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Marissa Brassfield
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Posts by Marissa Brassfield
5 Ways a ROWE Can Supercharge Office Productivity
Mar 13th
A results-only work environment, often shortened to ROWE, may be the secret to supercharging productivity in your office. This management strategy was originally developed by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson for Best Buy; the two have since formed the CultureRx consulting group to help U.S. businesses transition to a ROWE.
As its name suggests, a ROWE focuses solely on results or output, not time spent at the office. This strategy is a bit different than telecommuting, flex time or working from home in that ROWE employees essentially have free rein to do as they please — so long as they complete their duties capably and in a timely fashion. That means traditional ideas of core hours, vacation time and sick days are all thrown out the window.
Here are five ways instituting a ROWE can boost your team’s productivity.
1. Employees schedule vacations more thoughtfully
Because a ROWE doesn’t require employees to get vacation blocks approved, they’re incentivized to take time off as their workload allows. “When you consider when you can best take vacation as opposed to when you must, you end up able to take time without affecting performance,” said Consumer Marketing vice president Michael Mahoney in an interview with Fast Company.
2. Naturally eliminate unnecessary meetings
In 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that U.S. businesses waste $37 billion annually on unnecessary meetings. Nothing eradicates such meetings faster than in a ROWE, where employees simply won’t show up if a meeting doesn’t help them complete their objectives. Michael Reynolds, president and CEO of SpinWeb, said that making meetings optional forced his team to essentially justify the purpose of and goals for each meeting with a clear agenda, instantly making them more effective.
3. Increased employee engagement and retention
CultureRx reports that its ROWE teams have up to a 90 percent decrease in voluntary turnover rates. Businesses with high turnover rates must constantly expend resources on hiring and training new employees, which hampers efficiency. Engaged employees are not only less likely to leave their jobs, they’re also far more likely to produce good work efficiently and consistently than disengaged workers.
4. Reduced employee stress
Nothing sinks productivity faster than excessive stress. A study published in the December 2011 Journal of Health and Social Behavior found that employees who worked in a ROWE got over an hour extra of sleep each work night and reported less stress, fewer conflicts between work and family, and decreased psychological distress and other emotional signs of burnout. When employees are happy and healthy, they can focus on doing their best work.
5. Forces clear communication
Managers and employees alike must clearly communicate priorities, expectations and objectives to sustain day-to-day business in a results-focused office with optional meetings. Managers must also trust employees to spend their time wisely and outline clear consequences for missed goals or project milestones. These communication measures naturally promote efficiency by eliminating wasted work due to misunderstanding.
A ROWE may not make sense for every industry or business. For many traditional offices, however, this breakthrough model can unlock unparalleled levels of team productivity, employee engagement and organizational efficiency.
(Photo credit: Business meeting in an office via Shutterstock)
5 Productivity Lessons From the Millennial Work Style
Feb 15th
Gen Y workers are often maligned in the business world for their entitlement or self-interest, but there are several productivity lessons to be learned from the millennial work style. Companies like General Electric, Cisco Systems and Ogilvy & Mather have already leveraged younger workers’ knowledge through reverse mentoring sessions, in which junior employees teach upper managers and executives about social media, the Internet, workplace culture and even management practices.
Read on for a handful of productivity-centric lessons inspired by the unconventional work style my millennial peers and I have adopted.
1. Embrace experimentation
Millennials are notorious early adopters, eager to explore new tools or experiment with different ways of performing standard tasks. Many of us spent our grade-school years blogging, instant messaging, texting and playing video games to express ourselves and blow off steam; as young adults, we proactively seek out software, apps and daily practices that facilitate our “work hard, play harder” mentality.
To leverage this entrepreneurial attitude, try out different work “shifts,” research and begin using a new productivity tool, or pick the brain of a colleague you admire. Strive to innovate and hone your existing workflows with the goal of creating new, more effective routines.
2. Be self-centered, in a good way
A common criticism of Gen-Y workers is that they’re self-centered, but this isn’t necessarily a negative trait when it comes to productivity. Millennials focus on their specific roles and responsibilities, execute them, and move on to the next task. Completing to-dos and getting work done is more important to them than being recognized in the office as the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. Whereas their coworkers might aspire to be the “go-to” person in the office ready to dispense advice and next steps, many millennials prefer to be recognized as the top performer.
