Did you know 70-80 percent of the work day for many workers is spent in meetings and composing emails.

Unreal!  Over 6 1/2 hours of an 8 hour work day.  And 32 hours of a 40 hour work week.

Think about that.

Technology is shaping the way that nearly every workforce produces their deliverables and communicates with their team or consumer, with powerful tools designed to simplify processes and increase productivity. While leveraging these tools can enhance productivity, some companies take advantage to the point of overwhelm, in which case they are too caught up with pristine internal workings and backpedal away from important productive work.

Think your workplace could be more efficient? Read on and discover ways to achieve just that!

Cut down on the “work” that’s “about work”

It’s about leverage. When you leverage CRM platforms and project management platforms with client portals, you provide easily accessible information to the client and the team, as appropriate, while cutting time vested in this vital communication.

For these types of digital tools to provide the value of increased efficiency, they must be used correctly. When you compose notes or announcements and design workflow, make sure that you include the following:

Clarity of Purpose

When you hired your team it was at least partly based on the fact that they are not individuals that need to be micromanaged. If you are clear about how their work is contributing to a bigger-picture goal, they can prioritize and make better decisions on their own. Understanding the purpose of their work also helps them understand the value of their work, which often times shows up as increased motivation and- you guessed it- increased productivity!

Clarity of Plan

Productivity is most often affected when a team is unclear about what about what they are supposed to be doing. Knowing the steps from start to end allows the team invaluable foresight. This also gives them the ability to compare their position in the process against the timeline. This will keep them from unintentionally missing deadlines because they spent more time on one facet of the work because they didn’t account for another. When the details and expectations are made clear and are able to be referenced, it cuts down on time spent revisiting tasks to get them performed to-standard, as well as questions that need to be asked before work is started or completed.

Clarity of Responsibility

It is essential that team members are aware of what work they are responsible for, to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. Imagine that John is responsible for parts A B and C, and Alice is responsible for parts D and E. Assume that part D requires some researched information acquired from part B.

If John doesn’t complete part B, because he is unaware that it was tasked to him, Alice produces a less-than-satisfactory part D, and will have to, in essence, re-visit part D after part B is completed.  All this equates to more time spent re-doing work. Wasting valuable time, especially when deadlines are at stake.  Re-doing work can also make for rushed work, knowing the deadline is looming.  Rushed word counts for sloppy or not quality work.

For many projects, one missing piece can affect many more steps than just one.  Imagine how much time is lost when this happens on a larger-scale project. On the other hand, sometimes the confusion shows up in the opposite fashion, where, instead of thinking someone else is responsible for a step, and neither produce the work, both assume responsibility and spend time doing the same work. The duplication of effort is wasted time and decreased productivity.

These three forms of clarity will transform your workforce substantially if they are implemented at every step of every project. Employees who know what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and why, are the difference between a team of 9-5ers and a team of superheroes!

Your business deserves Superheroes!