Interesting ideas for organizing your work process. Increasing office efficiency through improved communication

Motivation does improve basic job performance. A highly motivated employee actually performs better. Organizations whose employees perform well generally show top scores, and changing the attitude of employees towards work increases the profitability of the company. We offer you several ways to increase motivation and improve the quality of work of employees that have proven themselves in practice.

1. Recognize that subordinates may be motivated by something not directly related to their work. Dynamic employees with significant growth potential tend to be passionate about sports, hobbies, or other non-work related activities. These outside interests should not conflict with work. You can leverage your employees' desire to excel in an area they are passionate about to fuel their growth and motivation in the workplace.

Recognize that they are living people with their own interests. Find out what makes them tick. Help your employees with their activities and take an interest in their achievements. Your positive attitude towards your subordinate's hobbies will definitely affect his work. Thanks to the support of management, this situation becomes doubly advantageous: the more success an employee achieves in life, the higher the quality and productivity of his work.

2. Teach your subordinates to measure the degree of success of the work done. Employees who continually monitor their performance are able to notice and document their own growth. They create rating tables for themselves and mark their victories and defeats better than the leader himself.

How to achieve this? Any performance goal can be measured in a simple rating system. If the task does not involve expressing the result in numerical form, create a scale for assessing labor productivity.

3. Track your motivation level. In most organizations, managers have no idea about the actual level of motivation of their subordinates. Company surveys of employee job satisfaction do not include motivation assessments. If you start measuring your motivation, you'll likely soon learn how to manage it. Without data on your motivation level, you will never be able to improve this indicator.

Periodically measure employee motivation. Let junior managers also regularly monitor changes in the motivation levels of their subordinates.

4. Find out from your subordinates what they would like. Different workers have different goals and desires, which means they need to be given different opportunities to work and professional growth. You cannot motivate specific people with general programs. To increase motivation, it is necessary to find an individual approach to each subordinate.

One way to do this is to delegate authority, goals and tasks to each employee during development. general plan or project. Another way is to give subordinates the opportunity to independently develop their own strategic objectives and plans.

5. Ask employees about the results of their work. The more information, the higher the motivation. It is for this reason that a good leader strives to increase communication within the organization. Try to talk less about yourself and ask others more about their work.

Ask your subordinate questions aimed at getting him to think about the work he has done and report on specific results. Questions “What results did your team achieve yesterday?” or “How many calls have you been able to handle in the last hour?” stimulate an increase in the employee’s level of self-information. And possession of information promotes internal motivation.

6. Explain to your subordinates the reward system you have adopted. Arbitrariness in incentives and rewards leads to cynicism, not to increased motivation. If a new program is taken out of thin air, employees begin to feel that managers do not respect them. Show respect to employees and, if necessary, clearly explain to employees the nature of new program incentives; its goals and objectives. Provide clear answers to subordinates' questions about how to this system incentives may affect their current performance.

7. Increase interaction. In many organizations, managers and their subordinates are too busy and therefore rarely see each other. They have almost no opportunity to communicate. To increase the intensity of contacts between the organization's management and staff, you can, for example, draw up a plan for meetings and events so that managers find themselves at the same time and in the same place with their subordinates. Organize work in the office in such a way that managers interact with ordinary employees more often. You can't increase the motivation of someone you rarely see.

8. Create an idea bank. What do your subordinates think? They may have good ideas, but most of the employees are sure that no one cares about their ideas. At the same time, most managers would like their subordinates to share their ideas and fresh thoughts with them, it’s just that managers are bad at asking. Most often, they interrupt the subordinate or reject his proposals out of hand. Such managers immediately deprive employees of self-confidence and cannot achieve their goals themselves.

Is it possible to avoid this? The easiest way to solve this problem, - create a special notebook, folder, file, mailbox on the wall, etc. and enter ideas from subordinates into it. Managers who set themselves the task of filling out at least a page of such a notebook or file a day very quickly develop the skill of listening carefully to employees who “suddenly” have a lot of ideas.

9. Motivate with knowledge. To achieve professionalism in any job, an employee must strive to become the best in his specialty. A person who is passionate about learning will definitely grow in his position and develop additional skills. Therefore, you can use knowledge and learning as a reward and motivating factor.

What's the best way to do this? There are many ways. Send for additional training, conferences and training those employees who have achieved significant results in their work and whose successes have been recognized by their colleagues. Make additional knowledge an advantage to inspire employees to continue learning. Invite your subordinate to choose for himself training course and give him the opportunity free training. Knowledge is a powerful motivating factor; it is surprisingly cheap compared to its true price!

