10 tips for a more productive workplace
Having a productive workplace is key to any successful business. Whether you run a small business or a large corporate, your job is to make sure that your team are inspired, motivated have everything they need to their work well.
So, how can you use technology to your advantage and make a more inspiring and productive office?
Here are 10 tips to create a more productive workspace….. and some of these may surprise you.
1. Utilise group collaboration platforms
Platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chat are fantastic for both team discussion as well as direct chat between staff.
Team communication platforms give you the ability to share files, chat, run video calls and share information quickly across any device platform. Best of all it gives your team the ability to send questions to a group of colleagues and get answers almost immediately which is huge for cutting down on waiting time.
2. Cut down on unnecessary meetings
Some meetings do require collaboration and back and forth with your staff, however if the reason for a meeting is purely to provide instructions, then why not use technology to your advantage and send a voice memo or video. It’s quick, easy and lets your team re-watch/listen to better understand what you are instructing.
If you need to have a meeting set an agenda with a desired outcome. Use the rule “A meeting without a set agenda is a social get together in disguise”.
3. Multiple Monitors
If you don’t have 2 monitors for each of your staff already you need to. Having more screen real estate gives a greater ability to utilise multiple programs simultaneously – it reduces the need to constantly flick back and forth between apps and gives a much smoother user experience.
It is proven to increase productivity and reduce frustrations.
When it comes to external monitors, 1 may be good but 2 is better and 3 is……
4. Use OneNote
OneNote is one of the best apps in the Microsoft suite. It is such a flexible app that gives you the ability to do far more than just note taking.
With OneNote you can easily take notes, plan out your day/week/month with tasks required, create video recordings, draw graphics, collaborate with colleagues by sharing notebooks and best of all sync it across all your devices. If you haven’t already give OneNote a try.
5. Anonymous Feedback Surveys
As the business owner/manager you need to give your team a platform to give their opinion.
Not all staff will voice their concerns, give suggestions, or tell you how they feel face to face.
Use an online platform such as Google Forms, Microsoft Surveys or Survey Monkey to give your team the ability to share their voice with anonymity.
You will soon find there are some fantastic suggestions that come your way.
6. Subscribe to a music streaming service & get some speakers.
This one may seem left field and not overly tech, however background music can do fantastic things for staff morale, focus and productivity.
You can either invest in an account for each of your staff or get one for the whole company and let your team choose the music. Having a team member put their favourite tunes on can lighten the mood and get some good banter going when Joe from accounts decides to play an incredibly annoying song.
7. Upgrade your internet connection.
Having a fast reliable internet connection with good upload / download speed is a no brainer. It removes the buffering and lag when in video calls and reduces wasted time from waiting for file upload/downloads.
One thing you should always look at when choosing your internet connection is not just the download speed but also upload speed.
Most plans cater for fast download at the expense of upload. If your business is doing lots of video calls or file uploads to your collaborative suite you need to also prioritise upload speed in your plan.
8. Use Automation
Automation is crucial for getting rid of those repetitive tasks that no one likes doing and freeing up time for more important things.
To successfully use automation you need to have a good understanding of what your team does on a daily basis – which tasks they do that are repetitious and how they do them.
Ask your team ‘What task do you have to do consistently that is a drain on your time?’, you might just be surprised by what they say.
Whether you are in HR, Payroll, Marketing, or Sales there are automation techniques and software you can use to help streamline the amount of repetitive work your team need to do.
9. Invest in a Password Management System
This one is great as not only does it speed up logins and help your team with managing their never-ending list of passwords, but it also enhances security for your company.
A good password management software works across device platforms (Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android) and takes the pain out of remembering passwords.
The best part about password manager is that it allows your team to use strong passwords that aren’t easily guessed, which gives your business better protection.
10. Create a searchable FAQ repository
FAQs are amazing for cutting down on how those easy to answer questions you constantly get asked.
Whether the question comes from your staff about internal processes, or whether it comes from your customers via you website/chat, a good FAQs repository can take care of a huge amount of ‘I have a quick question about xzy.’
The key to a good FAQ repository is to make sure that it’s searchable, make sure it is up-to-date and make it easy to find aka clearly added to the menu of your website or intranet.
So there you have it, some simple tips that will 100% make your life easier and more productive.
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As always, get in touch with the team at Runtime IT today for all your technical support needs.
