While employees are certainly responsible for the level of productivity in a business, the level of organisation and other factors from the management side are just as important. Here are a few things to take into consideration when trying to raise the level of productivity.

1. Create a Pleasing Environment

If your team is a team and not a pit of gladiators fighting against each other, your company will get a lot more things done.

It’s a lot better to have a group of people who work together, help and feed ideas to each other, than people who need to watch their back and try to keep all good ideas for themselves for fear of the competition.

2. Make Your Employees Happy

Underpaid, overworked employees will eventually flee your company in droves. Give them good benefits, a good pay for the work they do and occasional rewards when they excel, and you’ll have them stay, providing step 1 is in place.

3. Assign Proper Roles

If things don’t get done it might be for several reasons:

a. Someone is incompetent along the line – due to either not knowing their job or to not being particularly on the ball

b. The workflow bottlenecked somewhere

c. There is no one in charge or there is no position to take care of it

You solve these issues by:

a. Training your personnel and locating the ones that are not capable of doing their job and put them onto some other task

b. Reorganise the workflow and redistribute the workload, but if those aren’t enough hire more personnel

c. Put someone in charge or be quick at spotting where a new position needs to be created to deal with the traffic that is meeting a dead end

4. Make Sure Your Employees Have All They Need

If they are going to do work that needs a powerful computer, while trying to keep the costs down, make sure you give them one that is capable of doing the functions it needs to do. Getting a slightly more expensive computer now might save you money by cutting down execution times.

Make sure they have enough printer toner if they have a printer for example, and make sure it’s stocked up or quickly ordered. A secretary would find it very hard to send your personalised letters by the end of the day without it.

Same goes for supplies and office stationery.

5. Communicate

Be transparent when possible. Hold staff meetings, let people know they can reach you whenever they need to, within limits of course. If you are the manager of a company with 700 people it might be a little hard to speak to everyone.

Regardless there should always be clear communication between people in a business, a misunderstood order might cause a lot of hassle later.

6. Encourage and Motivate

Don’t give feedback only when it’s negative. It’s all well and good to consider perfection as the norm so that it goes unacknowledged, until you realise that nobody’s perfect and the lack of recognition makes people think they good efforts are not valued.

7. Set Realistic Targets

You can’t really get anything done without targets. Sometimes there will just be situations where you have to get things done quickly, but a frantic workplace can’t be the norm unless you want to stress your employees to death.

It’s also a very good idea to encourage your employees to set targets by themselves. If they do they will gain more control over their workload and will realise they can produce more.

8. Plan When Needed

Plans are important. Don’t forget to set them and let your employee knows what they are so that they can move in the right direction. Hold meetings when required.

9. Act When Needed

Which should be way more often than when you hold meetings. You need to have people actually do the jobs, if you just bombard them with meeting after meeting after meeting they will not get anything done.

10. Implement Options for Training

Things evolve, especially technology. Make sure you keep your staff up to date with courses or in-house training.

Do you have any tips for improving productivity — or, even better, any horror stories of productivity drives gone wrong?

Let us know in the comments!

Tags:  Employment, Productivity, Wage, Business, Workflow, Work, United States, Stress management

Given the competing demands of owning a business, managing a team of employees and trying to keep my personal life together, I spend an average of about 4-5 hours a day answering email messages.  I answer emails while I’m in and out of calls, sitting in meetings or working from coffee shops, using everything from my iPhone to my Android phone, my iPad and my computer (though most of my email activities are carried out on mobile devices these days).

Since email management plays such a big role in my life, it’s important to me that I’m as productive as possible when it comes to responding to messages.  The following hacks have all helped me to keep up with my messages and maintain “Inbox Zero” for the last eight months – I hope you find them helpful as well!

1.       Respond to simple messages first thing in the morning.

Plenty of productivity gurus will tell you not to check your email messages first thing in the morning, but let’s be realistic – it’s almost impossible to resist clicking into your inbox when you first wake up.

