People who deliver technology are different from other employees in many ways. The nature of their work is often ambiguous and less clear cut than other jobs. Technology people are usually not motivated by the same things that other employees are and are often more dedicated to the technology than the company. 1. Compensate your staff with both money and recognition. Technical people want to feel appreciated and useful. Praise them publicly and give them credit for their accomplishments. Make sure their salaries are competitive, especially at senior levels. 2. Let your staff choose their own projects, explore new technology and figure out how to apply it. Give them a chance to come up with creative ideas. Let them control how projects are implemented. Assign tasks by interest, not just skills. 3. Give them a chance to organize things their own way and figure out how to do things, unless regulated controls are already in place. 4. Budget for the tools and technology needed to do the job. Working with outmoded technology and not having the necessary tools done is a major frustration for tech staff. Provide access to software and network resources. Give your tech staff workstations with fast processing and memory capability. 5. Find the right balance of working independently and as part of a group. Depending on the project, team members can help to motivate each other and should work in an environment where they can collaborate. Some technical people do better at figuring out problems in their own time and space. Allow them some freedom to work from home or during non-standard work hours. 6. Motivate your staff with free food, t-shirts and technical gadgets. 7. Define tasks and goals clearly. In technical work, the end result is often unclear. Give your staff complete information to produce the results you're looking for.
One of the challenges facing you in today's workplace is the constant stream of distractions that happen on an on-going basis every single day. At the end of the work day, you often wonder why you have not completed that task or written that document which needs to be ready by first thing the next day.
You get frustrated and you blame the entire system for not making it work for you. Know this: Everything starts with yourself and how you manage the many diversions that stand in your way of completing your work and achieving higher productivity in the workplace.
Here are some of the ways that you can use to combat the time wasters in your work life:
What do you when you have sales people who "happen to be in the neighborhood" and would like to see you for a while?
"For a while" is usually about 15 to 30 minutes. Often times, uninvited appointments are not a life-and-death situation, something that you can swiftly respond with, "I have just five minutes to see you, if you don't mind". That five minutes is an investment towards relationship building with your suppliers but it should not take more time than necessary. You are not obliged to see that person but it would be impolite to turn them down as it would create unhealthy image of yourself and the company.
What do you do to indicate to your co-worker that you are not to be disturbed?
Other than put a "funny" poster that conveys the message "Get Lost", you could be polite about it and say you have life-threatening deadline to meet. Or you could loudly declare that you are very stressed right now and about to explode with the work that is due any minutes. Be firm. Do not allow others to rob you of your time.
What can you do to manage the incessant phone calls?
Phone calls are one of the major time wasters in the workplace. Any real work issues are normally expressed in emails. So telephone calls often times are just a PR function or chitchat over small things. Very rarely are they as urgent as they seem. You can suggest to the management to install caller-ID where you can view the telephone numbers of incoming calls. Make a case that this is a sure-fire way for increased productivity, and for crisis management. Where you do not anticipate problems or urgency, most phone calls can wait while you finish up your work. Use voice mail if you have it.
What is the best way to say "No" to lunch invitations without offending the other party?
You could pack your own lunch, so that nobody can persuade you to go out and lunch with them. On busy days, cancel your social lunch appointments if you have already made a prior arrangement and make a sincere apology. Do not let your social commitments eat into your working hours. This creates unnecessary stress, and you end up going home late or worse still - bringing the work home.
How can you steal time to finish work and still get to go home early?
You come in an hour earlier. This is when no one is in the office yet, when the phone is not ringing, when your mind is still fresh and alert. You will not get distracted, you get to use the hours productively and you get more done given your high energy and mental level in the morning. Leverage on it.
As you think about how to manage the time wasters, consider the pitfalls for every action that you take. It is important that you find an approach that is not detrimental to your relationship with people or affecting the image of the company or division that you work for.
Both Ada Denis & Shafir Ahmad are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.