10. Reward individuals for the collective contribution of the group. In our era teamwork people often feel that their individual merits remain unaccounted for. Companies are more willing to recognize the successes of the group as a whole. However, the manager needs to encourage team members also on an individual level. Only in this way can he increase their personal motivation.

This can be achieved, for example, by challenging managers or team leaders to report weekly on the key accomplishments of individual members. With the help of such reports you will be able to summarize the results at the end of the reporting period. Strive to ensure that immediate managers and colleagues recognize the contribution of individual employees to the common cause.

11. Encourage positive communication between subordinates. Personal positive assessments of employee performance are an effective motivating factor. A corporate culture that supports the desire to give each other positive feedback on the results of each completed task increases the level of motivation and productivity.

How can this be achieved in practice? First, you can develop a culture of mutual recognition among subordinates by developing a rewards program that rewards employees based on the results of a survey of their peers. When employees begin to recognize and reward each other for their successes, their motivation levels will increase significantly.

12. Find out if the subordinate is suitable for his job. Trying to motivate an employee who doesn't like his job won't work. However, when faced with a lack of motivation among subordinates, many managers focus on the work they do rather than on the people themselves. Changing the work parameters of employees can lead to a significant increase in motivation.

First of all, make sure that the tasks match the employee's qualifications. Otherwise, break the work into a series of small but meaningful tasks, or spend more time explaining and supporting. If you're looking to improve motivation and productivity, you'll need to make some changes to most of the tasks you assign to your employees.

13. Look for people with internal motivation. When companies hire workers, they are most often interested in their level of competence, rather than their attitude towards work. However, attitude determines motivation, which in turn has a major influence on the employee’s desire to learn and to quality work. Why not start recruiting employees who are highly intrinsically motivated? Much easier to teach motivated employee How to motivate a qualified specialist.

Hire people who have previously demonstrated high levels of optimism, enthusiasm, motivation to work, and a desire to grow. To identify such attitudes, you can use interviews or referrals with previous place work.

14. Reward subordinates in smaller amounts, but more often. It is common practice in most companies to give employees valuable rewards and pay large bonuses based on the completion of a project, quarter or year. Award ceremonies for the best employees are rare and attract the close attention of all company employees. But they usually have less of an impact on motivation than smaller, more frequent rewards.

Plan your expenses for awards and incentives so that you reward your subordinates more often. As a result, the connection between work and results will become more obvious to them. Employees will feel more likely to succeed. If you do use large rewards, have them preceded by a series of smaller rewards. This will allow you to focus the staff's attention on the gradual improvement in the quality of work, rather than on the reward itself.

15. Motivation by control. Managers are convinced that control is their prerogative. But in reality, control has a motivating effect. The main idea of ​​this method is to provide employees with the opportunity to independently make decisions on all issues that do not require centralized control.

Allow staff to independently make changes to any aspect of their work environment that does not pose a threat to the safety and image of the organization. For example, Amazon.com delivery workers are allowed to wear headphones while working and listen to music of their choice. Many companies allow you to decorate workplace. By giving your employee more independence (within reasonable limits), you can achieve increased motivation.

16. Ask questions that require a detailed answer. In surveys and research, the most common questions that can be answered are yes or no. Such questions are processed in order to obtain numerical results of the study. However, in a normal conversation, questions that require a set number of answers seem rude and indicate your desire to control the interlocutor. They signal that you are not interested in the other person's answer or opinion. At the same time, managers constantly use questions in conversations with subordinates that require an unambiguous positive or negative answer. Ask open-ended questions more often, and your subordinates will feel that you treat them with respect. As a result, their motivation will increase significantly.

Try asking questions that start with “Why?”, “How?”, “Could you tell me about...”, “What did you mean when...”. And don't forget to listen to the answer.

17. Make assignments clearer. The subordinate must be clear about what he is doing, why he is doing it, and how well he is doing his job. Research has shown that task clarity has a greater impact on sales force motivation than experience or commission size. This principle applies to other specialties as well. You can achieve greater results if you help employees see their personal contributions to the common good, and if employees feel confident that their work is evaluated regularly, promptly and accurately.

Have you ever wondered how healthy your office work lifestyle is? Usually we remember this only when the body begins to malfunction and we understand that it is no longer possible to cope with the problems that have arisen without the help of a doctor. And given the modern rhythm of life in offices and the office culture with free cookies and rivers of coffee, problems arise more and more often. There are two types office workers: those who work hard from morning to night with virtually no days off, and those who are not particularly overloaded with work, but are forced to sit in the office from day to day on free high-calorie grub.

As a result, everyone has health problems, just for different reasons. And a sick employee is not a very productive employee. Therefore, a healthy office is key successful company and supporting subordinates in a normal functional state should be one of the main priorities of management.