So, instead of saying that you shouldn’t even peek at your messages before cranking out a few hours of productive work, I recommend taking a “middle of the road” approach.  Check your messages first thing in the morning, but only respond to items that can be handled in one minute or less.  Delete anything that you don’t need to follow up with, answer simple questions and then flag any messages that will require more time to respond to for your attention later in the day – after you’re able to get some work done.

2.       Centralize your email activities from within a single account.

These days, having multiple email accounts is the norm – but checking all of these inboxes individually represents a huge productivity loss.  A much better approach is to centralize your messages in a single account (though you’ll need to be sure your chosen email hub gives you the option of sending outbound messages from your connected alias accounts).

Personally, I’m partial to using Gmail as a central hub, as it gives you the ability to connect multiple email addresses and send messages using all of these different accounts as your “From” address.  In addition, Gmail makes tons of different extensions and add-ons available (some of which I’ll mention below) to help you manage your inbox as efficiently as possible.

3.       Set up strong filters.

No matter what program you decide to use as your email hub, put some serious effort into the filters you create to manage incoming messages.  When it comes to productivity, there’s really no substitute to having inbound emails automatically filtered into a folder system that enables you to easily scan and follow up with your highest priority messages.

For a few ideas on possible filters to set up, consider the following:

• Send messages from your supervisor or direct reports to a separate folder
• Redirect emails from top priority clients to a separate area that’s immediately visible in your inbox
• Automatically place newsletters or autoresponder courses into a sub-folder for later browsing

You’ll want to experiment with different filter options in order to see what works best for you.  Remember, the last thing you want is for a priority message to be hidden from your sight, so take care to check all folders after adding a new filter to your account!

4.       Separate individual messages from group emails.

One particular type of filter or label you’ll want to set up is a method that separates messages that are sent only to you from those that are addressed to an entire group.  This is especially important if you work within a large organization that sends frequent mass emails, as you’ll likely find it useful to prioritize personal communications over company-wide messages.

Depending on the email system you use, you can do this using either a filter or label.  For example, in the case of Gmail, you could simply add a color label or “<” identifier to individual messages, instead of redirecting these emails to a separate folder.

5.       Use the Email Game to get to Inbox Zero

Maintaining an “Inbox Zero” (that is, a totally empty inbox) is crucial for me to ensure that important messages don’t get buried amongst newsletters and spam emails.  However, I also know that, for plenty of people, the idea of wading through the thousands of messages in their inboxes in order to reach this point may seem overwhelming.

If you’re serious about getting to Inbox Zero, consider experimenting with Baydin’sEmail Game program.  Although it currently only works with Gmail accounts, you’ll find that it’s a fun, free way to process hundreds of inbox messages in a single go.

6.       Dedicate certain times of the day to answering emails.

This tip comes from Tim Ferriss’s popular book, “The Four Hour Work Week.”  Basically, if you check your email every time you think about it, you become a slave to your inbox, which prevents you from attaining the focus needed to get things done in other areas of your professional life.

The solution?  Set certain times throughout the day to check your messages – say,8:00 am, noon and 4:00pm.  Train your colleagues to understand that you’re only available via email during those hours, and use the rest of your newly-found free time to make progress on the tangible items on your “To Do” list.

7.       Split email messages by type.

In addition to only answering email messages at certain times of the day, I’m also big on splitting them up by different types.

For example, when I sit down to respond to emails, I might answer all of my meeting scheduling questions at once, before moving on to answering short questions, providing internal feedback, fielding questions from clients or sending personal messages.  Doing so helps me to stay organized (so that I’m not scheduling meetings on top of one another, for instance) and reduces the mental strain needed to shift back and forth between different message types.

8.       Make use of email template services.

If you find yourself typing the same messages over and over, you need an email template service, which will allow you to store snippets of text and add them to outgoing emails automatically.  Whether you use this type of tool to automatically follow up with clients, respond to link requests or email new prospects, the potential time savings can be immense!

For a few template service options, take a look at Gmail’s Canned Responses,AutoHotKey, Texter or Yesware.

