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Managing Employees Effectively & Graciously

March 31, 2010 By

Connotation: Manager

Most people think of “manager” as a cold and removed concept.  They imagine a boss isolated from his/her employees and unreachable for personal matters.  What if you changed that?  What if you managed in a personal way?

An effective and gracious manager turns a name ona file to a face with a name.

Managing with Effectiveness & Grace

Now, no one is suggesting that you lower your standards or start wearing flip flops to work.  Rather, the idea is that you manage with care instead of calculation.  This new model would mostly be noticed as you dealt with problem employees.  From tardiness to sloppiness, each employee usually has a weaker area that must be addressed in some way.  Now, it’s important not to micromanage them every step of the way.  Not only do most workers resent Big Brother staring over the shoulder, they also appreciate the freedom that comes with autonomy.  So, how do you balance standards and gracious care?  Take a look at the 10 tips below.  Far from exhaustive, these tips are designed to help you manage tactfully and graciously.

10 Tips for Effective & Gracious Management

  1. Remind yourself that not every issue needs dealing with.  If you have a preference that is an unnecessary (or even unreasonable) request, take that one for the team.  Your employees shouldn’t have to cater to your specifics all the time.
  2. Prioritize problem areas.  Problems that cost the company money or wreak havoc on company morale should be at the top of your list.
  3. Be reasonable in your expectations.  Is it possible that you have not clearly communicated what you need or want?  Take time to clearly and concisely reiterate your objectives and goals.
  4. When appropriate, meet one-on-one with your employees for progress reports.  Try to give positive feedback, too, so that they don’t dread coming to your office.  If it’s unrealistic to meet with them all, delegate this task to your own subordinates and make sure you meet with them (the subordinates) yourself.  This is a good time to set personal goals- real, achievable, specific goals, such as monthly sales (versus corney or cheesy ones, such as “Be my best.”)
  5. Hold yourself to the same standards you ask of your employees.  If you expect timeliness, be punctual.  If you require a dress code, honor it yourself.  No one wants to work for a hypocrite, even if you have good reason to be one.
  6. People love praise, so any genuine encouragement you can give would be welcome any day, any time.
  7. Deal with conflict in person.  This is a tough one- it’s easier for you to email about a problem, but remember that email does not convey your tone of voice and is read as a whole without any breaks for interaction.  Additionally, emails can be printed and distributed out of context.  By talking about an issue face to face, you can set the tone and have a two-way conversation that is more likely to result in a solution, rather than a further conflict.
  8. Consider office dynamics- who gets along and who doesn’t?  Personality clashes are part of working together, so don’t stress over minor annoyances.  On the other hand, you may want to rearrange who sits where.
  9. Many businesses implement sound masking to cover office noise.  Akin to white noise, sound masking offers a noise solution for better productivity and fewer overheard conversations.  It could be that this low-level noise option cancels out personal conflicts or stress, too.
  10. Be yourself.  If your goal is to be more effective and gracious, nothing says that more than being genuine.
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Let Them Work In Peace

March 29, 2010 By

In 2004, Justin Mardex,  who at the time was a Masters student at Cornell University in the department of Design and Environmental Analysis, wrote a paper about “Auditory, Visual, and Physical Distractions in the Workplace” and has graciously published it online. (What a guy.)  In this paper, he quotes some eye opening statistics and I would like to highlight a couple of them. We are focusing on auditory distractions, but the entire paper is worth a read should you have spare time this afternoon.

‘Ability to do distraction free solo work’

The first startling statistic he quotes is from a study done in 2002. “In a survey of 13000 office employees, the workplace attribute found to be most effective was the ‘ability to do distraction free solo work‘ followed by ‘support for impromptu interactions (both in one’s workspace and elsewhere.)” These employees just want a place where they can think and work by themselves, unless they need help or need to bounce some ideas off of someone else.

Improved Productivity
Mardex also quotes some findings by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). This group did a national survey and found that “more than 70 percent of respondents indicated that their productivity would improve if their workspace was less noisy. A similar ASID survey of corporate executives indicated that only 19 percent were conscious of any sort of noise problem.”  In other words, the workers say they would just like a quiet place to work ,and their management is unaware of the problem.