And some offices do it quite well! Office health lessons from the boundless.com team.

Healthy environment

It's quite difficult to create a healthy space around yourself when you share a small office space with other employees or work in a huge open office. But if you build yours own company and you decided to move to new office, there is every chance to do everything right!

1. Live plants. Plants in pots not only decorate the office space, which also plays an important role, but also help relieve stress. So a small summer garden in a separate corner is not such a bad idea.

The only caveat is to choose plants that are easy to care for. And before purchasing flowering plants, make sure that your employees do not suffer from pollen allergies.

2. Natural lighting. Natural light is one of the keys to people's productivity and health. Natural light reduces eye strain, promotes the production of vitamin D and helps our body work according to its natural biorhythms.

So try to choose an office with large windows that let in a lot of light. If this is not possible, carry out brainstorming and meetings outside. A large terrace would be an ideal place for such events.

3. Work tables. We've already buzzed your ears about desks that allow you to work while standing. Sedentary work at a computer clearly does not improve your health. Rather, it adds problems with the back, neck, arms, plus headaches and vision problems (monitors are a separate issue).

Changing your desk position and getting some exercise adds energy and reduces health problems. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to purchase transforming tables and good chairs, do not skimp on it! Moreover, solutions with desks are clearly cheaper than solving health problems for your employees.

Team support

"In a healthy body healthy mind!"

And a healthy team spirit is the key to the success of your company!

4. Healthy “office snacks.” Instead of standard cookies and sweets, your kitchen should have dishes with fruits and vegetables. And dried fruits, nuts and green tea will keep them in excellent company. Yogurts and other fermented milk products are also welcome.

All of these foods taste good, will help you maintain a high level of productivity, and will keep your digestive system in good condition.

5. Measure. Whatever we do, we must know when to stop. Maintenance healthy image life should not turn into draconian rules. Sometimes employees can relax, have a sweet coffee or a can of beer after a busy day at work.

A separate room with a comfortable sofa is also welcome;)

6. Afternoon rest. Let's return to our comfortable sofa - a great place for an afternoon relaxation. Numerous studies have shown that people are more productive after a lunch break. Usually at this time the work rhythm slows down and employees literally sleep at their desks. And this is not their fault, because after a tasty and healthy lunch, our body still needs strength and time to digest it. So the main resources are rushed to help our digestive tract.

In no case am I advocating a five-hour siesta - one hour will be quite enough for rest and rejuvenation. And this, by the way, has also been proven by numerous studies.

7. Frequent breaks. Short breaks of 5-10 minutes in order to get up from the computer and give your eyes a rest, and at the same time stretch your stiff body - another good way maintain office health. This time allows our brain to switch from current tasks and relax.

It’s not for nothing that schools and universities have breaks between classes. Perhaps one of your employees will come up with a brilliant idea to solve their next problem during five minutes on the basketball court!

8. Designate a place to park bicycles. If at least a few of your employees like to ride bikes, it would be great to find a place to store them. Perhaps their example will become contagious and soon you will not need a parking lot.

9. Encourage exercise. If you have the space and opportunity, arrange group exercise classes in various sports at least several times a week. It could be football, basketball or yoga. Whatever your employees like will do. Moreover, if one of them is really passionate and has been studying for a long time a certain type sports, he himself can quite cope with the role of an instructor.

10. Animals in the office. Office animals are a hassle, but very cool! Dogs and cats are great for relieving stress and defusing tense situations. If you don't have the opportunity to have a common office pet, you can set aside one day a week (for example, Friday) and allow employees to bring their pets. The only thing is that you can agree on the order, otherwise your office will turn into a zoo :)

Unfortunately, I don’t know how realistic it is to create such conditions in domestic companies. But I have several examples that allow me to hope for the best.

One of the large Ukrainian companies pays for its employees and their family members to go to a sports club. In another, an enterprising employee wrote a note with the words “A place for fruits and vegetables” and put it in one of the dishes that contained office cookies. The next day apples and bananas appeared there.

And an example from neighboring countries - in one of the large Polish media holdings Friday is Pet Day.

The key to increasing creativity in any organization is to start acting like a creative organization. If you wanted to become an artist, you would draw every day. You may not become the next Vincent Van Gogh, but you will definitely surpass the one who never even tried to paint. The same is true in your organization: you will become a more creative team if you start thinking creatively. Below are 15 tips to help you and your colleagues become more creative today.

1 per day

Ask each person to improve one aspect of their job every day. At the end of the day, colleagues should meet and discuss what they did that day differently and better than the day before.

