Effective Ways to Combat Productivity Killers at your Workplace

“Productivity is the deliberate, strategic investment of your time, talent, intelligence, energy, resources, and opportunities in a manner calculated to move you measurably closer to meaningful goals.”

Dan S. Kennedy 

The same holds for the workplace. Organizations must take calculated measures to build a productive workplace. This will help improve project quality, ensure timely delivery, enrich the customer experience, and gain maximum profit margins.   

But, several intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as lack of motivation, personal issues, unclear roles, an inconducive work environment, etc., can disrupt workplace productivity. Therefore, organizations need to implement measures to mitigate these productivity killers.  

This blog discusses how to combat productivity killers at the workplace effectively and how SAVIOM’s advanced resource management software can help with that.   

But first, let’s identify the productivity killers in the workplace. 

The online tools and software support us with balancing our work from home and consist of productivity increment techniques with their design and customization mechanisms.

There are many variations of the tools on the market, according to your choice. But, you only need one specific for specific purposes.

So, is the list created below. 

The same holds for the workplace. Organizations must take calculated measures to build a productive workplace. This will help improve project quality, ensure timely delivery, enrich the customer experience, and gain maximum profit margins.   

But, several intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as lack of motivation, personal issues, unclear roles, an inconducive work environment, etc., can disrupt workplace productivity. Therefore, organizations need to implement measures to mitigate these productivity killers.  

This blog discusses how to combat productivity killers at the workplace effectively and how SAVIOM’s advanced resource management software can help with that.   

But first, let’s identify the productivity killers in the workplace. 

1. What are the common productivity killers in the workplace? 

Productivity killers can adversely impact project quality, cause delivery delays and decrease profit margins. Some of the significant productivity killers at the workplace are: 

• Ambiguities in roles & responsibilities  

• Unnecessary BAU tasks like unproductive meetings & emails 
• Sub-optimal utilization of resources 
• Non-conducive work culture 
• Absence of an IDP and upskilling opportunities 
• Ineffective rewards and recognition program 

• Micromanagement and lack of autonomy 

Now that we know about productivity killers, let’s look at how to combat them. 

2. Effective ways to combat workforce productivity killers  

Data shows, “The average employee is productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes daily. That’s only 31% of the average 8-hour workday.” Therefore, taking the correct measures is essential to maintain productivity. 

This section will discuss the ways to tackle workplace productivity killers. 

2.1 Clearly define key responsibilities to avoid role ambiguities 

Role ambiguities make it challenging for employees to align their efforts with expectations, resulting in constant revisions and changes. This can also lead to duplication of efforts and conflicts between team members. All these cumulatively hamper workplace productivity.  

For example, an IT firm is launching a new app and requires numerous developers and testers. If the developers and testers clearly know their tasks, subtasks, and the timeline for completing these activities, they can successfully deliver the project. This way, managers can increase productivity and maintain a streamlined workflow.    

2.2 Establish communication protocol to minimize unproductive meetings  

According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, meetings and other unproductive activities waste 40 to 80% of people’s time in the office.    

This data shows that unnecessary meetings without pre-decided agendas can waste employees’ productive time. Moreover, when resources that are not required are added to meetings, it consumes time that could have been spent on other critical tasks. Also, if a resource is constantly interrupted by notifications from unnecessary emails or text threads, it disrupts their productivity. 

Therefore, it is essential to develop a standard protocol for asynchronous and synchronous modes of communication. For instance, managers can schedule meetings for vital issues that require critical updates and only add critical resources to the same. For asynchronous communication, managers can circulate the meeting minutes to the team and add only the required people in an email or text thread. It will maximize employees’ productive work time.  

2.3 Ensure uniform work distribution for optimal utilization 

One of the significant factors that reduce productivity is uneven work distribution. Sometimes, managers overload critical resources and assign less work to under-skilled employees. These results in stress, burnout, disengagement, and low morale in the workforce. If this is prolonged, these resources lose motivation to work, making them unproductive.    

To mitigate this issue, managers should consider the availability of resources and their skills before allocation. Furthermore, they must monitor the utilization levels to prevent over/under-utilization. Finally, in case of burnout issues, managers can implement proper optimization techniques like resource leveling or smoothing to ease the workload. This will help maintain the resource health index, enhance workforce engagement, and increase productivity.  

2.4 Create an inclusive environment to eliminate biases & conflicts  

Differential treatment of employees based on gender, ethnicity, or race can create biases and favoritism within a team. As a result, employees feel undervalued and disconnected from the group. It will lower their morale and, in turn, affect workplace productivity. 

Thus, organizations need to foster a diverse and inclusive work environment that provides equal opportunities for every resource and allows a free exchange of ideas from multiple perspectives. In addition, they must also encourage a 360-degree feedback mechanism to create a positive work environment and improve productivity. 

2.5 Conduct upskilling and training programs for career development 

The absence of appropriate upskilling opportunities hinders resources’ professional growth and development and makes them feel dissatisfied at work. Furthermore, when resources are not given multi-faceted opportunities, work will feel monotonous and boring for them, resulting in disengagement and loss of productivity in the long run.  