9.       Experiment with keyboard shortcuts.

Nearly all email programs make use of a set of keyboard shortcuts that enable you to execute specific commands quickly and effectively.  Though these features can involve a bit of a learning curve when it comes to reading and implementing shortcuts, doing so can save you a tremendous amount of time over traditional email operations.

10.   Try Sanebox to weed out unimportant messages.

So far, at least a few of the hacks I’ve covered involve making sure you’re seeing and responding to your most important messages first.  And while you can accomplish this using filters, labels or other tools, an even faster way to clean up your inbox is to use a program called Sanebox.

For a small fee, Sanebox will automatically filter “unimportant” messages out of your Gmail inbox, relegating all other emails to a “SaneLater” folder that you can peruse at your leisure.  The program actually trains itself based on your activities, meaning that a small investment of time can result in an inbox that’s custom-tailored to your message handling preferences.

11.   Use Unroll.me to easily manage email subscriptions.

Another fun tool to take a look at when trying to get a grip on your email accounts is Unroll.me, which is particularly useful for unsubscribing from multiple lists at the same time.

Over time, we all get signed up for more subscription lists than we’ve bargained for – and left un-checked, these automated messages can take over your inbox.  Unroll.me is a great, free option for visualizing the number of subscription lists you’ve been added to, as well as automatically unsubscribing from the messages you no longer wish to receive.

12.   Install social CRM tools inside your email accounts.

To get even more out of your email account, make it do more than just serve up messages!  One of my favorite new email tools is Rapportive, which automatically pulls social media activity from your email contacts and displays it in a sidebar next to your messages.  It’s an especially useful option when email mentors and other business network members, as it enables you to quickly reference your contact’s recent online activity – providing a great jumping off point for starting new conversations.

13.   Address personal messages outside of working hours.

Although your results may vary, I’ve found it most effective to respond to personal messages outside of my working hours.  For some reason, responding to personal messages shifts me out of a productive mindset and makes me more likely to engage in time-wasting internet activities, rather than getting back down to business.

If you find yourself mysteriously winding up on Facebook, Twitter or any other personal website after responding to private messages, consider saving these activities for a time when you’ve finished your professional work for the day!

14.   Re-read your messages before you send them.

Sometimes, I’ll get typing so quickly when responding to email messages that my mind can’t keep up with what I’m writing.  As a result, spelling and grammatical errors can sneak into my messages and get sent out to customers and contacts – unless I’m careful to re-read them before pressing the “Send” button.

While it might seem like this hack actually increases the amount of time you spend on email, it pays off in terms of maintaining your professional reputation and ensuring the clarity of your messages.  Really, you aren’t saving any time if your recipient has to email you back and ask you what you meant with your original message!

15.   Take action – every time.

Finally, it should go without saying, but one of the most important things you can do to  manage your inbox more effectively is to take action on every piece of mail that you open – every time.

Instead of reading through a message and deciding to act on it later, take the time to either reply right away (if the time needed to compose a response is short), delete the message (if it’s unimportant) or archive it to a folder that will be emptied later (if you’ll need more time to draft a response).  Doing so will go a long way towards reducing the number of messages that sit idly by, clogging up your inbox unnecessarily.

So that, in a nutshell, is how I manage my email inboxes.  This system has worked for me for over ten years, but I’m always open to new ideas.  If you have any other email productivity hacks to share, leave me a message in the comments section below!

Related articles

• Help Wanted: A Gmail Hack To See Only Replies To My Sent Messages (avc.com)
• Taskbox - Turn your inbox into a task list (kickstarter.com)
• 12 Gmail Plugins to Boost Productivity (lifehack.org)

Tags: Android, iPad, iPhone, Inbox Zero, Productivity, Mobile device, Email, Gmail

You’ve read countless case studies of how small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have turned to cloud computing to raise productivity, improve customer service and stay ahead of the competition. But is your company ready to jump onto the bandwagon? Here’s what you need to know before moving to the cloud:

1. Define your needs
While cloud computing may seem like hype, it has leveled the playing field for SMBs that would not have been able to afford sophisticated business applications. 87 percent of SMBs surveyed said cloud applications have given them a competitive advantage, while 85 percent agreed that cloud applications have improved employee productivity. However, to realize the full benefits of the cloud, it is important to define what you want to achieve. Are you hoping to improve customer service by allowing your sales team to respond to customer requests quickly? Or, do you want improve collaboration among employees? Articulating those needs clearly will go a long way in choosing the right cloud service provider.

