Productivity Formula
How to calculate productivityThe 80-20 productivity formula - If you communicate regularly to a broad base of staff within your corporate structure, then you are most likely focusing on the best ways to impart ways of increasing productivity to your managers and key employees. We're going to take you back to school for a minute to remind you about two basic management productivity ideas.
First, think way back to the Pareto principle to calculate productivity. This is a productivity formula that states 80% of productivity will come from 20% of your staff. Actually, in case you were snoozing in class that day, it proposes an 80-20 productivity formula no matter what the category; for Vilfredo Pareto, noted Italian economist of the early 1900s, he noticed that 80% of his peas came from 20% of his peapods. And a principle was born.
In the workplace, the 80-20 rule - as it has come to be known - should give you some ideas for motivating your staff. Remember that people peak at different times of the day. And they do best at different things.
How do you use this to boost productivity?
Alternately try to meet with your employees on a regular basis in one-on-one sessions. Announce the sessions to all employees in advance so that nobody feels intimidated when his or her meeting time comes. Use these sessions to interview your staff about how they feel things are going. Ask each person what his/her favorite task is. Ask what their least favorite task is. Ask what time of the workday he/she likes best and least. Ask what task performed by someone else he would most like to try.
These interviews form the basis for transactional communications from which you will cull ideas for swapping out tasks among various staff. A natural byproduct of this will be a boost in the productivity of each individual. Remember that the task hated by one person is the assignment prized by someone else. The SuccessFactors HRIS is extremely effective for this purpose as it can greatly increase productivity by allowing team leaders to easily see their employee's interests and then assign the most effective individual to a project.
If someone is a so-called morning person, schedule him for a late lunch, and vice versa. Assign him to work on mundane tasks when his energy level is low. This should be when he answers email or makes routine phone calls. When his biorhythms are at a peak, he will work vigorously on vital projects that require his creativity.
Put your managers to work on developing productivity formulas for all departments using this 80-20 rule.
Your second trip back to school is a reminder about putting Abraham Maslow's management theories to work. You learned years ago that you can stimulate creativity by elevating people from their ordinary places in the corporate structure. In the actual workplace you can use this theory as a proactive exploration of people's values and skills.
It becomes an interactional communication that results in a genuine productivity formula. For example, you will see that some people thrive in the structure provided by a project management schedule. Others need the creative dynamics of a change team.
Maybe this is better described if you compare your fiscal people with your marketing staff. Some people think of it as right-brained versus left-brained, creative versus logical. One of these types is not better than the other; you need both of them for an effective formula.
You get the idea; one goal could be to combine these two effective management techniques by incorporating the change team's reports into the project management team's schedule. If you don't already have project management software (just one of the most popular personal productivity software), you can go to BrightHub.com and search for Excel project management charts in their Media Gallery. Use a free templates weekly planner. Teach someone how to create a Gantt chart by having them watch it on YouTube.
Ultimately, you are going to put Pareto's and Maslow's theories to work by:
- Communicating with people about their job preferences.
- Assessing their biorhythms and personality dynamics.
- Respecting their contribution within the corporate structure and culture.
- Combining productivity formulas-such as utilizing project management staff and change teams-for better levels of employee engagement.
Goal Setting Suggestions in the Workplace
Goal setting suggestions, tips and techniques for the workplace below give ideas for setting and managing your goals.
When designing a communication campaign or behavior change strategy goal and objective setting are essential. Click here to see the difference between goals and objectives. They identify the aim or end target and purpose of the campaign. They should be measurable, defined simple steps that will fulfill the specific goal.
Setting goals are important for all workplace activities. The workplace can be very hectic and sometimes it might be difficult to get things done. There is a rather simple solution to completing assignments. The best thing to do is set some goals. It might be a bit difficult at first, but we have a few goal setting suggestions for you that you will be able to use.
First of all you must figure out what it is you need to do. This is extremely important because once you know what these things are, you can organize them by their priority level. You should complete your work in the order of what is most important, to what is least important.
If you have work that does not need to be completed in a single day, you can put that work on the back burner, but set a time for which you would like to have it completed. Once you have set that time, you must do everything you can to meet your deadline.
These are the goal setting strategies that you need to employ in your everyday work life. By doing this you will make your life much easier and your productivity will increase. If you are self employed, you will find that this form of goal setting gives you more free time at the end of the day. Yes, it might be difficult at first, but later on as you adjust to your new routine, things will become easier and you will be quite happy that you made this change.
There are many other great examples of goal setting, such as organizing meetings and setting goals for office equipment to buy. Doing this will help your finances as well, so make sure you take it under consideration. Sit down, and make a list of your priorities. Soon enough you will have a complete list of the things you need to accomplish, and you will be well on your way.
