How To Eliminate Distractions In The Office

For any business, productivity is extremely important. If you are a business owner managing a team, you will need to manage the productivity of your employees. The best way to do this is by eliminating distractions and bottlenecks in your processes. Below you will find a few tips on how to reduce the number of distractions at your office and make the most out of your overall team productivity, so you can carry on growing your business.

Productivity Tools

Whether it is your productivity or your team’s you would like to improve, you will need to get into the habit of block scheduling.

Your brain takes around 25-30 minutes to switch from one activity to the next, and this means that you will waste a lot of time and work at a reduced efficiency when you jump from one task to the next.

The good news is that you can add some simple tools to your computers and mobile devices, such as the Pomodoro widget that will help you and your workforce to focus on one task at a time.

Online Activity Monitoring

One of the things that can hinder your employees’ productivity at the office and jeopardize your profits are distractions from the internet. You will need to lead by example, if you want your employees to take the policies and procedures seriously.

Start by limiting your own online activities and social media use, and then you can ask your staff to do the same. You can get some controls and monitors installed on the computers, but ensure that you don’t violate your employees’ privacy.

Scheduling Meetings Online

Are you still trying to meet with potential suppliers and clients in person? It might be a good idea to qualify them first, so you don’t have to interrupt what you’re doing. You can save a lot of time and maintain your productivity if you don’t have to travel to meetings.

There are some great online collaboration and video conferencing programs you can use, and – unless it is an extremely important meeting – you can ask your clients whether they would like to catch up with you online.

Right Timing of Meeting

Meetings for teams and employees are extremely important, if you would like to ensure that you are all on the same page and area working toward the same goal. Cutting a working day in half can, however, reduce your overall productivity. Schedule the meetings for the beginning or the end of the day, so your employees and you can focus on the tasks that are at hand, instead of trying to switch back to their normal operation mode after a lunchtime meeting.

Online Learning Platforms

Training your employees is also important. You don’t have to do it in person, though. There are companies out there that will give you access to compulsory and accredited training programs, so your employees will be able to complete the courses when they have time, not when you schedule the training.

A little bit of flexibility at the workplace goes a long way.

Not to mention that training and testing your employees online will give you an instant snapshot of their development needs, their strengths, and weaknesses, so you can create a more effective career plan for them on an individual basis.

Limited Open Door Policy

Most democratic leaders believe in the open door policy. However, you might be already facing too much distraction. To ensure that you still get things done, you might want to limit the open door policy to one or two hours a day. This means that you will not schedule meetings for that time, and be ready to discuss the suggestions your employees come up with. You will need to learn to value your time as a manager, so you can be more productive and get things done, instead of dealing with ad hoc issues.

Deliver Advanced Training to Staff

The better you train your employees, the more capable they will be to solve problems without you. Developing your own leaders within the organization will save you money on recruitment, and ensure that you know the person who is going to work on your success on your behalf. Dropping some of the managerial hats will save you time and reduce your stress levels, while you can empower people in your organization.

Deliveries

Deliveries can also interrupt the normal workflow in your company. If you want one person to handle them, you can assign this to the employee at the lowest level, or whose work is flexible. Alternatively, you can rotate the task, or get  a receptionist to sort out the parcels and letters, so you can be more effective when going through them. Having a postal address or a PO box might also be a good idea.

Call Monitoring

One of the most annoying interruptions and distractions in business are cold calls. You cannot prevent them, however, you can get a software installed that will filter out some of the most known telemarketing companies. When you run a business, you can’t afford the luxury not to answer the phone, but you can always get a ringless voicemail when the whole department is at a training or a meeting, so you are not missing anything.

Time Management

Managing your time and your employees’ will pay off long time. Sit down with every individual in your organization, and find out what is holding them back from achieving a hundred percent productivity.

Chances are that some people might need their own office, so they can focus more on the task at hand. You don’t want your accountant to make a mistake just because there are too many people talking over their head. Ask their employees when they are the most effective, and revamp their daily schedule accordingly.

Productivity Measurements

There are some automatic productivity measurement tools you can use to ensure that you are getting a good value for your employees’ costs. You can compare teams and individual performances, so you will be able to find the bottlenecks in the system, and identify the processes that are holding your company back.

Adequate Safety Checks

Internet security and computer system protection are important, if you would like to make the most out of your workforce. It might be time to get an IT support company to have a look at your networks and recommend improvements and safety software, so you never have to deal with system disruption. An electrician can check your device safety, and a heating engineer can make sure that your HVAC systems are up for the challenge, no matter what the weather is like.

Access Control

Another disruption that can happen in larger companies is monitoring visitors, contractors, and suppliers. The good news is that you can install an access control system that will assign badges to visitors and monitor their location throughout the building. You will not need to get a person to chaperone all visitors and contractors, and you will even be able to control who has access to different areas and systems on your network. This approach will help you prevent security breaches while reducing the number of distractions.

Distractions can reduce your own and your employees’ productivity and make your profits shrink. If you want to use your workforce more effectively, it might be time to put some systems in place, so you can achieve more and grow your business faster. From controlling internet use to ensuring that your systems don’t cause you downtime, there are several things you can try to implement.

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