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APRIL 2011 | MY SETTINGS
60 Second Solutions
by Wood Personnel Services
 
Put an End to Employee Time Wasters
60 Second SolutionThe Challenge: Getting employees to get more done...every day!

Did you know...
  • Employees in small and midsize businesses spend 50 percent of their day on tasks like filing, communications and dealing with correspondence?

  • They spend 14 percent of their time duplicating information (forwarding emails or calling to confirm if a communication was received) and managing unwanted communications such as spam emails or unsolicited phone calls?

  • 36 percent of employees spend their time trying to contact customers, partners or colleagues, find information or schedule a meeting?
Source: 2010 survey by Webtorials and Fonality.

So what can you do to get your people to do more?

The 60 Second Solution:
Here are five ideas to help your team become more productive:
  1. Eliminate discomfort. Something simple, like upgrading the chairs in your office, might make a big difference. "86% of workers say they suffer discomfort from their current furniture and equipment." (Lesonsky). As a result, they are more apt to take more frequent and longer breaks.

  2. Track time. Ask your team to write down how they spend their day. They will be amazed at how much time they spend on the phone, answering emails, being interrupted and on other unproductive tasks. Help them identify what is stopping them from being productive and then come up with a plan to limit these distractions.

  3. Limit email. Email is the greatest time stealer. To improve productivity, turn it off. Don't allow people (unless they are in sales or service) to check email more than once or twice a day.

  4. Train. Training is a great motivator. Skill training can help your people to improve proficiency and productivity. Time management training can show people how to maximize the effectiveness of their work hours.

  5. Incentives. Look to create compensation and reward systems that recognize people for working harder and achieving more.
Source of information:
Survey Says: Employees Spend Half Their Days Doing Nothing
Rieva Lesonsky

Dear Reader,

Welcome Spring!

If springtime finds your company busy like the bees--we can help! I'd love to meet with you to discuss the challenges you are having with your workload, and help you develop some creative staffing strategies to get more done--and maybe even lower your labor costs! If you'd like to discuss ideas, please call me at 615-399-0019.

Regards,

Stephanie Baker
Wood Personnel Services


 
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