2. Brainstorming board

Hang a “bulletin board” in a prominent place in the office and ask colleagues to use it for new ideas. Write a topic or problem on a colored card and stick it in the center of the board. Place pieces of white paper nearby that employees can use to communicate their thoughts on a given topic. For example, if your company is having difficulty completing a particular deal, describe the situation on a colored card, post it on a board, and ask people to post their ideas and suggestions.

3. Lottery of ideas

Hold a monthly “idea lottery.” Every time an employee has a creative idea, he receives lottery ticket. At the end of the month, discuss ideas with your team and then pull the ticket. If the number on someone's ticket matches the ticket they drew, they win a prize. If no one wins, double the prize next month.

4. Creative corner

Designate an area in your office for people to think creatively. Let there be books, videos about creativity, educational games and materials for needlework (for example, modeling clay). You could even decorate this corner with photos of your staff as children to show that we are all born spontaneous and creative.

5. Symbols of creativity

Ask your colleagues to place items on their desks that express their personal ideas about creativity in business. For example, a crystal ball can symbolize the desire for future deals, a jar of Heinz ketchup can represent a personal goal and 57 new ideas on how to cut costs, and a set of cables can symbolize the transition from idea to result.

6. Lunch together

Have lunch with three to five colleagues weekly and share creative ideas with each other. Let everything be done first homework. For example, they will read a book about creativity. Each meeting participant can read only one chapter, and over lunch talk about how creative techniques can be applied in their work.

7. Notebook of brilliant ideas

Let each employee have a notebook, let's call it the “Notebook of Brilliant Ideas.” Ask your colleagues to write down three ideas every day about how they can improve their work. At the end of the month, collect your notebooks, sort through your ideas, and bring up the most interesting ones for discussion.

8. Week of stupid ideas

Make the creative process as fun as possible. Organize a “Silly Ideas Week” and hold a competition for the dumbest idea. Post notes with them on the “bulletin board” and hold a ceremony to present the award to the winner. Such events boost company morale, and you may notice how stupid ideas stimulate the emergence of truly worthwhile ones.

9. Creative committee

Create a “creativity committee” made up of your fellow volunteers. Its main goal will be to clarify, discuss and implement employees’ ideas. The committee can keep track of things on a thermometer chart, and the company should reward employees according to the volume and quality of creative contributions.

10. Hall of Fame

Transform an office hallway into an “Employee Hall of Fame.” Post there photos of those whose ideas were implemented. Let the pictures be accompanied by information about the person and how his idea influenced the company.

11. Left and right hemispheres of the brain.

During a brainstorming session, divide the team into two halves: those who think rationally (left brain) and those who think intuitively (right brain). Ask left-brainers to express practical, familiar, and logical ideas. Let the “right brain” talk about strange, unconventional and illogical ideas. Then bring the groups together and discuss ideas.

12. Idea quotas

American inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison ensured productivity of thinking by assigning idea quotas to himself and his assistants. His personal quota was one minor invention every 10 days and a major invention every six months. A way to ensure creativity at work is to give each employee a quota of, say, five new ideas per week.

13. Pass ticket

Require all employees to bring one new idea, which will be their ticket to any event. The idea should focus on some aspect of their work and how they can improve what they do.

14. Change “Yes, but...” to “Yes, and...”

When someone proposes an idea, many of us are tempted to say, “Yes, but...”. To change this mood, every time someone says “Yes, but...”, the person needs to change this wording to “Yes, and...”, continuing to develop the colleague's idea.

15. Three options

Employees shouldn't waste time thinking about reasons why something might not work or get done. Instead, they should think about how to make it work and do it. Ask employees to think of three goals or tasks that they think cannot be accomplished. Then ask them to find three ways to do each. And do the same.

16. Fresh look

American virologist and developer of the first polio vaccines, Jonas Salk, made it a common practice to hold group meetings with men and women with different skills and job responsibilities. He felt that this helped generate new ideas that could not arise in the minds of people engaged in only one field. Invite people from other departments to your brainstorming sessions and ask them how they would solve the problems you are facing.

And one last thing. Don't forget to thank people for their ideas. Create your own “Thank you for the great idea” cards and give them to your colleagues. Ask general director personally sign each card to express your gratitude.

Translation: publishing house "MYTH"

Average adult large quantity spends time at work. In fact, over the course of a lifetime, a person can spend the equivalent of 11 continuous years at a single desk. In this case, increasing labor productivity is involuntarily reduced.

Employees spend a lot of their time in one building. And it's no surprise that a boring and monotonous environment can have an impact on their productivity and the way they approach their work. The workplace is, in fact, a second home for them. And this is logical, considering how much time they spent there. Therefore, the design and layout of your office should truly reflect this. After all, you don't want your family to live in a cramped and uncomfortable room for hours on end.