2. Choose the right service provider
Choosing a cloud service provider can be a daunting task. There are several criteria that you can use to evaluate a service provider, including performance, support and security. The Asia Cloud Computing Association has published a useful evaluation matrix that will help you prioritize your requirements. For example, if you have customers that demand strict data security, a potential cloud provider would have to score higher for that criterion over others. A company with limited IT resources may demand the highest level of support, while an engineering firm may place performance as its highest priority.

3. Back up and secure your data
Most cloud service providers will assure you that your data is safe. Bigger cloud players like Salesforce.com will enforce strict data protection policies to protect your data, but when an employee downloads or copies that data, security could go out the window. Consider employing cloud-based data loss protection (DLP) technology that takes digital fingerprints of data in the cloud. So, if someone tries to download, copy and paste, or e-mail confidential data, DLP technology will recognize the fingerprinted data as sensitive, and takes action to prevent misuse. Finally, backing up your data is a no-brainer. Most cloud services will allow you to export a copy of your data which you can restore if things go awry, or when you switch service providers.

4. Data integration services
Do you need to integrate existing data that you are housing on your in-house IT systems with your cloud service? This is especially important if you’re not ready to move all your data to the cloud. Your customer profile data, for example, may be tied closely to a legacy system which may be difficult to decouple. While integration is usually done through APIs, consider tapping on integration services provided by systems integrators to speed up the process.

5. Plan your deployment
Early cloud adopters agree that adequate planning and preparation would have made their implementation efforts easier and more successful. It is thus important for SMBs to develop a clear implementation plan, which should involve a deployment roadmap, as well as identifying key business and IT transformations with measurable benefits. Upfront planning would help you avoid issues like long deployment cycles, limited integration with other applications and lack of proper training.

Tags: Cloud computing, Information technology, Information privacy, Small and medium enterprises, Business, Service provider, Salesforce.com, E-Commerce

Bangalore: With several cloud offerings in the market it becomes a little difficult for enterprise to choose the one that fits their budget. But enterprises do need to maximize their productivity and the best option for business is Google Cloud.

So for enterprises who already have adopted Google Cloud, how can you increase the value? How can you improve your storage system? The best answer is Google Drive.

Google Drive is a powerful collaboration platform that allows users to develop documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and business forms. With Google cloud, users can share data’s such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and business forms with colleagues, customers and partners. This maintains document iterations arranged, reducing the number of duplicated documents. Recently, Google Drive has been grabbing a lot of attention because of its low cost and high business value.

However the transition from the traditional methods is still slow. Enterprises are still depending on their businesses up on desktop-based tools like Microsoft Office. A successful adoption of Google Drive within an organization covers many factors such as ability of businesses and IT managements to provide better information, highlighting successful use-cases and by providing high-quality training.

With that here are 5 steps for enterprises for improving their Google Drive adoption.

#1 Communicate a clear plan:

Enterprises are still unaware of the latest trends and changes within the technology. So the first step for an excellent Google Drive adoption is to train and change the management plan within the enterprise. Factors such as technology co-existence, productivity suites and migration technique must be considered.

#2 Provide training:

The second step where enterprises must focus more is training. Training will increase users comfort level with Google Drive so that employees can primarily focus on business goals of their organization. Also, apt guidance can focus workers on organizational policies on naming documents, sharing, searching, and developing better organization ofdocuments within the Drive.

#3 Prepare a rich template gallery:

Organizations need to have a good library for all their important documents. This kind of course can assure users to store their documents with consistency and format.

Linking to templates from the corporate intranet site and allowing employees to access high-use documents like Meeting Agendas, Project Plans, Action Items Lists, Proposals and Statements of Work are the best examples.

