After the “Power Hour” is completed, it is important for the manager to write a brief summation of his or her weekly goals and priorities. Sending the e-mail to his/her direct report and support team establishes an open line of communication about the week’s game plan. Always have the same set time each week for your “Power Hour.” This will help your team members stay focused and will condition them to expect you not to be in the operation during this period. When compiling your goals and information checklist during this critical hour, send out e-mails at the beginning of it. Save any outgoing e-mails toward the end of the hour. This will help you stay focused and will minimize disruptions. These are just a few of the many tactics that will help you and your operations team become more productive. Like any system in business and life, it has to be customized for each individual and locale. Testing these techniques is only the first step in the long journey of becoming a more productive frontline leader. Staying disciplined by implementing all of them and conveying the urgency of them to your support team will help you re-capture the day!
Survey Reveals 73% Of Employees Waste Time At Work Just as management may have suspected, most employees spend part of their day on activities that are not work-related. According to Salary.com’s 2008 Wasting Time at Work study, 73 percent of respondents reported doing non-work activities while at work, a 10 percent increase over 2007. Sixty-four percent said they wasted one hour or less daily; 22 percent waste approximately two hours and 14 percent waste three or more hours. So what were employees doing with this wasted time? According to Salary.com, the top five “time-wasting” activities were: Internet use (48 percent), socializing with co-workers (33 percent), conducting personal business (30 percent), personal phone calls (19 percent) and long lunches or breaks (15 percent). The top five reasons employees wasted their time at work were: job dissatisfaction (46 percent), felt underpaid (34 percent), no deadlines or incentives (24 percent), felt work hours were too long (19 percent) and distracted by co-workers/friends/relatives (18 percent). In addition, 75 percent of respondents felt that office-related activities cut into their productive time at work. The top five work-related distracters are: fixing someone else’s work (54 percent), dealing with office politics (47 percent), waiting for a co-worker to finish something you need (42 percent), attending work-related meetings or events (42 percent) and administrative work (33 percent).
Ken Stellon is a senior vice president for the Frontline Performance Group, a Khoury Group Company. He and his team members are frequent contributors to Auto Rental News. Ken can be contacted at (630) 788-2879 or via email at kstellon@frontlinepg.com. Similar topics can be found at the Khoury Group’s performance blog www.frontlineprofitmachine.com.