Leadership

4 Keys To Better Office Productivity

By CC Holland

Updated on: January 19, 2009 / 1:08 PM EST / MoneyWatch

(Today's Team Taskmaster entry is authored by guest blogger Holly McCarthy. Thanks for the contribution, Holly!)

With the economy still wavering, many companies are looking for ways to make sure that their productivity doesn't take a similar plunge. Focusing on four key elements can help preserve and improve productivity in the workplace.

1. Good Leadership

All successful businesses are led by great people. Good leaders don't waste time fruitlessly dwelling on what's going wrong; they find ways to fix the current situation and develop a plan to see that it is accomplished. Showing employees what needs to be done at critical points is the best way to get the workplace running as a cohesive unit.

2. Effective Management

Most managers are good leaders, which is why they hold the positions they do. However, effective management goes beyond leadership and addresses problems and situations at their respective roots. Knowing what needs to be done and making sure that it gets done is the essential function of good management. Effective managers troubleshoot the obstacles and snags that hold back efficiency and find ways to streamline operations.

3. Team Building

For businesses that are dealing with crisis, it is inevitable that some employees or even departments may be eliminated or consolidated. These situations can be very difficult for employees to bear, but participating in team-building exercises can be a great way to eliminate barriers in communication and decrease negativity in the workplace. Find new ways to bring your team together to show that everyone plays an essential function and that they are valued, and you'll help improve the office culture.

4. Collaboration

Creating opportunities for employees to collaborate and find solutions for existing problems is another way to increase productivity in the office. The idea of crowdsourcing, or inviting multiple approaches to a solution through collaboration, is gaining momentum in the current marketplace. Once employees' opinions and ideas are used actively toward a greater goal, the productivity of an office or business will follow suit.

This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of job-search Web sites. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12(at)gmail(dot)com.

(image by Wili Hybrid via Flickr, CC 2.0)