The 2021 Productivity Guide That Every HR Manager Should Follow

That playing soothing music at the workplace increases productivity should not come as a shock. The suggestion that colder temperatures lead to a drop in employee efficiency would not even seem like an overstatement. But if one takes a finer lens and looks at these factors objectively, a lot can be said about why uneasy lies the head that wears the crown of an HR manager in a company.

In essence, HR, or as we uncommonly use the full form, human resources, is the bones and nerves of a company or organization that exists on the face of the earth. An integral part of business management, human resources is responsible for establishing and developing the talent pool in a company. It is what the buzz is all about on professional and business platforms like LinkedIn and whatnot.

But among the many (many) challenges, workplace productivity takes the cake when it comes to things that give an HR manager sleepless nights. For employees seeking to build lucrative careers by flourishing in the talent pool of the company, maintaining high productivity levels becomes possible with proactive support from the HR manager. However, the catch is that even an HR manager is faced with a similar conundrum. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes – Who will guard the guards themselves? Am I right?

↓Equip yourself with the right HR management tools using this template resource

This lays bare the many chinks in how an unchallenged tradition of managing employees can lead to thinning productivity levels and talent resources. It is not that HR decision-makers do not know that they have to keep up the supply of engagement and motivation. But the fact is that most of the time, the “how” seems obscure, or sometimes, too apparent to be seen.

It is this ‘how’ that this comprehensive guide will answer as we go through some notable productivity tips and resources that any HR manager can benefit from. Feel free to implement them to lift up the workplace productivity and business accomplishments (that is the end goal after all). Here we go.

Productivity tips for remote teams

It is 2021 after all. A majority of workplaces are either running via Zoom calls or scrambling to figure out how to find the mute button for a chatty co-worker spilling the tea on the antics of their cat in a Skype meeting. While we can agree that this was an eventuality (or just in plain sight), for an HR manager, the task to pull the strings together has not come that easy. Sure the formalities were soon figured out and work schedules allotted for remote workers, the merger of the domestic and the professional brought its own set of hardships.

According to a study, waning productivity has been costing companies trillions of dollars. If we factor in the remote working scenarios, there are distractions and glitches to be accounted for. In the face of such problems, every HR manager handling remote operations is seeing a spike in disengagement at work and other disconnecting lines that only seem to grow with each click. So what should those tasked with managing human resources do to ensure that no glitch is hindering their productivity? Here are a few essential tips.

#1 Proactive solutions are a must

As opposed to where we started from when remote work clasped us, there is a decent idea in an employee’s mind of how to settle in with the new normal. But if workplace behavior factors are put on the plate of an HR manager, there is a need to provide what an employee requires to feel productive when working across a webcam.

#2 Regular (and clear) communication is key

Clear communication is paramount to getting the optimum levels of job engagement. But ironically, effective communication is the constant issue that people face in a company, whether online or off. If we focus on the remote tasks, there is a lot of scope for lapses and errors in communication, which can lead to frustration and, thus, less productivity. The lost email that lands in the spam folder may catapult into wasted hours of productivity. The solution here is to channelize the work messages into clear and crisp formats like PDF or PPT charts which can be circulated with necessary instructions to get the point across.

↓Use this one-page job productivity sheet to keep track of company activities easily

Also, since meetings are an inseparable part of the work culture, HR managers should enable holding regular virtual ‘huddles’ with the company employees to take stock of how they are doing and what they plan to do. This will give the employees a necessary dose of purpose, reviving the otherwise lost feeling of everyday office engagement. Intuitively, this will keep disinterest at bay and open avenues of resolution, making an HR manager more productive in turn.

#3 Technology is the rule of thumb

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what worked for information technology companies worldwide when it came to transitioning to remote work cultures. Technology-driven tools are the hallmarks of productive workplaces. Tracking workflows via Trello boards or any other intuitive cloud-based software has given distant workers a reason to bring in the same levels of energy as their offline counterparts. Therefore, HR decision-makers should stay on top of such hi-tech productivity tools.

#4 Ask these questions

The job of an HR manager inherently focuses on the people aspect of the company while aligning their efforts to its goals. This can cloud empathy sometimes and drain an employee of their sense of belonging. The 2021 remote worker is susceptible to a lot stress due to various factors like uncertainty, dwindling finances, and socio-psychological pressure of social distancing. Therefore, understanding people’s issues and taking the time to ask the right questions can go a long way. To that effect, here are some quick but significant questions that an HR manager can ask an employee on an individual basis.

Are there any concerns you have regarding the remote working situation?
What can the company do to help you give your best?
Are you facing any stressful situation? What can the company do to address that?