To overcome this issue, organizations should provide resources with appropriate upskilling opportunities and create an individual development plan (IDP) for the career development of resources. This will create a multi-skilled resource pool, and employees will get the chance to work on diverse projects and explore new avenues. All these cumulatively will increase the job-satisfaction and enhance employee motivation, thus making the workplace more productive.  

2.6 Implement reward & recognition initiatives to boost employee morale  

According to Deloitte, “Recognition increases employee engagement, productivity, and performance by 14%”. This data shows the importance of recognition in enhancing employee productivity. However, if employees’ hard work and input are not acknowledged and rewarded, they will lose interest and disengage, thereby impacting productivity.  

To combat this, the management should have transparent accessing parameters and establish reward programs based on employee performance. Rewards can be formal such as an increment, bonuses, and extra leaves, or informal, like social media shoutouts, gift cards, etc. This way, other employees will also be motivated to improve their productivity, thereby creating a high-performance work culture. 

2.7 Empower employees to choose projects of their interest 

Micromanagement and lack of autonomy in the workplace are other obstacles that decrease employee productivity. When employees are under constant supervision and managers intervene in every minor detail, employees lose a sense of belongingness and trust. This, in turn, affects the team’s creativity, leading to low productivity. 

Therefore, employees must be allowed to choose projects of their interest. This will promote a culture of autonomy where employees can take complete responsibility for individual tasks. It will boost task ownership, empower them to perform to their full potential, and enhance workplace productivity.   

Now let’s see how resource management software can help implement these solutions efficiently and effectively. 

3. How advanced resource management software help improve workplace productivity? 

SAVIOM’s next-gen resource management software, with its advanced functions, can help optimize your workforce and ensure maximum productivity.  

• The software provides enterprise-wide visibility of resources. It also has advanced filters that help managers allocate the best-fit resources to a project, thus increasing productivity. 
• The tool offers real-time Business Intelligence, such as utilization reports and color-coded heatmaps. It can be used to ﷟HYPERLINK “https://www.saviom.com/blog/track-resource-utilization/”track utilization levels and mitigate over and under-utilization issues. One can also track work status and actual time spent through the forecast-vs-actual tim and mitigate over and under-utilization issues. One can also track work status and actual time spent through the forecast-vs-actual time report. In case of deviation, managers can intervene with appropriate guidance and course correction.In case of deviation, managers can intervene with appropriate guidance and course correction. 
• Next, SAVIOM’s ERM tool provides the unique feature of Open Seat, where the employees can express their interest. This increases employee commitment and engagement, creating a productive workplace.

Tools to Increase Productivity in the Office

Every tool has its purpose in real life and in the app world. Integration methods may confuse us with the tool’s objective, but you can figure it out when used.

1. timeTracko

Awareness about time management is crucial in business. Either employee or employer, all have to be careful with their time.

timeTracko provides the atmosphere to build better trust between employers and employees. It has time tracking and attendance management features that can be accessed as data by any authority. 

timeTracko tracks idle and active time and takes a screenshot of the employees’ screen, validating their labor. 

When there is a tracking system available, all employees will be conscious of the monitoring entity, which boosts productivity, and no one will waste time.

The analytics available from the software on every employee helps to organize a better team and increase work efficiency.

It has a 14-day free trial offer.

2. ProofHub

ProofHub is an all-in-one project management software that combines a variety of work
applications consolidated into one convenient package.
It focuses on three aspects of workplace communication, project management, teamwork,
project planning, and stakeholder participation. ProofHub allows you to plan, manage, and
organise your projects from beginning to end. It’s a centralised hub for all of your projects, tasks,
teams, and client interactions.

Most project activities are managed by ProofHub, whether it’s organizing projects according to
calendar events and milestones or debating essential ideas with your team.
ProofHub offers highly affordable pricing options as well with two main pricing plans for users:
● Essential plan is priced at $45/month, billed annually
● Ultimate Control plan is priced at $89/month, billed annually

3. LastPass

LastPass is the solution to your forgetfulness and panic related to passwords in business. It is the ultimate password management software.

You can add an extension to your browser and start using it. You will have to make a profile with a master password to its vault. The vault stores information about authentication for all the applications you use at work. 

You can access all your important passwords in case you forget.

Security is the major concern when it comes to passwords. There is multi-factor authentication with a strong authentication algorithm in action that keeps your information secure.

For 1 device the cost is null, and the most expensive offer is for $4, targeted for the entire family. It’s nearly free of cost.

4. Slack

Slack is for the organization of communication methods, between team members and other employees, even from other organizations. 

The best feature of Slack is that it lets us create our own channel and add intended people to the channel. Meeting and message transaction is very easy.

Slack removed the necessity of excessive use of emails among the workers in the business. You can share everything with messages instantly and smoothly.

The user experience of Slack is a comfortable and easily understandable format. First-timers won’t have a problem collaborating with the team. 

In business, communication and cost-effectiveness have prime value. 

Slack provides both of them. The free version has some limitations but provides much for your needs.

