These days, due to the advent of social media and social networking, employee productivity at work has taken a setback. So, how do we take care of our employees while ensuring that productivity at work remains unaffected? Any ideas or solutions are most welcome. Thank you.
Siddhesh Lakhan, CEO & Founder at Personal Thoughts
From India, Mumbai
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6Siddhesh Lakhan, CEO & Founder at Personal Thoughts
From India, Mumbai
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Hello,
In my company, we have blocked access to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Additionally, YouTube has also been blocked. This measure helps in curtailing the time spent by employees on social networking sites during work hours.
From India, Pune
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In my company, we have blocked access to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Additionally, YouTube has also been blocked. This measure helps in curtailing the time spent by employees on social networking sites during work hours.
From India, Pune
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Gone were the days when an employee had nothing else to do other than 'work, work, work'. Consequently, there was no digression or distraction. As you rightly pointed out, social networks, media, mobile facilities have all contributed to the growth of technology and dissemination of information, but like two sides to a coin, they are also becoming factors for reduced productivity and lack of concentration. Further, these digressions have also led to more interpersonal disputes, conflicts, and so on.
In many organizations where customer relations are a focused task, employees are directed to leave their mobile phones at the reception during working hours. Furthermore, firewalls have been established in the computer systems whereby employees are not permitted to access sites that are of a dubious nature or not related to business. There are separate internet kiosks where employees can go and log in to access banking and other personal accounts during specific working hours.
It should be the responsibility of the management to communicate to the employees, time and again, the ill effects of such digressions and the resultant reduced productivity, lack of concentration, security threats, accident possibilities, etc. In all organizations, there will be a regular intake of trainees and employees, and they have to be inculcated in these factors right from the induction/orientation stage.
From India, Bengaluru
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In many organizations where customer relations are a focused task, employees are directed to leave their mobile phones at the reception during working hours. Furthermore, firewalls have been established in the computer systems whereby employees are not permitted to access sites that are of a dubious nature or not related to business. There are separate internet kiosks where employees can go and log in to access banking and other personal accounts during specific working hours.
It should be the responsibility of the management to communicate to the employees, time and again, the ill effects of such digressions and the resultant reduced productivity, lack of concentration, security threats, accident possibilities, etc. In all organizations, there will be a regular intake of trainees and employees, and they have to be inculcated in these factors right from the induction/orientation stage.
From India, Bengaluru
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Thank you very much for your prompt replies Gianim, N K Sundaram, and Sunita Meena. I am also grateful for the attached "Productivity" file, Sunita.
However, the reality is that no matter how much we try to restrict employees from using social media, it is a common tendency for them to be attracted to these platforms. As Mr. N K Sundaram has already pointed out, social media also has its own advantages. It helps to keep employees refreshed, full of vigor, and open to new ideas. However, an overdose of social media can prove to be dangerous.
Employees should feel the sense of responsibility they owe to the company, and the company should also remember that they don't OWN the employees, they EARN them.
Again, thank you, everyone. The discussion was truly helpful.
Siddhesh Lakhan, CEO & Founder at Personal Thoughts
From India, Mumbai
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However, the reality is that no matter how much we try to restrict employees from using social media, it is a common tendency for them to be attracted to these platforms. As Mr. N K Sundaram has already pointed out, social media also has its own advantages. It helps to keep employees refreshed, full of vigor, and open to new ideas. However, an overdose of social media can prove to be dangerous.
Employees should feel the sense of responsibility they owe to the company, and the company should also remember that they don't OWN the employees, they EARN them.
Again, thank you, everyone. The discussion was truly helpful.
Siddhesh Lakhan, CEO & Founder at Personal Thoughts
From India, Mumbai
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Dear Friends,
Ms.Sunita and Mr.NKS has already given their valuavle ways to increase the productivity.In these days we have ample access to networking sites .They may decrease the productivity at work, because the employees frequently visit the sites.Professional organisations dose block social media sites but allot some time for their employees so that they may use the same in the alloted time.
No matter what your business does, or how big or small it is, there are a range of ways you can improve its productivity.
Productivity = Value / Time
(productivity equals value divided by time)
By equation there are two primary ways of increasing productivity:
1) Increase the value created
2) Decrease the time required to create that value
You can complicate this equation by including other factors like energy and resources, but prefer the simplicity of time because in most cases factors like energy and resources are reducible to time anyway. Time also makes it very easy to compare different levels of productivity, such as output per hour or per day.
What is the “value” in our productivity equation?
Value is a quality you must define for yourself. Hence, any definition of productity is relative to the definition of value. In circles where people can agree on a common definition of value, they can also agree on a common definition of productivity. However, in terms of your own personal productivity, you aren’t obligated to define value the same way anyone else would. You are free to adopt your own definition, such that your pursuit of greater productivity becomes a personal quest that produces the value that matters most to you.
So TIME is limited and must be used very efficiently.Moreover all the measures must be taken by the organisation to develop the manpower to add VALUE to their endevour .Building leadership and management capability ,Creating productive workplace cultures ,Encouraging Innovation and the use of technology ,Investing in people and skills, Organising work etc will be very helpful to increase the productivity in the organisations.
