Thu, Nov 06, 2014 CFOs Should Hire Givers Not Takers

It’s natural for most of us to want to do things better. We want to be better managers, better co-workers, better employees and, in general, better people. Unfortunately, it’s also just as easy for us to get lost in the hassle of daily life and simply waste time. As any executive knows - time is money. The less your department or team procrastinates, the more productive your organization will be and the more it will benefit. Whether it’s making sure each employee enters data accurately into your expense management software or delivers the weekly report your client needs - here are some surefire ways to curb procrastination and increase efficiency. 

• Encourage Givers not Takers - we all have encountered employees who do the least to get by. Ultimately, the takers in an organization stunt productivity by doing the least amount of work possible and they also end up feeling unfulfilled. If you have a culture focused on service and productivity, workers will be encouraged the get ‘out of self’ to serve their fellow workers and the company mission. This is the first step to an efficient organization - a focus on being as productive as possible in service to others.
• Make it Fun - not every task or assignment is enjoyable. But if you can identify a more palatable approach - completing mind numbing reports as a team over pizzas for lunch, for example. You can make the work more enjoyable and get it done faster.
• Baby Steps - Breaking projects into smaller tasks will help complete them faster. Building a software training course for your client that has six main learning objectives? Assign one or two learning objectives to each team member and have them craft a presentation specific to that objective or set of objectives. You’ll be able to compare results and glean best practices from the training presentations.
• Force It - Sometimes you need to be like Nike and ‘Just Do It.’ Remind your team how good everyone will feel after the work is finished by having a sense of completion and teamwork that only comes with a job well done. The hardest part of forcing it is getting started; set a start date for a task or kickoff meeting for a project to get the ball rolling.
• Take a Breather - Remember that you must set an example for the efficiency you want to see in your team. Get into the habit of daily work that is interspersed with short breaks and encourage your team to do the same. You will see your team’s productivity jump.