The most seminal ideas and innovations often come from the strangest places. While a few tweaks to your work space and your software can help to gradually improve your business’s productivity levels, sometimes it takes a truly radical idea to send your enterprise sky-rocketing.
Of course, it’s not always smart to bank on big, bold ideas. While the pay-off can be huge, the risks are equally substantial. But, then again, he or she who dares sometimes wins – and wins big. If you’re an innovative risk taker, or simply want to take some stronger measures to give your business a boost, here are 5 radical ideas which have seen success…
1. Don’t be the boss
Changing the dynamic of the traditional white collar workplace can have an incredibly positive effect on productivity. Giving your team members responsibility for their actions and choices, while removing the oppressive figure of “the boss”, is one radical way to do this.
There are no employees, just team members. There is no need for team members to request holiday, if they can schedule leave and still perform, no problem! Letting “employees” work how and where they want (while holding them individually accountable) can help businesses get the best from their people – it’ll even free up your time and your inbox, allowing you to do what you do best, instead of endless HR and admin.
2. Work seasonally
Shifting schedules and work hours seasonally can have a huge impact on productivity. Early starts in lighter months and earlier clocking off times in the summer help your team to make the most of the weather. Later starts on dark, winter mornings will help them feel healthier and full of energy. We’re more influenced by the seasons than we think, so working in harmony with them can prove surprisingly effective. A varied and diverse work schedule is also a positive factor. After all, a change is as good as a rest.
3. Three day weekends
It might sound like your business’s worst nightmare, but three day weekends have been shown to be impressively effective in many companies. This doesn’t mean cramming a hefty 40 hour week into a four day slot, it means actively cutting back on hours to make them fit comfortably into a four day working week. You may be surprised to find that employees are more focussed and driven. A common aphorism is that constraining time actually produces better work over a shorter period.
4. Get some sleep
You may think that Google’s famous “nap pods” are a bit of a gimmick but, ensuring employees are able to relax and get enough sleep can prove critical to productivity. Work to reduce stress and ridiculously long hours in your business and you should see a marked improvement in performance.
5. Give more holiday
A number of surveys in big businesses have shown that employees who take more (and longer) holidays are significantly more successful and productive. Consider a more lenient, flexible approach to annual leave but encourage a strong culture of personal responsibility for workloads to see if this technique will work for your team.
Would you try any of these radical productivity boosters? Do you have any unusual techniques to maximise your team’s productivity? Share them with our readers below.
