Did you know that, on average, the American worker is only productive for roughly 3 hours each day?
That’s right. Even though millions of Americans spend eight hours each day in the workplace, much of that time is spent unproductively.
While no office will ever reach maximum productivity without seriously doing damage to the workers, there are certainly ways you can ensure that your workplace is as efficient as possible.
Let’s take a look at 10 ways you can improve workplace efficiency at the office.
- Equip Your Team With the Right Tools
If you’re wondering how to improve efficiency in the workplace, one of the first things you should be thinking about is whether or not your team has the proper tools to perform their work.
Whether this means time tracking apps, collaboration tools, communication apps, other software, or physical tools, this is not a place you want to skimp.
- Delegate Tasks Appropriately
If you are a manager looking for workplace advice, one of the best things you can do is to get really good at delegating tasks.
If you can streamline delegating tasks to the appropriate people your productivity will soar. It can sometimes be good to give people tasks that are a bit out of their comfort zone to challenge them and keep them engaged. However, if you are consistently getting people tasks that are above their head, they can leave them feeling frustrated and disheartened.
One task that can be easily delegated is Salesforce administration. Check out these benefits of hiring a part-time salesforce administrator.
- Foster a Happy Work Environment
When employees enjoy being at work they are able to do their jobs better, more efficient with their time, and generally overall more productive. They are less likely to get distracted by non-work tasks such as browsing the Internet are checking their personal social media accounts.
There are a number of things that you can do to foster a positive and happy work environment for your employees. It’s important to develop a strong workplace culture so that people feel that they are part of the team. You also want to encourage communication and collaboration.
It’s important to show your appreciation for your employees. It doesn’t take much to help boost your employees sense that they are valued. However, if you go without ever saying thank you for telling people that they’ve done a nice job they will likely grow insecure and frustrated.
- Don’t Go Overboard on Meetings
Not many people are super psyched about attending tons of workplace meetings. On average, American employees spent about 37% of their time in meetings and companies spend over $35 billion on meetings each and every year.
Sometimes face-to-face meetings are necessary, but often times or other communication and project management tools that can be used.
Having too many meetings can severely impact your employees’ happiness while also wasting time and money.
- Streamline Your Space
One of the most useful workplace steps is to streamline your space. Before you start the day, you should always take a couple of minutes to declutter and organize your workspace. People are much more productive and able to think clearly when their environment is free of clutter.
You’ll also want to incorporate the sinking into the layout of your office. How did people move through the space? You want to make sure that the flow of people and objects is natural and efficient.
- Create an Environment That’s Supportive of Productivity and Positive Mood
There are a number of things that you can do to the physical space of your office to create a supportive environment.
The presence of color in the space can significantly impact productivity and mood. For example, the color blue can help people focus and encourage feelings of calmness. On the other hand, the color red can help people in their attention to detail and accuracy.
Having plants in the office can also help to boost the mood of your employees as well as productivity.
One study found that the presence of interior plants in a workplace with no windows helps to reduce stress and increase productivity.
- Encourage Short Breaks
If you’re wondering how to be more productive at work, it might seem counterintuitive to take more breaks.
Actually, though, taking short breaks can help to restore motivation, prevent decision fatigue, increase creativity, increase productivity, and improve memory. Breaks are also a great time for people to get up and walk around which is absolutely essential for both emotional and physical health.
- Incorporate Music
Listening to music while working can have a big impact on workplace productivity.
Listening to music can help to improve workers’ moods as well as their ability to focus and their productivity.
- Allow a Change of Scenery
Another thing that can help with workplace efficiency is switching up the scenery every once in a while. This can simply mean offering alternative workspaces for people who are feeling cooped up at the desk. It can also mean allowing remote work when possible.
- Promote the Two-Minute Rule
Another great piece of workplace advice is to promote the idea of the “two-minute rule.” This term was coined by David Allen in the book Getting Things Done. What it means is that if you see a task that needs to be done and you know it can be done in two minutes or less then you should just do it right away.
Promoting this idea in your workplace could radically change how much gets done every day.
Workplace Efficiency: It’s Possible!
These are only some of the workplace tips that you can implement to increase your productivity and efficiency. It’s important to remember that happy workers are productive workers and investing in the space can go a long way.
Did you find this article on workplace efficiency interesting? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more fascinating and informative content!