Channel this focus on self over others when managing your priorities and workload. Evaluate how taking on additional projects or delegating tasks would influence your happiness and career advancement, and do your best to avoid sacrificing the former in pursuit of the latter.
3. Learn from failure
Video games teach children that failure presents an opportunity to learn and try new techniques; combine that habit with the fearlessness of youth, and it’s no surprise that millennials aren’t as apprehensive of failure as their older coworkers might be. We learn by doing, and are okay with sacrificing efficiency in the name of learning a new skill.
While you may never shake your fear of failure, learn to recognize it as a chance to improve, learn and ultimately succeed in your future ventures.
4. Capitalize on instability
Considering the dismal economy, skyrocketing divorce rates, real estate crisis and credit crunch, millennials haven’t had much occasion to embrace stability in adulthood. We’ve had to hustle and become proficient at a variety of skills to compete in a rapidly changing job market.
In a piece called “Generation Flux” for Fast Company, 26-year-old Pete Cashmore, the CEO of Mashable, touched on the need to embrace change and capitalize on instability. “I don’t have any personal challenges about throwing away the past,” he said. “If you’re not changing, you’re giving others a chance to catch up. Even if you know everything about a certain market now, in a few years you’re going to have to start from scratch like everyone else.”
Recognize that today’s innovation-driven business environment offers opportunities to revolutionize your work habits, proficiencies and attitudes toward work. Think of this change positively. “The typical mindset understates the risk of not changing and overstates the risk of change,” added Cashmore.
5. Motivation matters
Gen Y workers thrive on continuous feedback and mentorship. It’s easy to dismiss this behavior as needy or lazy, but positive mentors and team-oriented leaders give younger workers three essential things they need to stay engaged at the workplace: context, collaboration and communicated expectations.
Molly Graham, a 27-year-old human resources professional at Facebook, spoke last fall at the HR Technology conference about the positive side of millennials’ entitlement complex:
Entitlement means someone who thinks they have a right to something, a right to know, a right to be part of a process, part of decision making. We have a different word for this. We want to build a company where people believe they have a right to something — we call it ownership. Everyone should feel like it’s their company, they are responsible for the success of the company, for their decisions… This, for us, is a good thing.
Channel millennials’ natural inquisitiveness by nurturing relationships with mentors and other superiors. If you feel a strong sense of loyalty to your boss and always understand the larger implications of your work, you’ll develop intrinsic motivation that incentivizes you to work more efficiently and effectively.
Conclusion
Despite these productivity advantages, millennials still have much to learn from older generations in the working world. The ideal office scenario enables employees of all experience levels to learn from each other’s strengths through regular collaboration and mentorship.
(Photo credit: Victor1558 via Flickr)
10 Weekly Ten Minute Practices to Boost Work Productivity
Jan 31st
Let’s face it: You can’t overhaul your personal efficiency overnight.
You can, however, boost work productivity over time by adopting one or more of these weekly 10-minute practices. If you’re feeling especially ambitious, try at least one each day.
1. Declutter your inbox
Dedicate 10 minutes each week to unsubscribing from useless or unwanted emails. They come in all forms: newsletters you never read, redundant notifications from social media sites (do you really need to know if someone new is following you?), daily-deal emails and marketing emails from online stores you’ve patronized in the past.
Eventually, you’ll have pared your inbox down to a more manageable size, giving you more time to attend to relevant emails.
2. Meditate
One of the best ways to boost your productivity at work is by recharging through meditation. While meditation is best when you have ample time to relax, you can still reap its benefits by sneaking away for 10 minutes during your workday. Find a quiet spot where you can close your eyes, breathe deeply and clear your head: a quiet stairwell, an empty conference room or even a nearby park will do just fine.
3. Weekly wrap-up
End your workweek with a quick self-audit. Set yourself up for success on Monday by jotting down a list of projects and to-dos to tackle when you head back into the office. Take a moment to also note some of the successes and shortcomings you encountered, and learn from them week over week. What worked? What didn’t work? To amp this up further, end each workday with this practice.
4. Take a walk
Once a week, take 10 minutes out of your lunch break and use it to exercise. Walk around the block, or take the stairs to your office instead of the elevator. If you opt for take-out, select a spot that’s 5 minutes farther away, or take the long way to your usual restaurant. Like meditation, exercise resets your brain for creativity, ultimately boosting your work productivity.
