Many businesses (too many) concentrate on efficiency at the expense of customer service. We have all waited too long on a customer service call or had difficulty talking to a person we want to rectify a problem. If we mess with our customers, they may not return. And they will make negative comments to their friends -
Platforms for digital communication and collaboration (everything from e-mail through Google Docs to Zoom and Teams) can be very useful. The problem is that when organisations use several of these, individuals can lose focus and productivity. They find they can’t find messages or files because they can’t remember on which platform they originated. They end up
Those of us charged with improving productivity can sometime get anxious about our own, personal productivity. Are we working hard enough? If so, why isn’t the productivity of the organisation higher? These are the wrong questions to ask. Beating ourselves up is no way to a better future. We should ask: What have I done today? What
Productivity requires employees to be fully trained in all aspects of their work role, preferably including being aware of the organisation’s declared mission snd overall strategy. The problem for the organisation is that training can be expensive - especially in terms of taking an employee away from the workplace. One standard answer is “If you
Many of us have computers at home. We may use them for work-rerated tasks (especially now more of us spend at least some working time at home) or for social/leisure purposes. We tend to use a small set of applications on a regular basis - a word processor, a spreadsheet app, email, messaging, task management,
If you are doing some DIY work at home, say building a new cupboard, you might perform badly when compared to a professional joiner building the same cupboard. He is likely to build a higher quality cupboard and to build it faster. His productivity is obviously greater. Why does he outperform you? Probably for two main
Focus! Focus! Focus! That’s the advice we are given. If we focus, we can perform, we can achieve. But as with all such exhortations, such simplistic advice, such trite sayings, there is another side to examine. Those who don;t focus all the time, who don’t keep their mind fixed on the way ahead, on the goal,
There have been numerous reports lately of organisations cutting working hours to increase the engagement of employees, whilst paying the same salaries. This is said to improve productivity. I am somewhat skeptical of such reports - and of the projects that generate them. I am totally in favour of increasing the engagement of employees but this has to be done in
Story-telling is becoming recognised as a very effective means of communication. People react better to an interesting narrative than to a boring set of facts or exhortations. So, telling people your vision, and what you expect them to do to support it, is largely a waste of time. But tell them a story set in
If we give our staff a list of objectives to meet or tasks to complete, they will generally do so. After all, most come to work to do a good job and to please their employer. If we give them lots of tasks to do, they will need to prioritise. Their priorities will not necessarily be