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From India, New Delhi
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Ms.Sunita and Mr.NKS has already given their valuavle ways to increase the productivity.In these days we have ample access to networking sites .They may decrease the productivity at work, because the employees frequently visit the sites.Professional organisations dose block social media sites but allot some time for their employees so that they may use the same in the alloted time.
No matter what your business does, or how big or small it is, there are a range of ways you can improve its productivity.
Productivity = Value / Time
(productivity equals value divided by time)
By equation there are two primary ways of increasing productivity:
1) Increase the value created
2) Decrease the time required to create that value
You can complicate this equation by including other factors like energy and resources, but prefer the simplicity of time because in most cases factors like energy and resources are reducible to time anyway. Time also makes it very easy to compare different levels of productivity, such as output per hour or per day.
What is the “value” in our productivity equation?
Value is a quality you must define for yourself. Hence, any definition of productity is relative to the definition of value. In circles where people can agree on a common definition of value, they can also agree on a common definition of productivity. However, in terms of your own personal productivity, you aren’t obligated to define value the same way anyone else would. You are free to adopt your own definition, such that your pursuit of greater productivity becomes a personal quest that produces the value that matters most to you.
So TIME is limited and must be used very efficiently.Moreover all the measures must be taken by the organisation to develop the manpower to add VALUE to their endevour .Building leadership and management capability ,Creating productive workplace cultures ,Encouraging Innovation and the use of technology ,Investing in people and skills, Organising work etc will be very helpful to increase the productivity in the organisations.
-
From India, New Delhi
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Taking care of employees and increasing productivity are not at odds with each other. Treating employees as if they are respected and valued allows them to be proud of what they do and gets you huge increases in productivity.
The opposite approach is the command and control approach. It does not listen to them, issues lots of orders, and does not provide the information they want to have, thus treating them with disrespect and more like robots than human beings. Control gets you compliance whereas autonomy gets you engagement and huge increases in productivity.
The last time I did it as an executive, productivity rose over 300%, morale and innovation were sky high, and people literally loved to come to work.
Best regards, Ben Simonton
Leadership is a science and so is engagement
From United States, Tampa
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The opposite approach is the command and control approach. It does not listen to them, issues lots of orders, and does not provide the information they want to have, thus treating them with disrespect and more like robots than human beings. Control gets you compliance whereas autonomy gets you engagement and huge increases in productivity.
The last time I did it as an executive, productivity rose over 300%, morale and innovation were sky high, and people literally loved to come to work.
Best regards, Ben Simonton
Leadership is a science and so is engagement
From United States, Tampa
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Any facility has two sides - the good side and the bad side, and it is more true in the case of social media. However, human nature is to fall prey to temptations of the bad side. Very few employees will be self-disciplined. Hence, the necessity for control. Therefore, it is too idealistic to expect employees to be self-regulated, and thus, blocking social media at the workplace has become necessary. However, employees may feel suffocated if they are not allowed access to social media at all. Therefore, you may allow access to it during the lunch interval. It is for the employee to adjust their lunchtime accordingly. Even a 30-minute access will leave the employee refreshed.
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
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B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
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Thank you B. Saikumar. You are right in what you suggested. That’s a very practical solution to the problem. Siddhesh Lakhan, CEO & Founder at Personal Thoughts
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Dear Siddhesh,
Social media or otherwise, the topmost requirement is to do "workload analysis" of every job. If employees get time to interact on social media, then it goes to show that they have time to do that. I recommend the following:
a) Have you devised the proper measures of performance? Have you given your employees "stretched goals"? Are the measures adequate?
b) Has the "Performance Measurement System" (PMS) been well-instituted in your company?
c) You may give employees a target to leave the office by 1800 hours or when the offices close exactly. Whoever is staying extra, calculate their extra stay per day and ask for an explanation. Once you control their overstay, managers and employees will start running around to complete their work at the same time. I have seen this happening in one Indian pharma MNC. They appointed one expatriate (British) CEO. Soon after he took over, the first thing he did was to impose a ban on working beyond specified working hours. In fact, after doing this, employees are happy, and their productivity has increased.
d) If employees refer to Facebook or Twitter, then to some extent, it goes to show that the malaise lies in their commitment as well. Improve their commitment level. During my HR days, I had such an amount of work that many times I skipped my lunch as well. During my Air Force days, we used to carry lunch boxes. I have seen my technical colleagues taking lunch at 1700 or 1800 hours. They did this to avoid scolding from their wives for carrying back home lunch boxes without consuming food!