When it comes to the architecture of your office, you should think about the mood it should create. Small areas with artificial lighting are an instant drain on productivity. Your employees won't be in the right frame of mind to fully express themselves. Understanding that even small improvements to your office environment can make a big difference in productivity. And often they can be the key to most of your employees.

Let your creative team breathe

Creativity cannot exist in a crowded office. However, many traditional department office layouts, such as marketing and copywriting, have limited space in the center. Also with managers occupying a lighted place by the window.

One study found that employees who worked in offices with windows spent 15 percent more time on their work than those in more closed, artificially lit spaces. These noticeable performance improvements signal the need for the idea of ​​keeping people closer to the outside world.

Of course, this doesn't mean your managers can do without natural light. Installing interior windows that allow you to see outside can be an effective solution.

Take a softer approach

Bold, bright, intrusive colors have been proven to be highly irritating to workers, which has now sparked a trend towards softer shades in interiors. office premises. Red is definitely one color to avoid. This is thought to be associated with increased levels of anxiety and an inability to concentrate on mental tasks. But this does not mean that you should choose the exact opposite color scheme. An employee surrounded on all sides by immaculate white walls is even more likely to be in an unproductive mood. This interior evokes associations with a hospital.

In general, you'll want to choose warm shades, such as a light shade of blue. Blue is considered not only as the most productive color, but in desaturated shades it can have a noticeable calming effect.

Don't settle for limitations in office furniture

The comfort of your employees is of paramount importance in terms of the amount of work they can do. If an employee constantly has to adjust his chair or confine himself to a solitary work area all day, then he will not be able to achieve success in his work. Arrange furniture in such a way as to allow freedom and movement of employees. It could be in a great way motivate your team to complete the task. This could even just mean upgrading from fixed chairs to adjustable chairs, rearranging furniture, or it could be a complete office refurbishment with new furniture.

Sitting for long periods of time at a worker should not be a measure of productivity. In order for your brain to come up with more innovations and ideas, you must explore the world from more than one point of view. Research has proven that, in fact, sitting for more than three hours at a time during the day can cause serious health problems. Finding something to help employees avoid sitting in one place all the time will ease tension and improve their mood and the productivity of your employees.

When designing an office space, consider and create areas where employees can walk around with tablets, phones, or even just a cup of coffee and you will see how their creativity will develop.

Try to reduce distractions when designing your office

If you constantly hear the noise of the printer or the chatter around the cooler, it can be very difficult for your head to focus on anything else. Arrange your workstations to avoid these types of distractions. This will help you create a much more harmonious and comfortable work environment.

Try to separate common areas from work areas to minimize noise coming through doors and walls. If you work in tight spaces, consider using soundproofing materials to reduce sound. Avoiding hard, reflective and sound-transmitting surfaces in favor of fabric partitions may be one option, or you could add more indoor potted plants to your office. Both of these materials are effective acoustic sponges and instantly absorb excess noise.

Create a favorable atmosphere

It's all well and good to move tables and develop creativity, but if you don't have the basics - the most important thing - then none of this will help. Make sure your offices are well ventilated and maintain a constant, comfortable room temperature to keep your employees comfortable throughout the day.

Designs that promote good airflow and ventilation of employee workstations with optimal ventilation systems will result in a much more comfortable work environment. By designing buildings using cross ventilation, which actively dissipates hot air from the walls, a significant amount of money can be saved compared to installing an air conditioning system. Others important factors environment Things to consider are light intensity and humidity.

By understanding and addressing the needs of your employees, you can begin to create the ideal work environment for them. Just remember, if you want your employees to work hard, make it as easy as possible for them to stay focused.

Quality Director, LLC "ROTO FRANK"

An already complex world requires simplicity in everything. For most people, the desire for simplicity becomes clear when it comes to the workplace. It is surprising that nothing has changed significantly in this direction for several decades, despite revolutionary office technologies under the slogan of “paperless” savings, despite enormous progress in research on organizational and management activities. As before, mountains of documents grow amazingly quickly, folders with the inscription “Urgent!” rise proudly, yellow stickers with phone numbers and addresses flash Email, schedules, task lists, all types of storage media from DVDs to USB flash drives, business gifts, trinkets... Why?

We try to answer this question at ROTO FRANK. Thrift and Lean technologies in everything, including offices!

The workplace is more than where we work. It is a symbol, something like a reflection of the content of our thoughts. What you keep in your head is magically presented on your desktop. More and more complex tasks arriving day after day on an area of ​​1 to 2 m 2 create a kind of motley collage out of everyday routine.

However, as soon as you begin to purposefully try to change this art object, you will feel how your daily work changes and becomes easier.

In fact, creating a tidy office is easier than you think. This can be a small but significant contribution to the quality of your work experience.