You are aware of a problem if you are reading this site. Your workers would like a quiet place to work, but still have the (much needed) freedom to share ideas and provide important feedback on work that is being done. They also feel that if they are given a quiet place to work, their productivity will go up. We think the best way to facilitate this is sound masking.  It is loud enough to drown out conversational distractions, but unlike headphones or strict rules about noise, still allows for discussions. According to these studies, your workers will thank you for it.

Next Monday, we will highlight some other points that Mr. Mardex made in his very helpful paper. See you then!

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Interrupted at Work

March 25, 2010 By

I recently found an interesting study on office interruptions.  Usually called distractions, these interruptions were researched from various angles, including but not limited to: What caused them (external or internal?), How many were there, and How long it took to get back on task.

What caused them?

The study found that most people suffered from both internal and external interruptions.  While most managers are primarily victims of external interruptions, the average worker distracts him/herself almost as much as others do!

How many were there?

The average worker had an interruptions/distraction every 3 minutes. Yikes.

How long did it take to get back on task?

When you’re interrupted, you don’t immediately go back to the task you were doing before you were interrupted. There are about two intervening tasks before you go back to your original task, so it takes more effort to reorient back to the original task. Also, interruptions change the physical environment. For example, someone has asked you for information and you have opened new windows on your desktop, or people have given you papers that are now arranged on your desk. So often the physical layout of your environment has changed, and it’s harder to reconstruct where you were. So there’s a cognitive cost to an interruption.

Interruptions are sometimes necessary, but they always derail productivity for the interrupted party.

As a manager, that may not be the best of news on any front. The bottom line is that Average Worker is surrounded by interruptions caused by others and by self.  It’s difficult to control for internal interruptions, such as email checking, but you can control for external interruptions.  It’s not inevitable that your employees have to be held captive by others and their noise.  A more recent development has been the use of office sound masking, the use of low-level white noise to cover office noise (i.e. unnecessary interruptions and distractions).  The result is less distraction, more focus, fewer errors, and lower stress levels.

An effective manager doesn’t micromanage every detail.  On the other hand, (s)he does provide a productivity-friendly environment.  You don’t need to worry about every moment lost to interruptions- in fact, some of them are quite necessary to every day productivity (such as an employee seeking advice/help from his/her manager).  But you can guard against unnecessary distraction.

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Managing the Informational Bottleneck

March 23, 2010 By

In the 1950s, studies found that  humans possess an “informational bottleneck”- basically the idea that the human mind can only take in so much information at a time under good conditions. Even less information is taken in and processed when distracted.

However, recent studies have shown that there are ways to “manage the effects of the informational bottleneck”. One of those ways is to “manage attention so that unwanted stimuli do not crowd the working memory.” The unwanted stimuli is distractions in general.

How does this apply to me?

You are probably thinking at this point, “What does all of this have to do with increasing my workers’ productivity?” Quite simply, it is relevant because further studies about this have found that “distraction during learning can be harmful, even if the distraction doesn’t seem to injure [the subjects'] immediate performance on their tasks.” They found that people stored the information in different parts of their brains based on whether they were learning it with or without distractions. When undistracted, the subjects showed “flexibility” with the information.  They were “more likely to be able to draw analogies and extrapolate from it.”  So not only were they remembering what they learned, but they were  also taking that information and using it in new ways. It boils down to the fewer distractions a person is encountering, the better able they are able to take in information, remember it, and then use it.

Sadly, the average worker gets distracted more than 70 times a day, with the majority of these being conversational distractions. If you are able to minimize those distractions, that will help your workers to be able to take in the information they need and be able to use it effectively, such as remembering ideas and information better and (hopefully) synthesizing those in an effective way that perhaps no one has thought of before.  That can only help your business.

Obviously you cannot control all the distractions in the work place. You can, however, help to mitigate the conversational distractions that your workers experience with sound masking. People working in environments with sound masking were 48% more focused on their work and 51% less distracted, which resulted in 10% fewer errors. (Perhaps because they were storing the information in their brain in such a way that allowed them to be able to use it effectively!) Sound masking is a way to help your workers not only work better and with less stress, but to be able to use the information they have gained to develop new and dynamic ways of doing things.

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Technological Tools for More Productivity

March 22, 2010 By

Providing the Right Context for Good Choices

After having 2 children, I have come to the conclusion that 2 things are true: I can not make them eat and I cannot make them sleep.  I don’t care what the books say, when my son buttons his mouth closed and when my daughter sings to herself in bed, there is nothing I can do to physically make them capitulate to my wishes.  I have come to terms with these two truths because I also know that my responsibility is simply to give them the right context for good choice.  For instance, I can’t make Luke eat, but I can offer healthy options and not cave by placating his whimsical tummy.  And I can’t make Rebekah sleep, but I can give her quiet time in her room where she just might drift off if left alone.

