What is Work Efficiency, Really? - Zip Schedules

By definition, efficiency is the accomplishment of a task with the least amount of effort and time spent. In the workplace, the term ... TogglenavigationWorkEfficiency|9minsreadWhatisWorkEfficiency,Really?ByMaryKateMorrow,February12,2021TableofContentsWhatisEfficiency?TheValueofWorkingEfficientlyEfficiencyvs.EffectivenessDifferencesSimilaritiesEfficiencyvsProductivitySimilaritiesDifferencesHowtoImproveEmployeeEfficiency1.TaskManagement2.TimeManagement3.EmployeeTraining4.RemoteWork5.IncentivesConclusionWhatisEfficiency?Bydefinition,efficiencyistheaccomplishmentofataskwiththeleastamountofeffortandtimespent.Intheworkplace,thetermefficiencygenerallyreferstothelaborcompletedbyemployees.Ahighefficiencyworkemployeeisbotheffectiveandcompetent.Identifyingemployeeswhoworkefficientlyisnotterriblydifficult,asefficientemployeesusuallyexhibit-HighlyproductiveworkethicElevatedemployeeengagementGreattimemanagementskillsIncreasedteamproductivityInshort,ahighefficiencyworkemployeeisonethatnotonlyknowshowtogetworkdonebutwillmakesuregoodworkisproduced.Incontrast,lowefficiencyworkemployeesmayexhibit-DecreasedemployeeengagementExcessivesocialmediausageDisinterestinteambuildingactivitiesTimemanagementissuesTruth-:Ahighefficiencyworkplaceknowshowtogetworkdoneandisfocusedonimportanttasksbeingcompleted.TheValueofWorkingEfficientlyAhighefficiencyworkofficetranslatesdirectlyintobusinesssuccess.Thebenefitsthatresultwhenbusinessesimproveefficiencyareoutstanding.Onewaythatbusinessesbenefitfromtheireffortstoimproveworkefficiencyisthroughanincreaseinbottomlineprofitability.Improvingbothindividualemployeeefficiencyandteamefficiencycansignificantlydecreaseoperationalcosts.Businessescanearnthesameamountofmoneyorevenmoremoneywhilespendinglessonworkflowmaintenance.Whenbusinessesareabletoproduceservicesandgoodsforalowercost,theyretainmoreprofit.Manypeoplebasetheirbehavioronthebehaviorsofthosearoundthem.Whenstaffmembersaregreetedbycoworkerswhoworkefficientlyeverydaytheywilllikelybemotivatedtoimprovetheirownemployeeefficiencylevels.Employeesworkbestinaworkenvironmentthatispositiveandinspiring.Aworkenvironmentwhereemployeesgetworkdoneandaccomplishimportanttaskswilllikelyfostermotivationandpositivity.Apositiveworkenvironmentisabenefitinitselfbutitisalsoabenefitthatcanbringforthevenmoreperks.Forexample,apositiveworkenvironmentcanbringupemployeeengagementlevelsandimprovetheworklifebalanceofstaffmembers.Itiswellknownthatworkplaceswithhighemployeeengagementlevelsandexcellentworklifebalancesaremuchmorelikelytoattractandretaintoptalentemployees.Asaresult,improvingworkefficiencywilllikelybenefiteverystaffmemberaswellastheentirebusinessoverall.Note-:Increasingworkefficiencylevelsbenefitseverythingfromemployeeengagementlevelstooverallbottomlineprofitability.Onlineemployeeschedulingsoftwarethatmakesshiftplanningeffortless.Tryitfreefor14days.StartMyFREETrialEfficiencyvs.EffectivenessManypeopleusetermslikeefficiency,effectiveness,andproductivityeverydayandinterchangeably.However,manypeopledonotknowthattherearesignificantdifferencesbetweenthesewords.Therearedistinctionsandsimilaritiesbetweeneffectivenessandefficiencythatbusinessesmustmakesuretheyunderstand.Understandingthewaysinwhichthetwoconceptsconvergeanddivergeisessentialtoimproveworkefficiencyandeffectivenesslevels.DifferencesTobetterunderstandthedifferencesbetweenefficiencyandeffectivenessitishelpfultodefineeffectivenessinclearterms.Effectivenessisdefinedasproductionthatisaccomplishedwiththesmallestamountofresourceswasted.Intheworkplace,productionrangesfromimportanttaskstoprojectmanagementactivitiescompleted.Theresourcesinthiscontextcouldrangefromlaborcoststoemployeetimespent.Ifefficiencyisrequiredforbusinessprofitabilityincreases,effectivenessisrequiredforbusinessgrowthincreases.SimilaritiesEffectivenessandefficiencyaresymbioticinnature.Inotherwords,inorderforefficiencytobefunctional,itmustalsobeeffective.Completinganimportantworktaskiseffectivenessbutcompletingthattaskintherightwayisefficient.Workingefficientlyallowsemployeestogetmoreworkdoneusingjustasmuchtimeasbefore.Whenemployeesspendlesstimeorjustasmuchtimetogetmoreworkdonebusinessesbenefit.Businessbenefitsincludeincreasesinbottomlineprofitabilityandemployeeengagementlevels.Onlineemployeeschedulingsoftwarethatmakesshiftplanningeffortless.Tryitfreefor14days.StartMyFREETrialEfficiencyvsProductivityItisimportanttoclarifythedifferencebetweenproductiveworkandefficientwork.Efficiencyandproductivity,thoughoftenusedinterchangeably,arenotthesame.Intheworkplace,productivityiswidelydefinedastherateatwhichimportanttasksarecompleted.Productivityisextremelyusefulformeasuringperformanceandrawoutput.Therearedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenproductivityandefficiency.Understandingthewaysinwhichthetwoconceptsintersectanddivergeisessentialtoimproveworkefficiencyandproductivitylevels.SimilaritiesOnecommonreasonthatproductivityandefficiencyareoftenusedinterchangeablyislikelyduetothefactthattheymeasureoverlappingfactors.Productivityisdefinedasthemeasurementofoutputovertime.Ontheotherhand,efficiencymeasuresinputversusoutput.Onewaythatthetwoconceptsoverlapwouldoccurwhenmeasuringtime,duetothefactthattimeisconsideredaresource.Thebestwaytoutilizeworkefficiencyandworkproductivitybestistouseproductivitytomeasurepersonalperformanceandefficiencytomeasureprocessperformance.However,businessesmustalwaysmakesurethattheyareexaminingoutsidefactorsthatinfluencethesemeasurements.Whileefficiencyandproductivityareincredibletools,neitherexplainrootissues.Forexample,adecreaseinworkefficiencycouldindicateanemployeeengagementoraworklifebalanceissue.Abusinessmustmakesuretoclearlyunderstandwhatunderlyingelementsareinfluencingchangesinworkefficiencyandproductivity.Assuch,workproductivityandefficiencylevelsaloneshouldnotdriveanymajordecisionmakingintheworkplacewithoutcarefulanalysisoftheoutsidefactorsinfluencingboth.Forexample,asituationwhereasmallbusinessownerishyperfocusedonimplementinginitiativesinordertoimproveworkefficiencyandproductivitylevelsbutnegatestoconsideranoutsidefactorlikethementalhealthofemployees.Inthissituation,thebehaviorofthesmallbusinessownercanquicklytanktheentireoperation.Utilizingbothproductivityandefficiencytogetherallowsbusinessestounderstandhowmuchtimeandotherresourceswillbenecessarytogetworkdone.Thesecalculationsarecrucialforhelpingbusinessownersmakesuretheyareusingemployeetimeandotherresourcesmostideally.Important-:Workproductivityandworkefficiencycanpotentiallyhavesomeoverlapbuttheyalsoaredistinctlydifferentconcepts.DifferencesThemostsignificantdifferencebetweenefficiencyandproductivityistheirfocuses.Whileefficiencyfocusesonresourcesinvestedandthelevelofwaste,productivityfocusesontherateatwhichresultsareaccomplished.Onebestwaytounderstandthisistoconsiderthattwosubjectscouldhavethesamelevelofproductivity,butonecouldhavehigherefficiencyduetovaryingamountsofresourcesinvestedforthesameoutput.Anothernotabledifferencebetweenproductivityandefficiencyiswhereeachwouldbestbeused.Forexample,measuringproductivitywouldnotbeasusefulforamachineasefficiencywouldbe.Amachine,sansamajorupgradeormechanicalissue,hasafixedproductivitylevel.Alternatively,abusinesscanboostproductivitylevelsordecreasetheproductivitylevelsofemployees.Therefore,measuringproductivitylevelsofmachinesispossible,butnotlikelytoactuallyimproveworkinanycapacity.Alternatively,utilizingproductivitytomeasureemployeeperformanceisuseful,asevensmallchangesintheworkflowcanproducesignificantresults.Measuringproductivityisalsohighlyusefulfortroubleshootingpurposes.Bycomparingpastandcurrentemployeeproductivityandteamproductivitylevels,issuesareidentifiedearlieronthantheywouldhavebeenotherwise.Asaresult,businessesspendlesstimewonderingifworkproductivityislowerandcanspendmoretimetryingtoincreaseproductivitylevels.HowtoImproveEmployeeEfficiencyUnderstandingthedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenefficiency,productivity,andeffectivenesshelpsbusinessesfocusmoreclearlyoneachconcept.However,understandingaconceptisonlythebeginningofutilizingitspowerforchange.BothsmallbusinessownersandlargecorporationCEOsmaywonderaboutthebestwaytoimproveefficiencyintheworkplace.Thankfully,therearemanybestpracticestoguidebusinessprofessionalslookingtoimproveworkefficiencylevels.5bestpracticestoimproveworkefficiencyinclude-1.TaskManagementBusinessownersandhumanresourcesdepartmentstaffalikemaybeshockedtodiscoverthatanestimated60%oftimespentatworkisactuallynotspentonworkitself.Infact,studiesestimatethat60%ofthetimeemployeesspendatworktheyareplanningonhowtogetworkdoneinsteadofactuallydoingit.Inotherwords,60%ofthetimeemployeesareatworktheyarereadingabout,talkingabout,orplanninghowtogetworkdone.Activitiesincludedinthispercentagerangefromteamworkmeetingstoworkplacesocialmediaconversations.Decreasingthecircumstancesthatcauseemployeestowastetimeisessentialtoimproveefficiencylevels.Simplifying,streamlining,andautomatingtaskswheneverpossiblegreatlyassistsinitiativestoincreaseefficiency.Fact-:Employeesspendanestimated60%oftheirworktimeplanninghowtogetworkdone.2.TimeManagementPropertimemanagementisessentialforincreasingworkefficiencylevels.Timemanagementtoolsliketimetrackerscanhelpemployeeswastetimelessandfocusonimportanttasksinstead.Automatedtimemanagementtoolsshowinrealtimetheworkteammembersareengagedwithaswellastheworktheyhavecompleted.Additionally,timetheftwillbereducedorpotentiallyeveneliminatedcompletelywiththeimplementationofpropertimemanagementtools.Forasmallbusinesswithlimitedresourcesorbusinessesthatareunsurewhichtimemanagementtoolsarebest,expertsrecommendthattheytryfreetrialsofvarioussoftwareprograms.3.EmployeeTrainingManypeopleconsiderdecreasingemployeetraininghoursinanattempttosavetimeandmoneyforthecompany.However,reducingtraininghoursactuallywilldecreaseemployeeefficiencylevels.Employeetrainingshouldfocusonoptimizingbothindividualemployeeefficiencyandteamefficiencylevels.Developingindividualprojectmanagementskillsandteambuildingactivitiesaretwowaysthatbusinessesmightimprovetheiremployeetrainingprograms.4.RemoteWorkUnfortunately,manypeopleinhigherlevelsofbusinessadministrationarestubbornevenwhenprovidedwithsolidevidencethattheyneedtochange.Onewaythisisevidentisinregardstothetelecommutingphenomenon.Studiesprovethatemployeesthatworkremotelyaremoreproductivethanemployeeswhoareforcedtoworkfromtheoffice.Expertswidelyagreethatthebestwayforbusinessestoboostproductivityandefficiencyistoswitchtoremotework.Whenexecutivesspendlesstimeeverydaymicromanaging,everystaffmemberwillhaveabetterworklifebalanceandgoodworkproducedwillskyrocket.5.IncentivesInadditiontoremoteworkcapabilities,thebestwaytoimproveworkefficiencyisthroughincentivization.Studieshaveshownthatincentivizingemployeeswillalsoboostproductivityandemployeeengagementlevels.Financialincentivesaregenerallyconsideredthebestwaytorecognizegoodworkperformedbyanemployee.Financialincentivescanrangefromsteadysalaryincreasestoregularbonuses.Nonfinancialincentivesarealsopowerfulmotivators,especiallywhenpairedwithfinancialincentives.Nonfinancialincentivescanrangefromawardingadditionalpaiddaysofftosendingapersonalizedthankyoucard.ConclusionWhetherasmallbusinessorlargecorporation,gettingthingsdonethebestwaypossibleintheworkplaceisnoeasytask.Increasingworkefficiency,productivity,andeffectivenessrequiresunderstandingthedifferencesandsimilaritiestheyhave.Increasingefficiencyresultsinawiderangeofbenefits,fromtheabilitytoimproveteamdynamicstooverallworkmanagementoptimization.NamePleaseenteryournameEmailPleaseenteryouremailaddressSubmit4StrategiestoBuildTeamProductivity3WaysonHowtoBeMoreEfficientatWork6ProductivityTips/HacksfortheWorkplaceWhatisWorkEfficiency,Really?SCHEDULEADEMO×SignUpStartimprovingprofitmargins,savingtimeandincreasingsalestoday.FREETRIAL×SignUpForADemo×PleaseprovideyourinformationSubmitthisformandanexpertwillbeintouchsoon.