Create your very own Auto Publish News/Blog Site and Earn Passive Income in Just 4 Easy Steps
The opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Every company strives to maximize the productivity of its employees because it directly leads to better business results, so productivity is often viewed as something that management must control.
Typically, this manifests itself in various top-down initiatives and rules: leaders are inspired by the latest productivity trends or research results, quickly jump on the bandwagon and implement them throughout their organization.
Anyone who has gone through this process (myself included) will tell you that it rarely works. Why? Because productivity techniques and methods are almost never a one-size-fits-all solution. Productivity is a highly individual and context-dependent aspect of work that varies from person to person and role to role.
So, rather than imposing a blanket idea of what productivity should look like, I believe entrepreneurs should take the time to observe and understand their teams' work patterns and respond accordingly, engaging with each individual and nurturing their strengths.
That’s what I did – and here are five things I learned about productivity from my employees.
Related: Why Greece's six-day workweek could have a negative impact on productivity
1. Different people thrive at different times of the day
I wake up early, and in my formative years I was taught that this was an important trait of a hard-working person. It's still a popular statement that you find everywhere from LinkedIn posts to inspirational posters.
The reality is that people's productivity peaks at different times of the day. I might be most productive at 9am, others might get the most done in the afternoon when I'm running out of steam.
That's why I encourage every entrepreneur who has the opportunity to introduce flexible working hours, that is, to let team members choose when they start and end their workday. In our case, people can start anytime between 9 and 11 am, and this has had a positive impact not only on overall productivity but also on employee satisfaction.
It simply makes no sense to force people into unnatural work patterns.
2. The most creative time? Lunchtime
At DeskTime, we offer free lunch in the office, so the canteen is one of the few places where the team comes together regularly. Work is rarely the main topic of conversation, but when it does come up, challenges are tackled far more creatively and openly than in any meeting room.
Of course, it's not the food itself, but the informal atmosphere shared with the extended team. No hierarchy, no etiquette, and no pressure means ideas that might get lost in a meeting can surface unedited – and often they're just what's needed to make progress on a current challenge.
In other words, there are many ways to maximize productivity, and as a team leader, you should ensure that productivity flourishes in every possible way.
Related: 5 lessons I learned while growing my business from a startup to a 500-person company
3. Clear expectations lead to higher productivity
Productivity in the workplace is the effective use of time to solve a challenge, so it's no surprise that productivity suffers when employees have to spend a lot of time figuring out the tasks at hand. Simply put, if employees don't understand their tasks, they can't do them effectively.
Therefore, strong leadership paired with clear communication is one of the biggest drivers of productivity in a team. When everyone is aligned on goals and expectations and fully equipped to achieve them, the workflow runs much more smoothly.
No matter how much you focus on individual performance, you will not be able to improve it if the underlying system is not working.
4. Regular breaks increase productivity
I learned this from my team over a decade ago when I observed that the people who go out for coffee every hour, play foosball, and generally take breaks perform just as well—if not better—than those who don't.
Today, the benefits of breaks are scientifically proven. At DeskTime, we even conducted a study that found that the most productive people work for 52 minutes and then take a 17-minute break. This led us to coin the viral 52/17 rule.
Yet I still regularly encounter business leaders who seek to maximize their productivity by maximizing the time they spend on their computers. That's just not how people work.
Related: 5 Important Things Managers Can Learn From Their Employees
5. Choose your tools carefully
Almost every enterprise software promises more efficient ways of working that will lead to increased productivity. It's easy to get caught up in the hype, constantly rethinking workflows and fantasizing about how the technology can solve productivity problems and other challenges.
Don't get me wrong – that's exactly what a manager should do. But always remember that your goal is to minimize effort and friction for your employees.
It takes time to learn tools and resources and integrate them into existing systems. And while the tool takes over some processes for employees, employees now have to take care of the tool. Sometimes it's a compromise that only looks good on paper – if employees don't like using something, it can backfire no matter how many bells and whistles you leave out.
In other words, it's always worth getting the team's opinion on whether this productivity-enhancing technology actually increases productivity. And if not, then don't use it.
Create your very own Auto Publish News/Blog Site and Earn Passive Income in Just 4 Easy Steps