#4 Lead by example:

Another method for easy adoption is to lead by example. Senior business and IT managers can lead the way by using Google Drive for day-to-day activities. Managers can create departmental surveys in Google Forms, share spreadsheets with their teams, create documents in Google Docs and share with teams.  This also helps in boosting the employee morale, which obviously increases the rate of approval of Google Drive.

#5 Create a document library:

Making important organization-wide documents and policies available in Google Drive and sharing them with the entire organization by creating links from the corporate intranet, is the best way to augment Google Drive adoption. Organizations also need to let users know about the availability of template library. These templates must be arranged into a slick experience with corporate branding and colors. Companies also must educate users as to where they can find the most up to date information, for example in corporate handbooks, department and organization policies.

Tags: Google, Microsoft Office, Google Drive, Cloud computing, Business, Organization, Companies law, documents

Sick and tired of hearing me bleat on about my favourite apps and services? Sit back and read this guest post originally published back in 2010 by James Adams who outlines his personal choices.

Cloud computing is the latest in the trend to minimize IT costs and increase productivity. Software from the cloud takes the burden of administration off of the local organization, relieving much of the demand for in-house expertise. Cloud based represents higher productivity for in-house and mobile workforces in the form of accessible and secure computing with more up time. Here are 12 cloud apps that will make your business more productive.

Basecamp

An online project management tool that runs through the cloud and provides team collaboration features. Everything you need to manage your projects is found in Basecamp, including file sharing, scheduling, task management and assignment, and feedback. Basecamp interacts with several iPhone apps, and third party computer-based tools to give you maximum accessibility and flexibility wherever you are. Packages available range from 15 projects to unlimited. A 30 day trial lets you see if Basecamp will fit the needs of your business before you buy.

Dropbox

A web-based file sharing service that also provides secure file storage, synchronization, and backup. Files can be accessed from anywhere and changes made to files by the team are automatically synced to user’s local computers. Supports Linux, Mac, and Windows. Dropbox offers 2 GB of storage free so you can see how it works prior to purchasing.

Zoho

A cloud based office software suite, offering powerful document creation management tools for spreadsheets, word processing, invoicing, CRM, and more. You pay for only the apps you use.

Dimdim

Web conferencing software that resides in the cloud and offers a great medium in which you can interface with your mobile workers, customers, and vendors. Rather than having people travel to meetings, why not let everyone stay home, save the earth and attend the meeting online?

Pixlr

Cloud-based image editing services. Three applications, Editor, Express, and Grabber combine to give users amazing power to create and edit images.

Github

Social coding application that runs through the cloud to provide version control and collaborative software development. Several packages are available from the free open source plan to the Giga plan that includes 300 private repositories, private collaborators, and 60 GB of storage. There is also an enterprise version of Github that companies can deploy on their own cloud platform.

FreshBooks

A financial management application that’s hosted in the cloud. This program offers “painless billing” that makes it easy to bill clients, track payments, and perform other bookkeeping. This app is specially designed for teams, freelance workers, and service providers.

Google Docs

A personal repository of documents that can be shared and updated as needed. Google Docs features revision tracking and allows users to save documents locally if necessary. This application is free.

Mojo Helpdesk

Provides online customer relationship management (CRM), including request tracking, ticket assignment, email integration, and on demand help. Eleven users are supported for the $24 monthly fee, with an unlimited option available for $49.

Cloudmark Desktop

Business with real time protection from email spam, phishing, and viruses without loading down the computers on your network.

Appointy

An online scheduling software that provides businesses with appointment and schedule management. The software can be configured to allow customers to make their own appointments and send out text and voice alerts for appointments. Appointy even has tools available to promote your business. Practically any business that schedules appointments over the telephone will appreciate the power Appointy offers to make businesses more efficient and productive.

Gliffy

Provides cloud-based charting and diagramming. This powerful app gives business access to the tools needed to create professional flow charts, floor plans, and technical drawings.

Cloud based applications are perfect for managing business functions from any web browser so employees and managers can be productive wherever they are. With software management and administration performed by the host, businesses can focus on their mission rather than on IT related tasks. Try these applications out and see how powerful web-based applications can transform your business.