Free Templates Weekly Planner - A Key to Stress Relief
Making use of free templates weekly planner spreadsheets can increase your productivity. How many times have you said to yourself that there just isn't enough time in the day? Most people feel overwhelmed by everything that they have to do from day to day. It's just part of our fast-paced modern lifestyle, right? That is partly true, but in most cases those who are constantly forgetting things and feeling stressed out are not using weekly planners!
Perhaps it seems like writing things down in a weekly planner would take time away from doing things that need to be done, but it's actually the opposite! Those who take those few moments to jot things down into a weekly planner (there are free templates weekly planner available for this) do not forget things, are more organized, and are therefore more efficient and productive from day to day!
Weekly planners come in a variety of sizes and styles from small ones that slip into your pocketbook to those that look like professional file-sized binders. When you find the perfect one for your lifestyle you will never have to waste time trying to remember everything that needs to be done. You will simply look at your planner and know exactly what needs to be done on any given day of the week or even the month!
Most people waste a ton of time trying to remember things or rushing around because they forgot something...all of that is eliminated with a weekly planner! It's simply your key to stress reduction.
Learning the Computer Keyboard
4 Tips on how to go about Learning the Computer Keyboard
As the computer and Internet are likely the most important tools used in an office, computer keyboard education is imperative for much workplace communication. Tasks where keyboarding skills are needed include when sending and receiving email, faxes and memos, as well as when communicating with customers who visit the company website, and when advertising and researching online.
Try these simple tips to teach employees the computer keyboard.
- Create a list. Keyboard shortcuts can save a lot of time. Give each employee a list of keyboarding shortcuts that can be useful to getting work done more efficiently. For example, keyboarding shortcuts are available for highlighting text and creating new documents.
- Offer a class. A computer keyboarding class can be offered during a training session for the entire office using an experienced trainer or can be taken at community colleges for individuals with little keyboarding knowledge.
- Go online. Online, a large number of websites have free lessons and tutorials covering everything from different keyboard layouts, to improving typing speed to learning 10 key.
- Provide a refresher. With advances in technology and the types of computers and keyboards offered, employees may have basic knowledge but not understand the newest developments. Interactive refresher courses and tips on learning the computer keyboard offered online or through software can help employees catch up.
Printable Reward Charts
Printable Reward Charts - Rewarding staff campaign idea
Operation HiLife CampaignObjective
Increase sales and push new business through during the period of the competition.
Campaign outline
Target audience had a target for June when they could win something, thereafter the targets are cumulative. If the provinces don't make target in June they can still make their cumulative target in September. If they make 80% of cumulative target before August cutoff they will receive $3 000. If they reach target on 17 September, but didn't make June target they will get the target prize of $5 000 plus an additional $1 000 (equivalent to what they would have got had they reached target in June).
The Provinces have each been given $500 to promote the campaign
Theme and imagery
Live the high life, with high flyers. This will be in a diary format over the period in the life of a high flyer - the high flyer will write from different parts of the world eg Monaco for the Grand Prix etc. Printable reward charts will be used to record progress.
Target audience
Provincial Managers, Sales Managers, Brokers and Assistants (360 in total)
Campaign duration 4 months
- Newsletter
To include product updates, message from the manager and a map with the position of the high flyer on the route.
It will include up to date happenings and tips.
This will be divided over the four months.
Newsletters will go out with every set of results.
A paper newsletter will be sent with the final results in September. Printable reward charts will be used to record progress - Post cards
2 postcards will be sent, these will look handwritten and will have postage stamps and franking from foreign destination. They will include diary type elements as part of happenings in the life of a high flyer. - Flash email of short tips or messages from the management monthly - in the form of a “did you know”.
- Lumpy package with printable reward charts
- Red Bull to keep your energy up for the high life.
This will be sent in bubble wrap with a tag with message. - Application card on which they have to substantiate why they should be the winner of a chauffeur for a day (including chauffeur and vehicle).
Get management to address the situation. "We know this is a trying time for all of us, we just want you to know that we care..."
Step 1:
Letter from each of the four managers to their team addressing concerns and encouraging an 'open door policy'.
Step 2:
Poster in the lift, toilets, on bulletin board. Poster will be like an eye chart with wording "change your point of view, look on the bright side" spaced out to look like eye test letters, an image of brightly colored glasses will be placed under the chart. It will be accompanied by a positive motivational saying.
These can be cut out and stuck on as a 3 d element. (You would need to do that on your side as the budget is too limited for us to do it).
Step 3:
Desk drop - cool mint gum - with message "change your point of view, here is something to chew on."
It will be stuck on a card that has some motivational messages attractively presented with imagery of the managers on interesting bodies!
Step 4:
SMS each day for a week of a positive motivational saying, to be sent from each relevant manager's phone.
Step 5:
Email with eye test chart imagery and variation of the motivational message.
Step 6:
Shiny, fresh red apples for the department - "keep a fresh perspective".