreements about being able and allowed to be unreachable. It is not only important that you are not disturbed on the weekend or during vacation. Even during breaks, it is good not to be busy with work for a while. Because that makes you more productive.

Recharging in time actually creates space in your head to take a fresh look at things.

4. Move yourself and your productivity

Humans weren't made to sit on a chair all day long. And yet, a large part of us do that. Day in, day out. That is detrimental to your condition, and therefore also to your productivity. Of course, as an employer, you can also play a role in this:

• Make employees aware of the importance of exercise. By default, install an app on each laptop that urges colleagues to move on time.
• Make sure you have sufficient sit-stand desks and monitor whether they are being used adequately.
• Organise walking meetings and set a good example yourself.
• Put various exercises for chair yoga or breathing exercises on the intranet or online knowledge platform.
• Contribute to a gym subscription, or encourage working out together during breaks or after work.

5. Personal attention: the most important fuel for productivity

Have you digitised routine jobs as much as possible and have all unnecessary meetings been removed from the agendas? Then, if all is well, you will have created extra space in the busy schedules.

Don't fill up the free time immediately to be able to work even harder. Instead, invest in something much more important: personal attention. This is because this “vitamin A” is the ingredient that increases productivity by leaps and bounds.

A good conversation in a pleasant setting increases job satisfaction, makes employees more involved in the organisation and significantly reduces the risk of staff turnover and absenteeism.

Take advantage of digital opportunities‍

Don't let online opportunities determine your work. They are just there to support you! The possibilities are endless. Smart agenda management, mutual knowledge sharing, development discussions or the use of multimedia: the choice is huge.

Do you need help with your choice, or do you just want to have a chat with someone about this topic? Feel free to contact us!