[oc_spacer height=”15″]Today efficiency is demanded everywhere. If you enter “Increase staff productivity“ in the search engine of your choice, then within 0.34 seconds around 15,500 hits are generated. You can find everything there – scientific publications from the field of work psychology, advice for managers and senior executives or self-help literature for desperate office workers. The three best tips, five simple rules, the ten best software solutions – everything increases productivity. Even nuts. But this is not what this is about. Clear work assignments, stringent action and the advantages of well thought through software (which also has to be used) increase not only productivity, but also take the pressure off employees. Relaxed teams, which do not vegetate at the limit of their performance, are in any case more productive.
Interconnected Thinking of Work Processes and Increasing Staff Productivity through Preparatory Work
How can you design work processes more efficiently and sustainably raise staff productivity without increasing work load and pressure? First of all, it is much more pleasant and efficient to work when you not only know your own work step, but also understand the objectives of the current project or task. Those who can see how they personally contribute to the overall success of work are completely different to a ‘lone fighter‘. These team members are able to coordinate their work processes with each other. But this only works with good communication. Task areas have to be clearly communicated both vertically as well as horizontally and differentiated against each other. It also helps when teams regularly give feedback to each other. Duplicate work is avoided, important tasks are completed first, people pay attention to one another and the overall result. However, this is only possible if the required work material is always available in sufficient quantity, another area where effective communication is demanded. If a printer has no more paper, it should be filled up or the relevant department should be informed. The same applies for coffee as well as pens, files or a technical device.
Digital is Easier
Of course, everything can be done manually. After all, the paper calendar on the office wall also communicates to all participants individual work processes, including deadlines, meeting schedules and more. But why only on the office wall? In order for the calendar to show all appointments and commitments somebody has to enter them. Many agreements at work are nowadays made via email or electronic invitation. What would it be like if these appointments appeared automatically in a shared calendar on the smart phones or desktop computers of those employees who are involved in the respective appointment/task? This would be practical, ensure clarity and reduce working times. Now this is already possible today. Intelligent software can not only communicate appointments and deadlines transparently for participants in this way, but clarifies individual step-by-step processes smartly and in a targeted way.
But in order to digitalise in-house communication and processes, working times and locations have to become more flexible. Software is no longer uploaded within the office on a desktop computer, there are no more CD-ROMs and licenses. Instead virtual workspaces in the cloud are used. Here every smartphone, every tablet PC and every laptop has access – from everywhere and at any time. Important is only that the respective applications are allocated with password protection and authentication to those people, who require them. In competition, this form of comprehensive digitalisation, which comprises far more than the aforementioned calendar, is already the deciding factor nowadays. Intelligent applications, which are accessible from anywhere at any time, increase staff productivity. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that time after work, weekends and holidays are respected – digital devices can be switched off. And this should happen in due time (automated out of office messages during holidays for example help create an understanding with customers and business partners rather than irritation), since these necessary recovery periods also ensure an increase of staff productivity.
What is Possible, what cannot yet be Done?
Fear spreads quickly when it comes to intelligent systems and digitalisation to increase productivity. Are jobs in danger? No, of course not. Because the digital workspace still requires people, who use it, who can be networked via the cloud and use flexible mobile access to the necessary applications. Additionally, technically competent staff are required who understand these digital systems and are able to take care of and maintain the necessary hardware. The increase of staff productivity does not go hand in hand with staff reduction, but with a simplification of work processes and, in an ideal scenario, even with more jobs. Because those who work networked, smart and efficient, have capacities available for additional projects in an ideal scenario. An example for such an intelligent solutions is oneclick™. The platform provides digital workspaces in the cloud. Web apps and native applications, as well as desktops and data are centralised on the Platform-as-a-Service, in short PaaS. Streaming safely delivers all content and applications to the respective user, all that is needed is an internet-enabled terminal device and an appropriate connection.
Conclusion: Services instead of Hardware
Digitalisation enables employees to focus on their actual tasks. Staff productivity changes if there is communication in the team beyond office boundaries and work processes or projects are approached in an interconnected way. This trend has now been apparent for several years.
Image sources:
- Image 1: © Pixabay | pixabay.com
- Image 2: © Pixabay | pixabay.com
