If you manage a team, then one of your greatest concerns has to be the efficiency with which the team handles its workload. It is to that end, it’s about more than the people you get and the time management methods that you teach them. The environment they work in and the tools afforded them, how well they’re looked after and how much autonomy they allow. These are the signs of a workplace that truly enables efficiency.
An organized, tidy and engaging workplace
The physical workplace is as much of an asset as it is a place to simply get work down. When handled poorly, it can very much impact the productivity of the team. Messy, cluttered spaces are well-known to be harder to work in. But an organized workplace is also created by thinking about the progress of workflow in it. How long does it take people to physically access different resources, for instance? Does the space allow for easy communication or are there too many partitions and cubicles to make it easy to talk to colleagues when you need to? A workplace that is disorganized and messy doesn’t just impede inefficiency either. Those constant barriers to doing one’s job are a real cause of stress, as well.
A lack of downtime
The physical barriers of the office aren’t the only ones that can get in the way. The ability to use the tools within those workplaces are just as important. For instance, without adequate backups for devices and the right support, the tech in your office can waste more time by not working properly than the time it saves in getting people more productive. You should think about services like Eaton Computer Helpdesk that can assess and protect you from those sources of downtime, as well as providing backups in terms of storage, device, and connection. For instance, using the Cloud on top of physical data sharing and even allowing people to bring their own devices when the office tech goes down.
Some flexibility
There is no one true answer for how you make your workplace and your team more efficient. Everyone has different needs and different preferences. Some need more privacy while others might do better with a space that allows quicker communication. Those needs don’t change from person to person alone, but from task to task. If you want people to work efficiently, you have to enable a certain flexibility to how they do their work. Different physical spaces for different purposes and even remote working should be considered. At the same time, you think about the different times they can use those spaces, as well. Allowing people more control over the hours they can work can ensure that their work hours matchup with the hours that are actually most productive for them.
A more efficient workplace is all about assessing the needs and eliminating the barriers to those needs. What is true is that the changes you can make on the managerial and organizational level can have a much bigger impact that trying to change the individual efficiency of every member of your team.
