Businesses all over the world would love to increase their efficiency; who wouldn’t want to get more for their money?
Interestingly, strict rules or complicated new systems aren’t necessarily needed to boost productivity within the workplace. In fact, simple tweaks and office inclusions can make a whole load of difference…
Personal
Meetings – do you really need so many meetings, is a daily catchup essential? If you and six members of staff are having a half an hour catchup each day, that’s equal to 3.5 hours lost for the company – 17.5 hours over the week, and 885.5 hours over a year! That’s over 5 WEEKS of work.
Teamwork – encourage teamwork and collaboration where possible; this will improve motivation, co-ordination and team spirit, resulting in synergy.
Accountability – give employees accountability on projects or during day-to-day work. This motivates staff members as they know success is ultimately in their hands.
Other – be sure to give your employees regular training so that they feel valued and that they’re furthering their career, offer the ability to work from home on occasions and reward staff for achieving goals; either financially or otherwise.
Technology
Dual-screen monitors – did you know that adding a second monitor can boost productivity by 20-30%? This means that each member of staff using two monitors could produce up to 75.9 more days of work each year compared to using just one screen, wow!
Social media access – internal social media platforms are great for aiding communication and organisation, but there are even benefits to allowing access to external social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter; these can relieve stress and this boosts efficiency as a result.
Music – if members of staff are completing repetitive tasks then music is proven to boost productivity, and the same goes for sparking creativity. However, music should never be present when attempting to learn new things.
Atmosphere
Lighting – avoid dim lighting as this can cause tiredness and a lack of focus. However, also avoid overly-harsh lighting as this can cause eye strain and migraines.
Plants – research carried out by the University of Exeter found that plants can increase well-being by up to 47%, creativity by up to 47% and productivity up to 38%.
Scent – The aroma in an office can have a profound impact on the standard of work being carried out by employees. Lemon promotes concentration, peppermint invigorates the mind, lavender reduces stress and rosemary improves memory retention whilst fighting exhaustion.
Temperature – staff absenteeism increases by 19% and staff are 45% more distracted during the summer months. You can combat this by keeping your office cool, boosting attendance rates and productivity with good old air conditioning. Did you know? Mark Zuckerberg likes to keep the Facebook offices at just 15 degrees celsius! That’s between 5 and 11 degrees cooler than standard room temperatures.
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