arm 735823 640Is your major concern with managing your people ensuring productivity?

Almost every manager in the country has the same concern.

Here are five ways to ensure that your team stays productive:

1. Review Performance often and openly

Performance management conversations can be stressful for both managers and employees, even when everything is going well. Nonetheless, reviewing performance more often and openly can go a long way towards taking the heat out of giving feedback. Employees can be concerned that their good work isn't being noticed, while managers can sometimes discover concerns and issues that would otherwise remain unnoticed.

Work is always most productive when performance is discussed more often. The golden rule for performance management is "no surprises", which can easily be achieved when you give open feedback often.

 

2. Take a Project-Management Approach

The changing nature of work is leading us all to become better project managers. There is true skill in allocating resources ahead of time; this is the challenge and the privilege of management. A stronger focus on planning will provide your workers with greater certainty, enabling them to allocate their own resources to better meet your expectations.

 

3. Trial, Tweak and Succeed

Trialling new work arrangements empowers managers to develop confidence that a particular worker can be productive. Without a designated review managers can quickly descend into lows of frustration, since their job performance is intricately linked with the outcomes achieved by their staff. A trial gives managers an opportunity to establish confidence that a new work arrangement is productive.

 

4. Use the right technologies to collaborate effectively

If your team is collaborative, establish a communication platform that is available to all so that each team member can see the reports come in. Your platform could be simple or more sophisticated: a weekly email or you could use a project-reporting program like Basecamp, Wrike or Asana. Email is generally a poor tool for collaboration. Use a collaboration platform instead.

 

5. One flexible worker? Everyone on board!

The biggest impact on a team's productivity is the ability of people to work well together under changing circumstances. Flexible work can often introduce a 'wild card' and yet it is increasingly a crucial part of the way we do business. Your team may need to improve its practices – for example, instigating a regular team meeting, project management software or establishing a regular time to catch up socially.

If you already have great practices, you're off to a flying start. If you don't, flexible work could be your invitation to get started, to the benefit of your whole business.

 

These five steps are by no means the only measure to ensure productive teamwork but they go a long way towards ensuring productivity.

What will you change today to keep your people working well?

 

About Nina Sochon
Nina Sochon is the CEO of Transformed Teams - a training, coaching and consulting firm creating incredibly successful professional teams. Receive your free Team Health Check for Conventional and Virtual Teams.