5. Grammarly

Formality and standards in the business documentation are the descriptions of your business class.

I am afraid it’s true, though it is hard to digest, people, do judge books by the cover in business. It may be because of moral ethics or for investment security, but the convention is required in business.

The quality of our texts in the document pleases the reader, and our success probability increases. Grammarly helps us with such tasks.

Grammarly is an outstanding tool for your draft correction. You can add the extension to your browser, and it will advise and help change text in real-time. You will be learning and completing your task.

Different emojis are embedded in the correction window, which will let you quickly relate to the advice.

Simple spellings and punctuation can be detected in the free version, but plagiarism, informality, and other mistake detection are only available in the premium package.

It’s for $12 per month if paid annually.

6. Pocket

Pocket is an application to organize articles, videos, and stories from other publications, apps, and websites for future references. We can customize our own space for getting daily web updates.

You can add the extension to your browser and add the pages that are open in your tab with just one click on the app icon. And, now they are accessible from any of your devices that are logged in to your account.

It’s really simple to use and effective, as web surfing wastes a lot of time which is bad for business. 

For personal use, the free version is enough, and it even works offline.

7. Google Suite

Google provides an entire toolkit for proper project management. You only have to have a Gmail account to use the services of Google Suite.

It costs nothing to use Google project management services, so it may be your first choice if you are thinking about collaboration online. There are likely different things you can do with Google.

Google calendar has features for providing time and date information to one another in a team. Docs have features for designing, writing texts, preparing data Excel sheets, and similar Microsoft office services. You have 15 GB of storage space on Google Drive, and you can access your files whenever you want.

It has communication and chat services which can be helpful in coordination while in project work.

Every service in Google is for making business better.  

8. Canva

Canva is a free design platform that runs in the browser and has proper usability. You can work on any design using it.

It helps to make video presentations, Instagram posts, posters, logos, infographics, flyers, and many other advertising mediums. There are many features complementing your everyday work with designing.

Free templates will boost your creativity with ideas, free images help you to illustrate your ideas, and easy drag and drop features help you with efficiency. You’ll save a lot of time and get the work done when you are using Canva. 

It has printing and delivery services. If you want something like t-shirts, ceramics ready at your doorsteps with the design engraved, you can make arrangements with the officials there. Most of the time, when events are near, and you don’t have enough time to do everything, you can make such an order. Obviously, in the area where there is a branch office of Canva.

The paid version of Canva has more access to the photos and inventory.  

9. Evernote

Evernote is the best note-taking app that is there for productivity and an organized lifestyle. We have many responsibilities throughout the day and nights of work-life. We need assistance with remembering our plans, and Evernote provides us with that assistant.

You can make task schedules, reminders, dates, and deadlines in the app. By syncing Google Calendar with your app, you can start time management right away.

It can scan your paper document and digitize it instantly. A lot of office time is saved when you can play with your documentation like this.

You can clip the web pages and save the content in a customized way, without ads, for future reference in your project. It saves time surfing the internet.

Evernote is used for personal schedules and work-life productivity. There are free plans and personal and professional paid plans, and integration with other software requires a paid plan.

Office work is efficient with Evernote in the app list of employees.

10. Asana

Teamwork is essential in the office because the collaboration between the members determines productivity. Team members can work together in Asana remotely.

Asana helps in organizing the task distribution in a team. Not only the organization and assigning tasks, but it also notifies about deadlines and priority.

You can track the progress of a certain team member, focus on specific tasks, and progress separately. Task distribution is planned considering every limitation.

Because of the shared workspace, there is a better transaction of data and information among the team members. Customizing and setting up workflow can be quickly done.

Basic features are free of cost. Premium and business paid plans are available, according to the news.

11. Dropbox

Walking with flash drives from here to there, every now and then is out of fashion and less efficient when we have the possibility of cloud storage of our important files and documents. We can access every work-related document from anywhere and from any device.

Dropbox provides the solutions for secure cloud storage of our data with the simplest user interface. Anyone can work with it without any specific training. 

We can share the documents with our team members when we have to collaborate on a project. 

You can integrate it with your other online project management tools and communication applications. You can even share the information with the clients keeping the official records confidential to any other third party.

Dropbox is a database for your work files or important personal files so that you shouldn’t baggage with a physical medium of data transference.

Office productivity lies within the efficiency and less hassle, and Dropbox is the solution.

It is a dedicated service-based application, so only paid plans are available starting from $15.

Conclusion

Canadian writer Robin Sharma says, “Don’t confuse activity with productivity. Many people are simply busy being busy.”  

So, adding more work will only make your workforce more occupied but less productive. When coupled with an advanced resource management tool, the above strategies can help you maximize workforce potential and lead to greater organizational success. 

There are options for how you are going to conduct your work. Options for tool selection, options for cost choices, and options to use it or not.

Seeing the time and demand of the present situation, it is wise to get used to modern online tools. 

Who knows, we are shaping the future to conduct business remotely, getting used to them. And, office productivity should be innately in you wherever you are carrying out your job.

Let’s get used to it.