Self-control test (how well organized is your workplace)

1. Are the things you use daily right in their places?
2. On your desk are the documents for the task you are directly working on. right now?
3. Do you only work with one inbox/tray for incoming mail?
4. Is it guaranteed that urgent (due date) documents are not stored in stacks or document trays where you have to search for them, wasting time?
5. Does your intermediate storage system for current documentation/projects ensure that you can find any necessary document in a maximum of one minute?
6. Are your colleagues aware of your working documentation in case of your absence?
7. Do you use checklists that make your work easier?
8. Do you always know where to place this or that document?
9. Have you established written rules for working in the office?
10. Does your business consider administrative costs as part of the organization's overall productivity?

Let's summarize. How often did you answer “yes”?

10 times - You are already very well organized and know thanks to which techniques you achieved this result. Working with you is a pleasure.

7-9 times - You know almost everything about how to organize your desk or workspace. But there remains potential, realizing which you can significantly improve the situation.

3-6 times - You, like many others, have many different things on your hands that you must cope with at the same time. However, you will be able to see that there is an opportunity to make this process more efficient (make it more valuable).

1-2 times - If you have not yet paid enough attention to optimizing your workspace space and take note of the following information, you will be amazed at the positive effect of applying simple techniques and tips.

Did you get low points? Don't be upset! By answering each question, you identify exactly where there is potential for improvement - where you answered “no”, there is a chance to do it!

Where we started at ROTO...

Goal: develop a plan for successive steps for implementation.

But first, a few notes and axioms based on the results of monitoring the state of affairs at the start.

Continuous improvement unknown in offices

“There is no time to put things in order, but everyone has time to look for the necessary thing.” This is the practice of many offices, including ours at ROTO. While in production, continuous improvement and optimization is an absolutely normal daily routine, in bureaus and offices the understanding of the need to optimize current processes does not come immediately. The mistakes that are easiest to make, hardest to detect, with the most costly consequences and difficult decisions are the ones most often made. beyond the scope Production.

Huge potential in offices

It is worth recognizing that the lion's share of optimization is implemented in production and to a lesser extent in administration. However, there is enormous potential in offices, while great progress has already been made in factory workshops. Therefore, many companies today continue to reduce unproductive office activities and reduce losses in this area, while producing high-quality products for a long time.

Necessary for survival

Another argument in favor of change.

It is no secret that in all industries, globalization has left its mark, thereby forcing the reduction of waste and losses in all their forms, which today is not an option, but prerequisite to ensure the company's survival in a competitive market.

Daily activities in many businesses

What does a typical work day look like? In many enterprises it is approximately the same:

• work in the office is not regulated by any rules; everyone does their job the way they think is right
• the terms are long
• there are “detours” and “congestion”; the efficient flow of activity is more like a trickle.

Almost a third of all losses

Based on research conducted on photographs of employees’ working hours and workload distribution during the day, it was found that almost a third of all losses in offices and at each workplace take time to search the required document. Half of all losses are caused by poorly coordinated processes, resulting in long waiting times and process stalls. The rest is unproductive office activity. After doing some simple calculations in our heads, we were horrified...

70 unproductive days a year

Based on the fact that almost 30% of working time, according to research results, is not productive, you can easily calculate how many days a year each employee wastes. This means that 70 days from working year every employee comes to work, does useless things and goes home (!).

Sustainable order

Our main goal is that with the help of the tools and tips that are in our hands, we can maintain order on our desk and in our office at all times.

Figures from world practice

By applying simple tips and recommendations, you can achieve results in the near future. How to determine the effect of implementation? Improvements can be quantified; Average statistical data from practice shows:

10-20% increase in efficiency

20% space release

40% reduction in search time

25% reduction in lead times

Effects in the future

Thanks to the changes you can achieve:

• clear improvement in employee satisfaction
• reduction of intermediate, non-value-added steps in processes
• improving reactivity that meets customer wishes
• increasing competitiveness

What does "kaizen" mean?

Kaizen - process continuous improvement in the form of directed sequential movement/development through small steps. Event this process are easy to implement, do not require expensive high-tech solutions or investments, and the risks are foreseeable and limited.

Kaizen principles are a priori, first of all, mastered in production. The results are improvements, as well as knowledge about the potential for improvement. From production to offices... The principles should be adopted under the slogan “What is good for production may also be good for administration.” The tools used are not new, they are based on the search for potential for improvement, but in the office sector. Thanks to kaizen, problems that you were previously unaware of become transparent and obvious. The special thing is that not only the company benefits, but also the employees: they can work faster, better and less stressed, while the company becomes more competitive thanks to this.

Climbing the Kaizen Ladder

The goal of kaizen in the office is gradual and continuous improvement.