The right tools for success

It doesn't matter how many tools you have, if you're missing the right one.

Similarly, while you can’ make your workers more productive, you can give them the tools to succeed.  Complaining about worker productivity and then doing nothing about it is irresponsible management.  It’s your job to provide the right context and the best equipment for business achievement and success.  Entrepeneur lays out 5 specific principles for worker productivity, including clear expectations, regular feedback, and the best technology and tools.  I would argue that one of the best pieces of technology you can give your employees is sound masking.  Clear expectations and daily feedback are great, but aren’t worth much if your workers can’t concentrate on their tasks due to excessive office noise.  Sound masking emits low-level background noise (akin to an HVAC whoosh) to softly, but effectively cover ambient noise.  The results have been more than positive:

  • Focus: the ability of office workers to focus on their tasks improved by 48%
  • Distractions: “conversational distractions” decreased by 51%
  • Error-rates: performance of standard “information-worker” tasks (measured in terms of accuracy [error-rates] and short-term memory) improved by 10%
  • Stress: when measured in terms of the actual physical symptoms of stress, stress was reduced by 27%

Better focus and fewer distractions and errors always lend themselves to increased productivity.  Throw in happier, less stressed workers, and it’s the whole package.

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Managing time for more productivity

March 17, 2010 By

Most productivity tips start with getting organized.

Google: How to be more productive

There are over 14 million results on Google for “how to be more productive.”  Most of them look something like this: 14 tips to be more productive, including buzz words like:

Prioritize, Organize, De-clutter, Purge, Set Boundaries, Tidy Up, Throw Away, Stack, Turn on, Turn off, Line Up, Color-Code, Ask for, Say No , File, Highlight, Set Aside, Tune Out

There are literally thousand, if not millions, of tips for productivity.  That’s because different things work for different people and because different people have different issues that hinder personal productivity at work.  However, most workers have 1 thing in common- they all waste too much time at work.  And, whether they are aware of it or not, whether they follow Tip#2073 or not, you as the manager should be aware and should take action.

  • Encourage your workers to assess time-wastes in their offices or cubicles.
  • Encourage them to take a few of the tips seriously and get their work spaces in order.

You can’t physically turn off their cell phones or ban personal email- and you don’t need to.  Most workers resent such micromanagement, and being Big Brother doesn’t win loyal devotion anyway.  You can respond to an overly stimulating (aka noisy, distracting) work place by implementing “quiet time” or a sound masking unit.  Companies like IBM and Intel encourage tech-free time, where they protect their workers from interruptions (and from themselves).  Other entities like hospitals, Boeing, and the Air Force installed sound masking units to cover intrusive speech and noises.  That way the sales guy wouldn’t distract the writer next to him.  Whether you set aside and manage  time for specific tasks for your employees or provide a quieter area in which to work, bottom line it is your job to do just that- manage time better.

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Being Proactive

March 15, 2010 By

In today’s difficult economy it is important that you take a proactive approach to your company’s profit margin. Not only are there fewer dollars to go around these days, but it is increasingly competitive to obtain those dollars. You have to continually be proactive and think of new ways to shrink your bottom line and to make a profit.

This is definitely NOT what you want to see in your office!

One way is to better utilize the resources you already have—your workers. The average American worker is distracted more than 2 hours a day, with conversational distraction ranking right after internet usage. That is 2 wasted hours that you are paying for that you are not getting anything in return. Instead of starting an office task force to nag your workers into what they are supposed to be doing, why not take a proactive, but less invasive approach–sound masking.

By masking the source of the distractions, you enable your workers to be more productive without adding unnecessary stress to their work environment. Studies have shown that sound masking increased a worker’s ability to focus on tasks by up to 48% and eliminated distractions (especially conversational distractions) by up to 51%.  With even minor adjustments in the office sound environment a substantial increase in performance and productivity can be seen. 

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Sound Masking for Productivity & Privacy

March 10, 2010 By

Conversational Distractions

Office noise is continuing to be a problem on many fronts.  The first and foremost issue that has arisen is employee distraction with conversational distraction in the lead for what keeps your workers off-task and unfocused.  Thus, many offices have looked into acoustic treatments, such as sound masking, to cover intruding noise so that employees can be more productive.