This guest post was written by James Adams who is a blogger working for an online storeoffering toner next day for the UK. He is a contributor to their design blog where he posts about technology and design.

Tags: Basecamp, Cloud computing, Project management, Linux, Web conferencing, Office suite, iPhone, Windows

Fitness has always been a part of my life. From swimming in high school, playing rugby in college, to the relentless focus on fitness as a Navy SEAL, I have always prioritized health and wellness in order to stay competitive in everything I do. I passionately believe being healthy and physically fit has a direct correlation to happiness and success, whatever your personal definition of that may be.

Before my SEAL training began, I kept hearing that BUD/s (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) is mostly mental. I understand why people said that because generally guys quit early on because of the extreme mental and emotional stress placed on the students, not to mention being constantly cold and wet. So, my philosophy in preparing for the toughest special operations training in the world was to let my fitness level be the last thing I had to worry about. I knew there would be plenty of other challenges to face. After quitting my finance job in Dallas, I moved to Crested Butte, CO. for three months to train at an altitude of 10,000 feet. The extreme training paid off. Fitness was never an issue for me during BUD/s.

The Officers in any SEAL training class are expected to lead from the front, literally. Officers need to motivate their classmates by being in even greater physical condition that the enlisted students. This is not always the case, of course, but I found it generally to be true. Fitness is part of the SEAL culture and an essential ingredient for mission success. Similarly, in a fast paced entrepreneurial organization, I believe a good leader must maintain mental and physical wellness in order to effectively drive the business forward and inspire the team.

I strongly believe that a fit leader is a better leader, and here are the five reasons why:

1. Energy and Productivity: Maintaining a regular exercise routine will give you more energy throughout the day. Leading a growing company is tough enough. Make sure you have the energy to do so effectively. As a leader when you have more energy, you are more likely to face the challenges of the day aggressively and confidently.
2. Confidence and Creativity: A fit leader will have more confidence and solve problems more creatively. Studies show that our cognitive ability to be creative increases with even moderate levels of exercise. Whenever I have a speaking engagement or important presentation, I make sure to exercise that day prior to the event.
3. Facing Challenges: In SEAL training you are constantly pushed beyond your pain threshold, so much so that your “comfort zone” takes on a whole new definition. I follow the same theory when training by always pushing myself beyond my existing comfort zone. Doing so increases your stamina and mental ability to endure physical and mental suffering. As a business leader, you have to be able to face tough challenges every day while maintaining mental focus on priorities.
4. Mental Wellness: Exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress because it boosts your brain’s “feel-good” neurotransmitters called endorphins. Also, by solely focusing on your body’s motions for a period of time, you focus less on the day’s stresses, at least for a while. According to an article by the Mayo Clinic, exercise also reduces symptoms associated with anxiety and depression, while also improving sleeping patterns.
5. Influence: If all this is true for the leader of an organization, it must be true for the whole team, right? It is widely believed that healthy employees are happier and more productive. A fit workforce is also less likely to get sick; thereby, improving attendance and reducing healthcare costs. In this article, DigiFitprovides some great reasons why a healthy workforce will improve the bottom line. This, of course, takes us back to leading by example. You can’t expect to foster a culture of fitness unless you, as the leader, are physically fit and promote overall wellness. For example, I occaisionally run boot camps for team members and IMI’s Culture Club holds recess every Thursday afternoon. My business partner and I specifically chose our new office building because it has a great gym right downstairs. Our team has even held several “Biggest Loser” contests. Fitness permeates our culture.

My favorite quote from the Navy SEAL Creed is about always being physically and mentally prepared and never quitting. This paragraph is what drove me in combat and what pushes me forward every day in the chaotic environment of a growing business:

“I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.”

As a business leader what are you currently doing to ensure a happy, healthy, and productive workforce?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

Tags: United States Navy SEALs, Mental health, Mayo Clinic, United States Navy SEAL selection and training, Physical fitness, Crested Butte  Colorado, Health, Leadership