The first stage requires a lot of time and effort to organize and organize your work area (removing anything that distracts your attention and interferes with your concentration on pressing tasks is not one of them).

At the second stage, the “rules of the game” are established. Rules keep things in order. In addition, where rules are established, there is no longer a need to constantly restore order.

The third stage marks the success achieved based on the results of the first two. However, it is too early to relax; at this stage, processes require optimization.

At the fourth stage, employees are more intensively involved in thinking about possible improvements. Here employees act as experts.

The task of the fifth stage is to give aspirations in the search for improvements a vector by setting goals. These goals are directly related to the strategic development of the company. Defining performance indicators in this vein helps measure the degree to which goals are being achieved.

The battlefield is vast, so today I will try to highlight only some recommendations, the so-called tips & tricks, as part of the first stage. In fact, we are still on the border of the first and second steps. And there is much more to come. But we allocate time with a reserve to ensure that every detail is accepted and perceived by employees. Therefore, we do not participate in the pursuit race. Our tactics are measured movement forward. So, first step: get organized and clean

How can an employee work with high efficiency in chaos?

In today's international competition, every minute counts.

I can’t think of a single person who would regret the time saved when doing their daily work. The explanation for this is simple: stacks of papers on the table reflect the character of a person - an empty desk speaks of a bright head.

Before maintaining order, you first need to restore it at least once. This is the goal of the first stage. You will say that you don’t have time for this (from this we can conclude that you clearly understand the structure of your working day, which is already the first step towards standardization!). However, try to break out of your office routine and start with this first step. The amazing thing about a Lean Office is that the time spent making changes immediately pays off later. By putting things in order and cleaning, you relieve yourself of the need to be in chaos in the future, saving valuable time from unnecessary searching. Perhaps your colleagues, seeing your desk, will grin and say: “Don’t you have a job?” But wait a while and you'll see those same people come back to ask how you did it.

Before taking decisive action, it is necessary to first clarify the initial situation. The effect of this introductory stage is so powerful that this approach is highly recommended.

1. Take a photo of the initial situation: your desk, as well as the entire workplace: floor and window sills, used cabinets (in detail).

The way you see your workspace in a photo is different from how you see it when you're sitting at your desk. Photography allows you to see the situation from a distance; such “shock therapy” is very useful and helps in the best way to open your eyes to problem areas.

Do not try to compromise your colleagues with a photo report. This procedure was not started to expose colleagues to the chaos in their workplaces. Chaos only indicates that existing processes are not fully thought out and standardized. Wherever you see inconsistencies in the photo, there is potential for improvement. The photo will provide a picture of what your workplace looks like from the outside. To enhance the effect, you can print them out and hang them under the heading “This is how our clients, guests, colleagues, suppliers, etc. see us from the outside.”

2. Sort and organize

After you have recorded the initial state, sorting is necessary. Get rid of all unnecessary things. There are many things in desk drawers, cabinets and shelves that you have long been accustomed to, but which have not been used for a long time or will not be used in the future. Anything not used must be discarded.

The amount of sorted documentation, paper trays and other similar things after such a procedure is amazing.

The result is freed up space and areas, and subsequently reduced search time. You should not try to embrace the immensity. Start from the starting point of space and follow step by step. For example, your desk is the epicenter of your work. Start there. The postulate of time management says: an employee at an “empty table” works more efficiently than at a “loaded” one (like a carpenter with a plane). Next to the table, pay attention to the following areas. It is recommended to follow the following route:

• desk
• pull-out containers and desk drawers
• under the table on the floor
• in vertical cabinets, chests of drawers, on shelves
• on window sills and other horizontal surfaces

What to do if you don't have enough time to sort

It may happen that there is not enough time for a good quality sorting of your entire office space at the same time.

Attach stickers to the doors and number them sequentially. Make a list of tasks based on this. Label each task with the name of the person responsible for completing it and a due date. Do this plan events visible to all employees. It can be removed when all activities are completed.

On this plan, you can immediately see what has already been completed and what remains to be done.

You can also take a photo report and send it to all employees. It is unlikely that the protocol will remain in memory for a long time. However, stickers will serve as a kind of beacons for reminders and are constantly in sight.

Use the sticky note method also if you doubt the suitability of things or cannot make a final decision on your own. Include these items in the action plan, and then, in a joint discussion with interested colleagues, jointly decide the fate of these objects or items. Write the initials of employees on stickers, this will make it easier to determine at first glance who is responsible for a given object.

3. Practice getting rid of things on a test basis.

People are hunters and collectors by nature. Therefore, when preparing to part with things, doubts may arise - what if they are needed again... It will be useful to experiment in this direction before you take decisive action. Place items and documents that are not needed at the workplace, but that you would not like to get rid of just yet, in cardboard boxes.

