Eat This Way for Workforce Productivity 2

 

The fact that workers need interaction with each other to be more productive was made clear in my last post. What was not so clear was how you, a mere project manager, can use what the studies are telling us to make your workforce more productive without a lot of effort on your part.

By “productivity improvements,” we are looking for ways to obtain

• Enhanced communication between groups experiencing friction
• Additional collaboration where an inadequate collaboration is the status quo

The studies showed that eating together and taking breaks together provide just the kind of unstructured/lightly structured interactions that enhanced collaboration later.

You can foster these kinds of interactions in the following ways:

• Support a continuing lunch routine (perhaps weekly or monthly) that supports a work culture which values interactions and relationships.
• Build rapport, for example by asking people to share interesting facts about themselves.
• When you attend, model behaviors that foster the collaborative environment you seek. Show your commitment. Elaborate on the importance of working relationships.
• As part of your wider plan, create special interaction events where you can give general feedback and listen openly to workers, which is necessary for worker engagement.
• When appropriate, give plenty positive feedback to everyone based on objective facts or be silent and allow discussion on latest worker issues.

Recommend that other project groups adopt the same tactic of scheduling unstructured time. Everyone on the whole project does not have to eat together each time. What you are looking for, though, is many people interacting with each other often. (Remember that the more people who sat at the table, the more productivity there was.)

Be careful to avoid leaving out those who are not in the office. Take measures to ensure they are involved.

• Schedule face-to-face unstructured time when they plan to be “in the office.”
• Have them on the phone when unstructured meetings occur. Call on them to get their opinion or input.

Think of your own ideas. Just keep the structure to a minimum and the interactions between workers at a maximum.