Working environment and productivity
Three tried-and-tested strategies for workplace organisation and increasing productivity
Unproductive work comes in many forms: the team seems unmotivated in meetings, some employees are absent conspicuously often or, in general, the quality of work leaves a lot to be desired. We could go on and on with this list, and you surely have a few examples of your own from your business.
Much too often, people recommend general approaches like “aim for participation” or “improve communication”. But how can we take these suggestions and turn them into specific and workable strategies for increasing productivity?
To answer this question, we have to take a closer look at the factors that play a key role in influencing the productivity or your company’s employees:
The workplace
The design and quality of the physical working environment can raise or lower the productivity of your team.
The work processes
Optimised workflows at your company increase efficiency, allow for greater transparency and facilitate collaboration within your team – in short, productivity is supported.
The working atmosphere
A good company culture has an impact on the mentality of your employees as well as how they treat one another, and it is also reflected in the quality and productivity of the work within your company.
Positive changes in the areas mentioned can help you increase the commitment of your employees, raise the efficiency level of your team and, ultimately, also reduce absences. In this article, you will find a strategy with specific recommendations for improvement for each field that will help you implement new measures to increase productivity or expand the existing approaches at your company.
1. A comfortable working environment conducive to productivity
Let’s begin with the fundamentals: the properties of the direct spatial environment of your employees. What impact to factors such as noise, light and air quality have on the productivity of your team? Do the furnishings of your premises encourage them to be creative and productive?
- Very dark lighting conditions, poor air quality and high temperatures in the workspace, or high noise levels from production or storage facilities can not only be a disruption but – in some cases – also a hazard to health.
The best approach is to ask your employees directly which conditions they feel are a strain. Even seemingly unnoticeable noises such as frequent telephone ringing can be a significant distraction over time and have a negative impact on productivity. - An open structure of the working area with tables for group work promotes creativity and productivity. You don’t want to or can’t completely redesign your office?
Consider for instance creating a room specifically designed for interactive methods of decision-making or idea development and furnishing it with analogue presentation materials and comfortable seating. - Take a look at the cleanliness and organisation of the premises: a clearly structured and tidy workspace free from file folders lying around, stacked boxes and crumbs on the keyboards helps your employees focus.
2. Efficient and strain-reducing work processes
Organisational processes at your company impact the performance of your employees: the clearer and more structured the work processes, the more efficiently and productively your team can work.
- Improve the workflows in your business: uniform file structures facilitate the search for documents across departments, and standardised forms and approval processes enable the smooth and quick execution of daily tasks.
- Many tasks in procurement management or accounting can be simplified through the use of online tools and automated solutions, such as electronic procurement. Doing so saves time and resources and takes the burden off of your employees.
- In addition, simplify individual instructions which are repeated and use up a lot of time: guides and standardised training programmes are well suited for onboarding new employees or for safety briefings, for instance.
3. A positive and open company culture
Productivity, dedication and motivation are topics which are closely related and, in addition, are mutually dependent. Our last area of working atmosphere is thus likely the most complex topic and, at the same time, one of the most important for achieving an increase in productivity.
- A good work–life balance and a right of co-determination when it comes to working hours increases motivation and therefore also productivity. Give your employees the opportunity to flexibly determine their working hours.
Offer the option of working from home on certain days or allow your team greater flexibility when it comes to lunch breaks: for example, those who would like to take a longer break one day could then come to work earlier the next day. - Good communication is quite an all-encompassing topic. As a general recommendation, we would suggest the following: regularly set aside time and space to talk about even seemingly “unimportant” everyday office topics to encourage exchange.
In meetings, make sure to communicate positively: stay away from assigning blame and bringing up old problems from the past – instead, focus on constructive recommendations for improvement with a view to the future. - The health of your employees is not limited to the aforementioned physical factors. Rather, it also relates to mental aspects such as stress level. The tricky part is that too much as well as too little stress can lower a person’s productivity. So you should know your team really well in this regard: who has been doing the same tasks for a long time and could use a jolt of motivation from a tight deadline? Who is still relatively new in their department, has a lot to learn and could use a little relief?
Stay on the ball: increasing productivity is a continuous process
Good employee participation, efficient workplace organisation and increasing productivity are topics whose implementation is often slow-going. Don’t let yourself get discouraged by the sheer number of possible (and often necessary) measures.
A good approach is to first choose the goals which can be most easily realised. Then set deadlines for more difficult areas and consider which short-term measures you want to gradually implement to achieve your more complex long-term goals.
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