Unfortunately, your employees may not always be as motivated as you are. As they don’t deal with the same pressures and expectations you put on yourself, they won’t always have the same mindset when it comes to productivity.

Note that this means you need to communicate your own pressures to them instantly and as forcefully as you can muster. There are other, more subtle tricks that top managers can implement in order to encourage a more efficient workforce. Here’s what we recommend you try.

Understand the needs of your employees

When running a business or managing a workforce, it’s easy to lose track of the challenges faced by other employees. If you’re concerned about efficiency, try looking at core business practices from a different angle – primarily, the perspective of your employees.

Identify where in their workload certain tasks could be tackled differently or delivered at a different time of day to save time. Being open with your employees about this new approach will show that you are listening to and looking to learn from them.

If certain individuals are more culpable, find out if anything outside of work is affecting their performance. There are simple time management tips that are widely available and can help individual employees who are suffering from stress or anxiety.

Let them learn by example

By experiencing the tasks and tests of your employees, you will have an idea of how much time they take to perform their duties.

Bear in mind that employees will experience productivity peaks of 90 to 120 minutes at a time, due to natural ‘ultradian’ rhythms that every person has. A time audit here, balancing productivity and expectation, will demonstrate what you believe they should be capable of in line with business goals and needs.

Now is your chance to show them how it’s done. Display your leadership skills, demonstrate responsibility, and establish that efficient new ways of working are possible.

Once your new plan is implemented, keep one step ahead by planning and delegating ahead of time. Your composed, prepared presence will be a big influence on your employees as they adapt to the challenge.

Continue to change with creativity

By keeping an open mind from here on in, you will also be able to keep your employees on their toes by continuing to identify new ways of saving time. You will also have noted any additional support that employees need – whether that support is technical, educational or emotional.

Consider any additional administrative, team-building skills or sales training that would be useful, and implement the skills or training as and when required.

From here, monitor how your employees’ efficiency improves, and set yourself regular intervals where you will look for new ways to further
improve time management. At Impel Dynamic, we are dedicated to helping you deliver the results that will continue driving your business forward.

Our courses are carefully designed to help you manage yourself, your employees and the time you spend working together. Contact us today to discuss how we can help your business to achieve maximum efficiency, productivity, and profit.