Efficiency at work: The 5 keys to success!

How good it is for managers to feel the satisfaction of a busy working day!
Each accomplishment then appears as a link in an energizing value chain. There is nothing like appreciating our personal efficiency in our professional life! But interim managers go much further: they need to see their teams feel the same emotion.
So how do you transmit this efficiency to their teams? How to be efficient and share your efficiency at work? The answer in 5 points:

Efficiency and effectiveness: what’s the difference?

It can be difficult to distinguish between the terms efficiency and effectiveness . Yet the nuances are far from similar. Indeed, the first consists in the achievement of results and objectives, thanks to the optimization of the resources used. For example: I delight my Clients with the lowest discounts, I achieve all my career goals without working overtime.

The second term is used to designate the ability to achieve a result based on a set objective. For example : I make my Clients happy or I achieve my career goals. In this case, it doesn’t matter which resource was used to achieve the goal.

What is work efficiency?

The term efficiency refers to how a business converts its resources, such as time, people, and money, into activities useful to the business. Successful companies generate a lot of activity per unit of resource.

In this way, efficiency therefore allows companies to predict whether decisions of one type or another will result in financial gains or losses.

In management, the break-even point is a privileged evaluation tool to consider the efficiency of an organization as well as to study its performance. Efficiency can also be measured using net present value (NPV) , internal rate of return (IRR), and even payback period.

What is work efficiency?

Work efficiency refers to the speed at which business activities translate into business results. An effective company gets more high-quality results from its activities and by achieving its business plan goals.

This means: producing with as little waste of resources as possible. In the world of work, efficiency is the fact of accomplishing tasks, projects, objectives or the work done with the least possible resources.

Be careful, doing many hours of hard work does not go hand in hand with efficiency, quite the contrary. The objective is to achieve better use of human resources.

Efficiency VS Effectiveness: which should be preferred?

In a company, for a team to function properly, it is essential that the latter is both efficient AND effective. Indeed, if it is only efficient, the lack of efficiency will be felt by giving priority to bad initiatives. But if it is only effective, it is the pace of work that will be felt.

Measure the efficiency of a company

A company’s performance is measured using criteria, or indicators, qualitative or quantitative results. To measure business efficiency , a standard is used that expresses the relationship between the results obtained and the means employed.

Strengthen its effectiveness to gain in efficiency

It is impossible to implement efficiency and effectiveness of a team at the same time. It is important to proceed step by step. We therefore start by strengthening its effectiveness in order to gain in efficiency. But how do you learn to increase your efficiency at work?

• Organize tasks

A classic, but getting the to-do list organized is essential. For this, certain criteria must be defined, such as the level of production difficulty, or the deadlines. There are productivity tools that allow you to map all the workflows as well as the deadlines for each of the tasks to be carried out.

• Avoid work overload

To avoid overloading yourself, it is essential to perform only one task at a time. Neuroscientists have proven that the human brain is not designed to multi-task. If you think you can, it means you’re running the risk of not paying enough attention to what you’re doing. Avoiding work overload is a productivity gain.

• Remove procrastination

Postponing such and such a task is a bad habit that is far from being productive. In order to avoid having too much accumulated work, it is crucial to carry out the tasks to accomplish as you go. It is also advisable to start with the ones that inspire you the least. Once done, the rest of the day will seem shorter.

• Determine goals

Depending on the needs of the company and the pace of work, it is wise to determine the objectives to be achieved. In this way, each project can be completed on time. It is also essential to communicate the objectives of the team while giving your opinion on the progress already made.

• Know how to take breaks

Many people mistakenly think that being productive means working hard for hours with minimal breaks. Well, that’s totally false. To be productive and efficient, it is essential to know how to take breaks of about ten minutes. This short downtime allows you to recharge the energy needed to increase your productivity.

Build an efficient and effective team

To have an efficient team, we first go through the efficiency stage. Now that you know enough about this point, let’s get to efficiency.

“Alone, we go faster. Together, we go further. »

This saying perfectly represents one of the solutions to form an efficient and effective team . Indeed, it is important to capitalize as much as possible on collective knowledge. In this way, your team will be able to acquire new knowledge in order to improve the production process. In addition, it makes it easier and faster to achieve business goals.

By implementing a collaborative approach, you involve:

• learning within the company,
• The sharing,
• The improvement of knowledge,
• The establishment of collaborative practices.

By establishing a formal process, your team can save time and quickly find solutions to each problem. Thereafter, it will be wise to optimize the processes, the tools as well as your ability to convey a message within the company. In this way, each employee can use the resolution logic, which he can then share with the rest of the team via the corporate social network.

Room for change: summary

Building an efficient and effective team is not something that can be done in just a few days. You have to be patient and focus on improving efficiency first. You must also have a clear understanding of the different priorities as well as the company’s objectives. You can then focus on automating and reducing “work about work” in order to increase your efficiency.

1) Love what you do!

Appreciation of one’s own work is a key measure of work efficiency . Very often, the opposite ideology is developed: we must do what we love. But the strength of interim managers is to be positive in all circumstances.

If by nature they like their job, they also learn to like the different roles entrusted to them according to the missions and pass on this same love of work to their teams. A positive attitude is essential!

2) Work in an environment you like

The work environment is very important . It should be to your liking, so that you feel comfortable in it. However, if the work environment is too “cosy”, too “like at home”, this can become detrimental to productivity. You have to know how to find the right balance. Are the distractions too accessible? Can private life easily fit into your daily professional life?

So no doubt it’s time to rebalance your work environment . Conversely, do the colors of your office depress you? … It’s up to you to find the happy medium!

3) Focus

Concentration is essential for efficiency at work . Some feel more comfortable in multi-tasking, others in uninterrupted periods of work. Regardless of your preferred working method, the focus directly affects the final quality of your work.

A lack of concentration is often at the origin of an error which will make you lose considerable time to rectify, and therefore will literally kill your efficiency. It can sometimes be useful to turn off instant messaging applications, social networks, or even put your phone in airplane mode to be sure to be at the maximum of your concentration.

4) The manager: anti-procrastination

Interim managers are used to busy days. Not a single minute can be wasted. But sometimes in front of a long “to do list”, we feel demotivated. That’s when we decided to move on to another less restrictive activity… “and I’ll start right after”. SERIOUS ERROR! So begins procrastination. In the end, we run out of time and we always put off what could already be finished.

To combat procrastination , prioritizing to-do items will help you finish the most important ones first. This allows you to see the outcome of your work little by little, which is a subconscious reward. Starting with the most complicated tasks, as well as setting achievable goals are still other tips to fight against procrastination!

5) The personal development of one’s skills

In a modern economic world, it is impossible to rest on one’s achievements. Interim managers know it well, the perpetual learning of new skills is essential to remain competitive and efficient . Take the time to honestly analyze your skills, and see the area or areas where you could improve. Need training on a new multimedia tool? A marketing campaign? Personal development (stress management, public speaking, etc.)? No matter the field, the time invested in your personal training is always beneficial.

The inter-mission periods are conducive to your rise in power. It’s time saved on the future, thanks to acquired and stable skills. Your efficiency thus reinforced, it is your competitiveness that will make the difference with your competition.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive! But these 5 main points will help you develop and share your professional efficiency.

And you, what is your secret recipe for efficiency at work?