Keep focused

Distractions kill productivity. email and telephone calls are essential components of some jobs and roles ... but for others they are simply distractions. Your job is to 'set the tone' as to which emails and calls should 'get through' and which should be eliminated or diverted. But don't get distracted by it!

church bells

I was walking home last night. The church bells were ringing nearby.

The sound lifted my spirits immediately. I think thst church bells are a joyous sound. I immediately felt better and more positive.

So, what sound makes your employees feel better and more positive.

Of course, this does not apply only to sounds.

You need to find out what it is that makes them feel better. Is it the way they're treated? Is it the kind of communication you use? If so, is it what you say or how you say it?

If you can find out what makes them feel more positive, then they are going to be more productive.

So try to discover what is their version of 'church bells'.

Get a coffee machine

The coffee machine or water cooler is where people gather .. briefly .. and exchange information (and gossip, I admit). It is a source of informal collaboration, of sharing background information, of raising problems. If you haven't got one .. perhaps you should think about getting one.

Do something else

Sometimes we do not want people to do more work .. we want them to do something else instead. If activity is non-productive, we definitely do not want more of it. It costs us money but does not contribute to profit. So you need to work out what is productive activity ... and what is not. ("How will what Joe or Jean is currently working on help my business thrive and grow?") Then you need to focus your workforce on that productive activity ... and find ways of eliminating or minimising anything which is non-productive. .

Google apps, Anyone

I've just signed in to Google Apps ... for their free trial. Even this was not straightforward as you have to (quite rightly) prove you own the domain you want to use ... and when (like mine) this is a Wordpress-based site, it is not simple. However, this is now done ... and I can create a shared (Google) Drive so that we all have access to the same files. Will let you know how I get on ... and whether I think it suitable for those of us without lots of IT knowledge... who just want to use the stuff.