5. Race the clock
Set a timer for 10 minutes and do as much work as you can on a big, imposing project you’ve been putting off. Alternatively, knock out several smaller tasks. Force yourself to avoid distractions during this 10-minute burst to really pump up the intensity. These short yet intense work periods can help you build the momentum you need to take control of your to-do list.
6. Do nothing
Follow up an intense 50-minute work period with 10 minutes of unrestricted time. Take a walk around the office, catch up on your favorite blogs, play on Twitter or just do some quick stretches at your desk.
7. Clean your workspace
A clean, organized and clutter-free work area minimizes distractions that can hamper productivity. Take a few minutes at the end of each week to eliminate the unnecessary and give yourself a clean slate on Monday.
8. Plan a project
Before you begin a new project, spend 10 minutes creating a mind map or outline to focus your efforts. This process will let your unconscious mind marinate on your next steps and keep you on task while you’re working on said project.
9. Compile boilerplate text
We all work with content that can be made into boilerplate text, whether it’s HTML code, canned email responses, blog post templates or custom signatures. Use a tool like TextExpander or Texter to create shortcuts for these blocks of text. Bonus: TextExpander also automatically corrects common typos as you write.
10. Reward positive behavior
Top up your emotional tank by recognizing and rewarding the good things you do at work. Perhaps you helped a coworker diagnose and solve a problem, or a blog post you wrote got more comments than usual. Don’t rely on your boss noticing this and complimenting you; instead, remember each “win” as self-motivation for later.
Put together, all of these practices will drastically improve your productivity if you dedicate a few minutes out of your day or week to follow them.
(Photo credit: Ticking Clock via Morguefile)
5 Workplace Strategies to Supercharge Team Productivity
Jan 24th
Extraordinary management requires extraordinary thinking, and these creative workplace strategies are proven to supercharge team productivity over a sustained period. The following are innovative ideas used in companies all over the world to help high-performance teams crank efficiency up a few notches.
1. Schedule a FedEx Day
Australian software company Atlassian holds what it calls FedEx Days once per quarter to drive employee motivation and productivity. During these intense 24-hour periods, employees can work on whatever project they want so long as it doesn’t fall under their normal job responsibilities. The only other stipulation is that they must present their completed project to their colleagues the next day.
Atlassian cranks things up even further by enabling employees to vote on each other’s projects, giving an award to the winner and, in some cases, green-lighting top ideas for full production. The influence of FedEx Days on employee motivation and overall productivity is so strong that author Daniel Pink recommended it in his book “Drive.”
2. Install a Love Machine
Second Life founder Philip Rosedale improved company culture by incentivizing employee recognition with the Love Machine. This series of video monitors lets workers leave short messages for specific individuals to recognize work well done, help given and other timely accolades. This system, as Rosedale explained, enables teammates to “tip each other for good work, and also to keep a very high degree of awareness about what everyone was doing, even as the company grew.”
3. Transition to a ROWE
Not all employees can function at their peak during the 9-to-5 workday; similarly, not all employees can focus in an office environment. A ROWE, or a results-only work environment, enables workers to essentially set their own hours and work wherever they feel most comfortable. Employees are measured solely on results, and preset quotas of vacation days, sick days or core hours are all thrown out the window.
The ROWE concept was devised by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson of CultureRx for Best Buy; CultureRx has since helped 40 more U.S. companies transition to this innovative workplace strategy. Michael Reynolds, the president and CEO of SpinWeb, saw productivity double after his company enacted a ROWE.
4. Let Employees Drive Bonuses
Another Second Life workplace strategy Rosedale revealed is that of employee-driven bonuses. Each teammate gets $1,000 per year to allocate to coworkers as he or she pleases. This peer performance review takes the onus of dividing bonuses away from managers, who may not be as closely connected with office leaders and peak performers.
5. Adopt “Thinking Days”
Barry Glassman of Glassman Wealth Services doesn’t send his employees to pricey conferences; instead, he sends them home for a day once per quarter, with pay, to watch presentations on Ted.com and brainstorm ideas for the business. Glassman also dedicates a half-day each quarter to an all-staff meeting in which each employee presents his or her favorite Ted.com presentation.
