If you run an office, you've likely considered how
productive the team is. Sometimes it's hard to tell. The soft chatter and
tapping of keys might indicate busy minds and bursts of creativity. At the same
time, it might just be the sound of people trying to stave off boredom. To
really understand how productive an office is, you have to look a little
deeper. The next time you scan the room or speak with employees, asking
specific questions and looking out for tell-tale signs can help.
Why is Productivity so Important?
Productivity is a crucial part of any office. That's because
a productive office is more profitable, as it consists of employees that don't
waste time or resources. Instead, they focus on their designated tasks,
producing the best work possible. That may be creating an end-of-year report or
coming up with a new strategic marketing plan that will see the business's
social media followers skyrocket in the following year. On the other hand,
without productivity, the team wastes time and money due to inactivity, slow
working, and poor management.
10 Tell-tale Signs of an Unproductive Office
Managers must fix unproductive offices quickly before businesses
start losing money. Unfortunately, it's not always easy. First, you must
understand whether or not your office is unproductive to begin with, and, if it
is unproductive, why. So, discover these ten tell-tale signs of an ineffective
office to see whether yours needs to change how it operates. Don't worry “ you
can also find tips on becoming more productive at the end!
1: Always Behind on Schedule
Do you often set daily, weekly, and monthly targets that
never get met? If so, the office likely isn't as productive as you might think.
While missing a goal because of a sudden overload of work or a busy week
shouldn't worry you, consistent failings to meet targets shouldn't be the norm.
If it is, it's a sign that you need to change something. Look at the general
office processes that happen each day. The chances are you can automate some of
them to free up time for meeting targets.
Job scheduling works particularly well for freeing time.
Using a job scheduling system means you can automate necessary processes
without any input from a human being. That includes team schedules, financial
reports, and payroll. As a result, employees within the office can focus more
on their more important tasks. If you think you'd like to incorporate job
scheduling in your business, visit https://www.jamsscheduler.com/job-scheduling/.
2: Too Many Meetings
Too many meetings in an office show a lack of control. It
also shows that too much time gets wasted inside the conference room. While offices can't eliminate meetings, as some are essential, that
doesn't mean they should eat up most of the day! If your office has too many
meetings that don't seem to go anywhere, consider why and how to cut back. You
might find that you can say the same thing in one thirty-minute meeting at the
end of the week as you did in five fifteen-minute meetings throughout the week.
3: Constant Complaining
As an office manager, you have likely heard your fair share
of complaints over the years. Maybe an employee got annoyed because their
holiday wasn't approved, or a team member complained due to an annoying
co-worker. While some complaints are necessary, if they happen too often and
for minimal reasons, it shows that the office is unproductive. In this case,
look at how the team collaborates and communicates to see if you can improve
anything. For example, introducing a meeting focused on employee feedback
once a month might help.
4: A Tired, Boring Atmosphere
Often, you can tell how productive an office is just by
stepping through the door. In some cases, you'll feel that 'buzz' indicating a
steady stream of productive work. In others, you'll hear heavy sighs, yawns,
and pens tapping. Rather than displaying a productive office, this indicates a
bored, weary one. In this kind of office, employees get little work done, and,
even when they do, it's not completed to its full potential.
5: Flustered Management
Office managers should oversee the goings on of the day
without getting too integrated into individual employees' tasks. A manager who
spends more time doing the team's job rather than managing it shows a poorly
organized system or even micromanagement. It also leads to high levels of stress for the manager. That isn't productive. To truly be an
effective office, managers should be able to leave employees to get on with
their tasks without too much interruption.
If you notice that most office managers spend their day
flustered and with too much to do, look at the workflows and see what is going
wrong. Talk with the managers, too “ they could shed light on why they're
taking on more than they should. In an ideal, productive office, managers
should prioritize overall management rather than individual tasks. After all,
no one should take on multiple jobs!
6: Consistent Customer Complaints
If your office consistently receives customer complaints, that's a good indication that staff members aren't as
productive as they could be. While one or two complaints shouldn't worry you,
more than that each week can cause real issues further down the line. You don't
want the business to gain a bad reputation! It's important to look closely at
these complaints, determining which ones reflect real issues within the office.
You might find one complaint gets sent in time and time again.
7: Too Much Mess
Is the office messy? Most employees struggle to work well in
a cluttered environment, which could hinder their productivity. Plus, the fact
that it's messy at all indicates that people aren't tidying their spaces
enough. Making the office tidier will help improve the environment while
encouraging staff members to take pride in their workplace. Dedicating fifteen
minutes per week to desk-tidying, and getting everyone on board, will make a
big difference.
8: No Mess at All
On the other hand, no mess at all can also show that the
office lacks productivity. That might sound ridiculous, but it's true “ a
sparkling clean office with zero clutter might warn that the only productive
activity occurring in the office is cleaning! Of course, you'll need to dig a
little deeper to know if this is the case, but it's still worth paying
attention to. After all, you'd rather your sales team spend energy on generating leads rather than making their desk perfectly spotless.
How to Make an Office More Productive
Does your office tick off too many of the above signs? If
so, it's time to shake things up a little. Instead of accepting an unproductive
office, you can make changes to help lift the team's spirits while producing
higher-quality work at a faster pace. Sometimes, all it takes is one little
shift to achieve your desired results. In no time at all, you can go from an
office filled with the sound of silence and yawns to an office with an ongoing
buzz that says, "we are working hard!". Not only will this make you
feel proud to have achieved, but this atmosphere will also impress clients and
other guests that visit the office.
Improve the Décor
It's incredible how much impact décor can have on a person's
mood. For example, a dull, drab office makes the team tired and bored. On the
other hand, a vibrant, exciting office
will have the opposite effect “ staff members will feel more lively and
enthusiastic throughout the day. Choose uplifting colors like green, yellow,
and red to boost the mood, and don't forget to beautify the area with some
artwork and plants.
Mix Up the Teams
Some people work well together; others don't. Your
unproductive office might be because your current teams don't mesh well
together. You might find that a little shake-up of the teams completely
eradicates your issue! Switch people around from time to time and watch to see
who works well together. Do it enough, and you might accidentally stumble
across a dream team that gets things done perfectly on time every time.
Set Daily Goals
Setting weekly and monthly goals is common practice for
offices. What about daily goals?
Assign daily goals to the entire team to introduce more focus into the office.
It will make their day more focused as they will know what they need to
achieve. Instead of employees pushing back their task list and scrolling
endlessly on social media, they will push toward reaching their daily goals. Do
this each day, and the office will become far more productive.
The first step to creating a productive office is knowing
you have an unproductive one. From there, you can do things to solve the
problem and create more efficiency, such as changing the décor, mixing up the
teams, and setting daily goals. Remember to ask the group how they feel about
their productivity levels, too “ you might receive an important piece of
feedback that helps you turn toward a more productive workspace.
