- To improve productivity, it is vital that companies think on two fronts: tools to support the organization of tasks and coexistence dynamics to achieve a friendlier work environment.
- Instruments such as digital calendars and agendas are very useful for good management of day-to-day tasks and achieving objectives.
- To encourage coexistence, it is necessary to get out of the routine and bet on playful activities that stimulate integration between colleagues; board games are ideal to achieve this.
The Covid-19 pandemic changed work dynamics as we knew them and has brought new challenges for organizations. Although a concern that has not disappeared and that you should pay attention to is the way in which you can improve the productivity of your collaborators. The return to the offices has been a complex task for companies due to various aspects, such as the adaptation of spaces, the creation of working hours under hybrid schemes and the integration of teams after a long period of remote work.
Two of the priorities of companies in these moments of transition are productivity and work environment. These two concepts are intrinsically related. The creation of healthy work environments allows the development of teams, reduces stress, encourages creativity and innovation, and also reduces the rate of staff turnover.
There are different mechanisms that can help keep both parameters in good condition. It is important that employees have organizational tools that allow them to Manage your time more efficiently. Instruments such as digital calendars, agendas and practices such as pomodoro method They are very useful for managing day-to-day tasks and achieving goals.
There are different tools for teams to achieve their goals. An agenda can be of great help to establish group and personal goals, as well as to define the urgency with which tasks must be done.
“We developed a tool that seeks to help boost the productivity of work teams, but that also has space for the ideas and personal dreams of collaborators. Our Dreamcatcher Notebook includes three booklets with different types of sheets, in which people can separate the goals and purposes of both their personal and professional lives. This instrument seeks to encourage employees to draw up the plans and ideas they have in their heads and strive to materialize them”, says Guadalupe Gómez Sánchez, Alchemist in Chief of the Mexican company Remedios Mágicos.
Saskia de Winter, founding partner and General Director of Saskia de Winter Training, a business and individual training firm, explains that “writing by hand in an agenda makes a connection with our visual part and we can be more artistic and play with creativity, but the most important point is that it has an impact on memory: what we write by hand remains much more recorded than what we write on the computer”.
The organization challenge
Different organizational tools help workers Manage your times more efficiently and reach your goals. This has a positive effect to increase productivity in a company. However, to enhance this indicator, companies must bet on improving the working environment.
The return to the offices has been a challenge for organizations because the work dynamics, as well as the spaces themselves, have been almost completely modified.
In this context, many collaborators are meeting in person after years of working remotely, in addition to the prolonged home office stress and the uncertainty of returning to the offices could cause friction between the teams. To achieve a better working environment it is vital:
● Foster a work environment of trust and respect
● Establish objectives that generate unity among the members
● Develop effective and close communication channels
● Generate commitment among all team members to achieve the objectives
● Recognize the achievements of each team member
● Develop learning programs
● Carry out recreational activities
Improve productivity through fun
This last point is essential for the development of more productive and happy teams. To reduce work stress and generate stronger interpersonal relationships within an organization, it is necessary to get out of the routine and bet on recreational activities that stimulate integration among colleagues. Board games allow employees to relax, stop being defensive, allow themselves to laugh and lighten the load of stress.
“Board games are one of the classic tools in the processes of team building dynamics and team integration. They are interesting because as you play the game, you play life. These dynamics have an incredible effect on productivity because the playful part of the brain is stimulated, they allow tension, stress and guard to drop”, says Saskia de Winter.
Board games allow workers to get out of their comfort zones, work in a different way, get to know themselves and act more authentically with the rest of the team. This also helps leaders get to know each of the team members in depth and adjust their strengths in favor of the objectives.
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