Productivity is a core objective for any business, more so small tech businesses that face bigger competitors in the tech industry. The creative aspect of developers, web designers and other creative professionals requires them to keep up with the current demand.
But as a manager how do you ensure your development team is working at full capacity? What measures can you take to improve and maintain the efficiency and productivity of your tech team?
This article shares various useful tips to boost your tech team’s productivity.
Automate Workflows and Processes
The work of creatives involves a lot of moving parts. Some steps can be complex, while others can take longer to complete. Automating workflows and processes eliminates repetition and unnecessary tasks, making the team more efficient.
Find processes that don’t add value like manager approvals, invoices, emails, and data entry, and automate them. Likewise, if a task doesn’t contribute directly to the goal at hand, consider omitting it. That way, you’ll ensure a steady momentum in employee work, making them more agile in delivering projects.
Empower Your Tech Team With the Right Tools and Infrastructure
As a tech company, your employees may work remotely. However, their effectiveness depends on the systems and resources they utilize daily – to get maximum value out of their tech team, investing in appropriate tools is vital to making sure it remains efficient.
Some of the must-have technology resources include:
- Time tracking and attendance tools: When running a business, nothing’s as crucial as organizing and managing your time. You want to know how team members spend company time and their activity levels. You also want a record of billable time for accurate payment processing. Proper time management simplifies scheduling and enables you to maximize your team’s workday. Since you have a small team, consider an affordable tool that offers unlimited projects and reports, as well as employee attendance features.
- Project management tools: You’ll need to streamline collaboration with your tech teams using collaboration tools like Trello and Clickup. These tools provide a central place to collaborate, plan and manage tasks and employees.
- Communication tools: Whether teams work in-office or work from home, you need a reliable tool that facilitates efficient communication. Collaborative and communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams help remote tech teams stay connected and become productive.
These tools will cut down on manual hours, improve work accuracy, identify weaknesses in your processes and provide visibility and metrics that can help your company grow.
Communicate With Your Team About Goals, Scope, and Expectations
Setting goals gives team members direction and purpose. The more your team knows about your company, the better prepared it will be to drive success. Let members understand which roles they play within a project as well as why their contributions matter so greatly to business operations.
Once everyone on your team feels valued and part of the company, they are more engaged and will go the extra mile in reaching desired results.
On the same note, encourage open communication between employees, management, and among themselves. This is especially helpful in a remote work setup where team members work in isolation.
Knowing what team members are going through can help you identify problems like burnout and stress early on and prevent them.
Do Not Micromanage Your Team
Keep in thoughts that you employed clever, smart, and proficient creative professionals who can get the activity accomplished. Now is the time to allow them to do it on their very own. A recent survey indicated that 79% of personnel experience micromanagement in some unspecified time in the future at some point of their career; micromanaging workers might also increase turnover extensively.
For a tech team, micromanagement can kill creativity and negatively impact productivity. Trust your team to get the job done and provide them with the right resources and infrastructure to accomplish tasks.
Consider leveraging technology to monitor work progress, performance, and achievement. This way, you’ll reduce reporting since you can check on them without interrupting their work.
Encourage Team Members to Eliminate Distractions
A report by Udemy shows that 70 percent of workers report getting distracted at work, and this could be costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Smartphones and the internet are the top culprits of distraction at work and usually lead to dozens of work hours lost.
Helping your teams overcome this can really boost their productivity. Encourage them to organize their workdays effectively and schedule time for distractions. That way, they can set aside time for uninterrupted work knowing they don’t have to check social media accounts or YouTube in the middle of working.
Offer Your Team Development Opportunities
Employees tend to stick around companies that provide them with growth opportunities. By supporting your team’s need to learn and advance their careers, you’ll be empowering them to take on new challenges and responsibilities.
You’ll also be preparing them for promotions, which illustrates your trust in them. When teams feel included, they’ll be more inclined to do their best to achieve success, automatically leading to increased productivity.
Encourage Team Members to Work With a Routine
Employees working in an office follow an unwritten schedule that comes automatically. However, a team of developers working from home can have trouble sticking to a routine due to the nature of the working environment.
Your team could benefit from you sharing with them any routine that works well for you; sharing it could inspire them to find an approach which best meets their own needs and goals.
Implement 360-Degree Feedback
Offering your tech team immediate feedback and publicly recognizing their efforts builds trust and motivation. If some areas need improvement, address those issues immediately and privately.
360-degree feedback allows each team member to receive performance reviews from their coworkers, managers, and everyone they interact with. When done correctly, this appraisal method can improve team effectiveness, and employee retention, and boost company growth.
In Closing
Start implementing the high-impact productivity hacks shared above to maximize your tech team’s productivity. Find the tips that work for your business model and encourage your team to keep practicing them. Soon, you’ll be watching your bottom line soar and your employees happier.