Glassman reports that Thinking Days have supercharged team productivity and new ideas. They’ve also raised employee morale, kept teams connected and exposed workers to a bevy of keynotes from the world’s top thinkers.
The GWS Thinking Days also play on a phenomenon studied by Simone Ritter and his fellow researchers at the Radboud University Behavioral Science Institute: the role of the unconscious mind in creative output. Ritter asked two groups of university students to devise solutions to an everyday problem. One group spent 2 minutes on a distracting task before compiling their answers, while the other group got to work immediately.
Both groups came up with about the same number of creative ideas, but the first group was far better at picking its most creative idea than the second group. This pattern held up in subsequent experiments, leading the researchers to believe that the unconscious mind helps us determine which of our ideas are worth pursuing.
Conclusion
One of the toughest tasks managers have is fostering employee productivity and efficiency over an extended period. These strategies promote a productive office culture that organically motivates workers.
(Photo credit: Closeup portrait of group of business people with hands together via Shutterstock)
5 Management Practices That Kill Employee Productivity
Jan 20th
Effective leaders set their teams up for success. This requires that they avoid any management practices that could potentially kill employee productivity. Inept leadership styles come in all flavors, from the disorganized or forgetful boss to the extreme micromanager. Here are five practices that are guaranteed to sink your workers’ efficiency — and the alternatives to supercharge it.
1. Fearmongering
Fear is a powerful motivator, but managers who regularly threaten job security and employees’ livelihood run the risk of paralyzing their team. Employees who are afraid to lose their job may bow under pressure, waste company time looking for jobs “just in case” or gossip with coworkers — all activities that kill morale and decrease productivity.
Instead, cultivate a culture centered on trust, respect and engagement. Such a work environment encourages growth, learning from one’s mistakes and effective communication. Engaged workers who aren’t afraid of being fired can relax and focus on doing their best work. Similarly, disengaged workers can destroy team morale from within.
2. Calling employees out in public
Managers should praise publicly and counsel privately. Criticizing a team member in front of his peers is embarrassing for him; it also has an awkward, demotivating effect on his coworkers, who may now be fearful to make a mistake.
If you need to counsel an employee, do so in a way that won’t attract attention or distract others. This is especially important in offices with glass-walled meeting rooms or open floor plans, where it’s easy for others to see and hear sensitive meetings.
When I worked in an open-plan office, I’d initiate all one-on-one “development” meetings with an instant message or a short email that explained why I wanted to speak with the team member. Then I’d approach the employee and say something like, “Hey, let’s go take a walk. Will you be free in 10 minutes?” We’d then head to a nearby park, where we could speak freely. Because the company had cultivated a culture of trust, feedback and engagement (see No. 1), employees learned to look forward to these “walks” as opportunities to improve.
3. Avoiding project ownership
Managers who hold the strings in every regard aren’t leaders — they’re tyrants. Employees who are mere pawns can quickly become disengaged; they have little incentive to go above and beyond in any particular task.
Employees who have ownership over a project are emotionally vested in its success. That small measure of recognition builds accountability. An employee who is the point person for a project may go above and beyond to coordinate his teammates, meet project deadlines and communicate their progress with you.
4. Ignoring top performers
What practices separate your peak performers from your average performers? Ineffective leaders micromanage top performers or ignore their prowess altogether, essentially getting in their way or demotivating them.
Good managers recognize and acknowledge high-performance workers. Give these team members responsibilities that best leverage their skills. Meet with these individuals and ask what tools they need to do their very best work. Try to understand their work processes and how they may differ from the rest of your team.
5. Running ineffective meetings
Managers love meetings because it enables them to catch up on projects and disseminate instructions to key team members all at once. Many employees hate meetings because they’re poorly managed, irrelevant to their work responsibilities or held at a time of day that isn’t conducive to a long attention span. This disconnect between managers’ needs to stay “in the loop” and employees’ distaste for meetings can add up to energy lulls and decreased productivity.
Try these tips to running effective meetings to alleviate productivity loss in your office.
Conclusion
In an office setting primed for productivity, every leader would intuitively know how to manage their teams to peak efficiency. By avoiding these management practices, managers will be five steps closer to that optimal environment.
(Photo credit: Businessman Office via Shutterstock)