These boxes can be stored in an archive, basement or warehouse. This frees up valuable area/space in your work area.

Remove vacated shelves from your office. Otherwise, they will very soon be filled with something again. In order not to forget about the contents of the boxes, label them as follows:

Be careful when determining the appropriateness of the archive's validity period.

Please mark each box with a serial number. When creating an archive and packaging, make an inventory of what you place in them. From the inventory you can create a list of contents. You can attach the archive protocol to each specific box. You can keep a copy at your workplace - on the inside of the cabinet door, so that you can have direct access to this information if necessary.

4. Free up more space in your workspace

The workspace around you should be organized in such a way as to promote concentration on solving your daily tasks and achieving your goals. Your environment should contain only those things that you need on a daily basis. Often, however, after sorting, the presence of things, objects, furniture that is not used and is in the way is discovered.

Sometimes it happens that you cannot accurately determine the need for certain documents at hand. You periodically access some folders, but you don’t remember which ones. Each time you look in the folder, place a small sticky note on the spine.

After about three months, a picture will appear from which you can judge which folders are the most popular in your work. To avoid wasting time searching for stickers every time, place them on one of the walls of the filing cabinet. This advice will be useful if you periodically archive less frequently used folders or get rid of them. Set a regular reminder in your calendar when you decide which folders need to be removed from your workspace.

Alternative idea: You can seal the folders with tape. When the folder is needed, you tear off the tape. After three months, you will understand which folders should be archived: all those on which the tape remains intact.

Some offices have cabinets or cabinets that are not used - often with the argument that the furniture costs a lot of money. It is true that acquisition always involves spending money. If the furniture is in the aisle, causes unnecessary searches, distracts from work, this results in even greater costs.

Get rid of such furniture. Just arrange necessary furniture and find a new use for it. Some businesses offer to pick up unwanted furniture and items for their employees. Determine a place where you will place such items so that they can be freely removed.

5. Optimize waste sorting

Putting things in order is always associated with the fact that you part with unnecessary things. Often the workplace uses one trash can for everything - be it a yogurt cup or crumpled up paper.

Instead, you need to get a paper recycling box. You use it, giving it your name, only for this purpose. By the way, it is better to have a small desk and a large drawer for papers than vice versa.

Other waste should be sorted using a multi-compartment container or separate, labeled containers. The sizes of containers are determined by the volume of waste.

Since too many documents accumulate in the box over time, it is necessary to empty it not daily, but at least weekly. Also: if you need a document that you sent to the box, you can remove it from there unharmed.

The box for papers must be of a suitable shape and size so that the documents placed there do not wrinkle.

Please note that waste sorting must be maintained throughout the entire chain! There have been cases where sorting was successfully carried out in offices, however, by the evening the staff simply dumped all the garbage in one tank.

For idealists, you can use one of the drawers of the table/cabinet for a container for papers. It is open during the day. When you receive visitors, you can close it with one movement - it is not visible to prying eyes.

6. Keep your work area clean and organized.

If you have brought order and cleanliness to your workplace, now you need to constantly maintain this condition.

Make it a habit to tidy up your desk before you leave your desk at the end of the day. This way you can start from scratch the next day. Otherwise, you accumulate documents: on the first day there are 5 sheets left lying around, the next day - another five, and on the third day you have already grown a stack of papers. This tidying up in the evenings is useful if you are still at the adaptation stage. As you master the recommendations for maintaining order, you will see that at the end of the day there is not much that will have to be brought back to normal.

Maintaining cleanliness and order should be regularly monitored:

You can use the checklist given at the beginning, or develop your own according to your needs. Here you can also include cleaning items for tables, drawers, cabinets, office equipment, floors, plants, lamps, trash containers, common areas, etc.

Successful implementation

I suggest you try these techniques. You will notice that more and more time is freed up in your activities when order surrounds you.

ROTO FRANK is a German company. Most of my Russian colleagues will support me in the fact that every day we believe more and more in justice German proverb“Ordnung muss sein” (Order is the head of everything). This gives us an incentive to move towards mastering the next steps of the Lean Office: developing rules, optimizing existing processes, involving employees as experts, setting goals strategic development and defining performance indicators.

Double-check yourself by implementing the techniques suggested to you:

1. Did you take a photo of the original condition?
2. Have you sorted and gotten rid of unnecessary things (and continue to do so systematically)?
3. Have you used the sticky note method?
4. Have you tried the method of getting rid of things in test mode?
5. Have you freed up more space in your work area?
6. Have you sorted paper waste into a separate box?
7. Have you made it a habit to clean up your desk at the end of the working day?