An overheard conversation can be more than a distraction- it can be a deal-breaker...literally.

More than just a distraction

Interestingly, though, we often overlook the obvious when we state that conversations are the most frequently reported distractions.  For some businesses, office noise may just be an inconvenient distraction that doesn’t allow for maximum productivity.   For others, though, it means that workers overhear each other’s business and personal conversations, which may include private and confidential matters.  If other workers can overhear specific business deals and trade secrets, for example, they can also leak that information or use it unwisely.  This may be a deal-breaker for your company. A simple solution is to raise the background ambient sound just enough to cover conversations and phone calls so that the privacy index

Whether you’re looking for ways to increase productivity or you’re trying to safeguard your business and your own employees’ private information, sound masking is an effective solution that can achieve both.  There is a wide variety of options, and it’s worth your time to find the best solution for your business’s needs.

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Lend me your ear

March 8, 2010 By

Office Noise- it's a love/hate relationship for most.

Have you ever really listened to all the noise that takes place in your office?

Some of your employees can work through that no problem, like your sales guys, for instance- they were born to multitask, God love ‘em. However, your writers and editors cannot- each clickety-clack, ring, and new conversation distracts them from their detailed work. It’s not their fault- certain types of work require intense concentration.

The above example was actually pretty low-level background noise- you and I both know that most offices can and do escalate more than that. The problem here was that it was inconsistent- it lacked uniformity. Each different, distinct noise presented a new distraction. Surprisingly, though, low-level background noise is not such a bad thing if used correctly. In fact, many workers use white noise to provide a consistent, uniform hum to cover all the little inconsistent, irritating sounds so prevalent in an open office (like above). Similarly, a good number of companies and entities have employed sound masking units to provide uniform coverage for entire offices. The result has been increased productivity and less distracted (read that happier and less stressed) workers.

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How much time do people waste at work?

March 2, 2010 By

From the blogworld to office life

2 hours a day adds up quickly to lots of days of lost time.

The other day, my mom and I were talking about blogging.  I mentioned that I had noticed that there are significantly fewer views on a weekend than during the week, which led me to advise her to blog frequently during the week and take a much-needed break on the weekend (who wants to lose traffic and their own weekend at the same time?).  She was curious as to why the weekend readership waned so dramatically- that’s simple, I said.  People like to pass time by playing on the internet during work, but they have plenty to do on the weekend to keep them otherwise occupied.  She marveled at this revelation and asked me a fantastically funny question, “Emily, doesn’t that make you wonder how much time people waste at work?”  This is actually a great question- the only reason it’s funny is that that very question is my job- I blog about it every week.  So, let me give you a few stats:

  • -The average worker is distracted more than 2 hours every day
  • -In other words, he is interrupted more than 70 times a day
  • -Many estimate that it takes a solid half-hour to get back in the zone after being disrupted

So, no, I don’t wonder how much time people waste at work- I know, and I seek to offer possible solutions.  If you’ve read this blog for long, you’ll know that I lean towards acoustic treatments, such as sound masking.  While I wholeheartedly believe that the individual worker can make acoustic and ergonomic adjustments on his or her own, I also suspect that not many actually take matters into their own hands.  They chalk it up to working in an open office and assume there is no long-term solution.  Or they try ear plugs or headphones, only to miss important phone calls or jam to their favorite song.

Office Sound Masking

That’s why I urge at the managerial level to take action on behalf of your employees.  Even simple acoustic adjustments, such as sound masking systems enable your workers to stay focused and therefore improve productivity.  That’s great for your business, but it’s also good news at the employee-level, as well.   When annoying distractions are properly dealt with, even stress levels improve.  Consider the following improvements from improved speech privacy levels:

  1. -Focus: the ability of office workers to focus on their tasks improved by 48%
  2. -Distractions: “conversational distractions” decreased by 51%
  3. -Error-rates: performance of standard “information-worker” tasks (measured in terms of accuracy [error-rates] and short-term memory) improved by 10%
  4. -Stress: when measured in terms of the actual physical symptoms of stress, stress was reduced by 27%

As always, I’ll leave you with this- consider the value of productivity and happy, less-stressed workers.  What is that worth to you?

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