By Rhiannon Stone
Technological innovations have allowed employees to efficiently accomplish tasks and goals like never before. From mobile technology to desktop computers, we have the potential to achieve work obligations at anytime from anywhere in the world. Nonetheless, we have much room for productivity improvement in the confines of our own workplaces.
According to an Atlassian study, 60% or less of work time is actually spent productively. For example,Udemy’s Workplace Distraction Report found “36% of Millennials/Gen Z say they spend two or more hours per workday looking at their phones for personal activities.” This is one of countless examples of how the technology that has enabled the potential for optimal productivity has done just the opposite.
Leaders must take the time to recognize these types of issues and stringently take action. The following steps can help put your credit union on the path of being a productivity benchmark within the financial services industry.
Assess Organizational Barriers
Before making any changes within your credit union, take a reasonable amount of time to holistically observe the policies and procedures in effect and determine their overall effectiveness on your employees’ productivity. Are these policies and procedures boosting or diminishing productivity? Is there a better alternative policy or procedure that can be implemented? This assessment will help to provide you with a foundational understanding of where your credit union’s productivity levels are and what the next steps are for optimization.
Plan for the Worst
We must accept that unexpected events beyond our control are going to occur, creating a significant reduction in our employees’ productivity. As such, credit union leaders should brainstorm potential scenarios which could occur and would impede your institution from achieving its goals.
This type of mindset will aide you in creating contingency plans to minimize the negative productivity effects which may happen if a crisis event occurs. Additionally, your team should run mock drills to improve your reaction skills, as well as better prepare your employees for such unforeseen issues.
Limit Interruptions
Every day, employees face at least 56 interruptions that result in employees spending two hours recovering. Furthermore, an Atlassian survey found that 80% of interruptions at work are considered trivial. These types of interruptions can cause employees to make mistakes they normally would not have, potentially preventing them from achieving the highest quality of work and their individual potentials.
As the leader, you must directly address these realities with your credit union employees and create strategies that will limit and minimize interruptions. For example, making time early on with team members to plan actions for key projects, or setting up a time each day for questions, will eliminate constant back-and-forth discussion which impedes productivity for all.
Meet with a Purpose
According to Doodle’s 2019 State of Meeting report, “professionals spend an average of two hours in pointless meetings every week.” Consequently, this has resulted in the poorly organized meetings that will cost the U.S. economy almost $400 billion dollars in 2019. To avoid this time trap, credit union leaders must be tactical and purposeful when calling for a meeting.
The report further detailed the elements that were found to make meetings more efficient which include: setting clear objectives, providing a clear agenda, not having too many people in the room, and using visual stimuli such as a video or presentation to supplement the meeting.
Credit union leaders have to create strategies that minimize waste and optimize efficiency. The above steps can help to establish a framework that will allow your credit union to become an industry benchmark for productivity.
Rhiannon Stone is COO with EPL, Inc. For info: www.eplinc.com.