For Gianim23: The entire social media is not bad per se. However, we need to have a dividing line between how much time we should spend. YouTube has the best of the best videos on management seminars, etc. By banning YouTube, you have deprived your employees of this vast wealth of knowledge as well.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Social media or otherwise, the topmost requirement is to do "workload analysis" of every job. If employees get time to interact on social media, then it goes to show that they have time to do that. I recommend the following:
a) Have you devised the proper measures of performance? Have you given your employees "stretched goals"? Are the measures adequate?
b) Has the "Performance Measurement System" (PMS) been well-instituted in your company?
c) You may give employees a target to leave the office by 1800 hours or when the offices close exactly. Whoever is staying extra, calculate their extra stay per day and ask for an explanation. Once you control their overstay, managers and employees will start running around to complete their work at the same time. I have seen this happening in one Indian pharma MNC. They appointed one expatriate (British) CEO. Soon after he took over, the first thing he did was to impose a ban on working beyond specified working hours. In fact, after doing this, employees are happy, and their productivity has increased.
d) If employees refer to Facebook or Twitter, then to some extent, it goes to show that the malaise lies in their commitment as well. Improve their commitment level. During my HR days, I had such an amount of work that many times I skipped my lunch as well. During my Air Force days, we used to carry lunch boxes. I have seen my technical colleagues taking lunch at 1700 or 1800 hours. They did this to avoid scolding from their wives for carrying back home lunch boxes without consuming food!
For Gianim23: The entire social media is not bad per se. However, we need to have a dividing line between how much time we should spend. YouTube has the best of the best videos on management seminars, etc. By banning YouTube, you have deprived your employees of this vast wealth of knowledge as well.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Hi Dinesh,
Thanks for pointing out the importance of accessing Youtube. In fact, in our company, we have not blocked usage of all social sites; there are no firewalls for LinkedIn, etc. We have a couple of common PCs with full access. For access to important information on social media sites, our employees have the facility to access. Anyhow, we do review our policies on a regular basis and make necessary changes based on the need.
I appreciate the valuable inputs posted by the other members. In fact, I will be recommending a few changes in our policy very soon.
From India, Pune
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Thanks for pointing out the importance of accessing Youtube. In fact, in our company, we have not blocked usage of all social sites; there are no firewalls for LinkedIn, etc. We have a couple of common PCs with full access. For access to important information on social media sites, our employees have the facility to access. Anyhow, we do review our policies on a regular basis and make necessary changes based on the need.
I appreciate the valuable inputs posted by the other members. In fact, I will be recommending a few changes in our policy very soon.
From India, Pune
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Hi All,
In addition to what all have suggested, I would like to add that 'idiosyncratic deals' or in short 'i-deals' should be provided to employees. Research studies have proved that such a step will be beneficial both to the employer as well as employees. Many IT companies in India have been implementing 'i-deals' which are being appreciated by the employees, and the employers are also happy, as the employees are prepared to take on extra load when required by the management. Thus, it is a win-win situation that must be popularized. Companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Xchanging, IBM, etc., have been practicing 'i-deals' in their companies.
M.J. SUBRAMANYAM, MUMBAI
From India, Bangalore
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In addition to what all have suggested, I would like to add that 'idiosyncratic deals' or in short 'i-deals' should be provided to employees. Research studies have proved that such a step will be beneficial both to the employer as well as employees. Many IT companies in India have been implementing 'i-deals' which are being appreciated by the employees, and the employers are also happy, as the employees are prepared to take on extra load when required by the management. Thus, it is a win-win situation that must be popularized. Companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Xchanging, IBM, etc., have been practicing 'i-deals' in their companies.
M.J. SUBRAMANYAM, MUMBAI
From India, Bangalore
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Tough call this. You don't want a culture of unnecessary policing in the company, but then, people do tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time on social sites. The best approach is to have a lot of work for them with continuous status monitoring. Time wasted on social sites increases when the employees have less work to do.
From India, Delhi
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From India, Delhi
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Dear Siddesh,
When you refer to an increase in productivity, you must have certain factors standing in the way. Please identify.
1. Please try to find out ways and means to take care of identified issues. If needed, involve the concerned employees, as they are the ones to deliver.
2. Please follow the suggestion to prohibit cell phones in the workplace and implement firewalls to block access to relevant sites.
3. Please do acknowledge an employee who is doing good work.
I am sure the above points will meet your requirements.
Regards,
S.K. Johri
From India, Delhi
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When you refer to an increase in productivity, you must have certain factors standing in the way. Please identify.
1. Please try to find out ways and means to take care of identified issues. If needed, involve the concerned employees, as they are the ones to deliver.
2. Please follow the suggestion to prohibit cell phones in the workplace and implement firewalls to block access to relevant sites.
3. Please do acknowledge an employee who is doing good work.
I am sure the above points will meet your requirements.
Regards,
S.K. Johri
From India, Delhi
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
The discussion on productivity has been an eye-opener. Great minds think alike! Very mature thoughts and ratios put forth. They may seem theoretical, but there is a company in North Karnataka (I have deliberately withheld the name) - which has increased productivity through giving complete freedom to the employees.
There are no supervisors, no cubicles, not much of a hierarchy. It is the employees who decide the production, take the raw materials, plan their work. No overtime. They can use the library, gym, etc. if they feel they have time. No checking by the security. It looks like a myth, isn't it?
Wish all the industries could follow the same guidelines!!!
From India, Bangalore
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There are no supervisors, no cubicles, not much of a hierarchy. It is the employees who decide the production, take the raw materials, plan their work. No overtime. They can use the library, gym, etc. if they feel they have time. No checking by the security. It looks like a myth, isn't it?
Wish all the industries could follow the same guidelines!!!
From India, Bangalore
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