It is okay if there is no direct answer to these questions right off the bat. But having an empathetic lens to people’s concerns can help you prevent burnout and work-related stress. Besides, the sole purpose is to appreciate the employees for the effort that they put in. If done the right way, there can be efficient results and a happier workplace.

Productivity tips for those starting BAU

The water cooler conversations are back for those aligning themselves to the new normal of business as usual or BAU (although face masks are still on the agenda). Though BAU activities are a long time coming for a world desperate to go back to the “way things were”, workplace productivity has acquired a new shell of concerns. These concerns help an HR manager take a more proactive route while addressing productivity blues. There are standard operating procedures to follow and on-the-spot decisions to be taken. Therefore, people management in BAU has grown more taxing than ever.

As for the employee perspective, there are growing levels of performance anxiety besides uncertainty over what the future could bring. Returning to the workplace from a home environment can jack up the detachment quotient among the employees. But there is a silver lining in this sky of dark clouds. With a pandemic-proof strategy, human resource management can be a breeze. Therefore, here are our two cents on how to keep employee productivity levels high in BAU.

Pre-plan safety protocols

Taking a cue from the standards for business operations floated during the pandemic, any HR manager can devise proper safety protocols to ensure risk-free operations. But the catch here is to plan and execute these protocols in advance with proper communication and coordination with the company heads. The investment and planning can be overwhelming at first. But the result of proper temperature screening and sanitizers at frequented spots can be helpful in boosting employee morale. For starters, it bodes well for the company to designate desks in line with social distancing as it imparts safety while ensuring team synergy.

↓Apprise your employees of COVID and safety protocols using this complete deck

The safety toolkit can also include intensive sanitization measures besides agile emergency measures. Proper workflow procedures and action plans should be at the employee’s instant disposal. The crux is to unite safety and sustenance with smart planning of resources.

The future is hybrid office space

If one’s knowledge of personality traits is any indication, productivity can come from spaces that let employees be their authentic selves. And no, it is not always about putting a potted leafy plant in the central aisle. It is also about letting an employee derive support from the elements in the workspace. Let’s face it. No one would want to return to a dingy office space with a withering paint job while there is a pandemic threat looming large. Instead, an HR manager can reform the workspace with just a few tweaks like distancing-friendly seating arrangements, mobile support solutions, and flexible working space. Propagating your adaptation of a hybrid working space can attract fresher talent and also streamline hiring and recruitment processes.

Reinvent and upskill HR

If we put an HR manager in the driver seat as a business partner, we are looking at avenues of improvement in the COVID and post-COVID world. So for BAU operations, it is of paramount importance for HR professionals to upskill their own teams as well. This entails three key factors:

Data handling
Business prowess
Value addition

Circling back to the point of ‘guarding the guards’, one must train HR teams on learning with data-driven approaches. High-grade skills can make it easier to accomplish business goals. The digital skill gap can be detrimental to companies that are not looking to hire more people managers. So an HR manager can ensure efficiency in policy execution by adopting the latest modules catering to these three factors.

How an HR manager can benefit from visual templates

Now that we are up to speed with the tips for efficiency, it begs the question, where should you, as an HR manager, start? Irrespective of the tips you are applying, the very fundamental aspect of HR management is communication. While any verbal communication can set the stage for your message, you can make sure to hit the bull’s-eye with visual templates. Since one needs to save a lot of time and energy managing company productivity, using visual templates for communication can have the following benefits:

Reduced production time
Effective communication
Shareable resources
Easy integration with automation

Visual templates, especially PowerPoint templates, can help you prepare the right content for relaying information that matters. Ranging from data sheets to corporate training plans, PowerPoint templates will help you stay organized in style. Moreover, digital formats like PPT and PDF can be integrated into paper-free automation solutions seamlessly. This can further make workflows less cumbersome.

For starters, you can simply click and download these 5 templates as part of your HR productivity toolkit. SlideTeam experts have crafted these fully-editable templates that you can adapt to your productivity plans. Check them out.

↓For hiring the brightest talent

↓To decide a fair employee compensation

↓For developing and motivating leaders

↓To depict your organizational structure

↓For devising brilliant HR proposals

Conclusion

When noted management consultant Peter Drucker said, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things”, there were bigger lessons being written for generations of HR professionals. For those fighting the fight for the new normal, propagating the techniques of productivity can be the holy grail. Couple that with tools of visual communication and one can have striking business progress on their hands. 2021 may be synonymous with an opportunity disguised as a challenge. But only a proactive HR decision-maker willing to tackle it head-on can script a story of their company’s success.