Increasing Productivity Before the New Year

As the year draws to a close, you may notice your software development team is lacking in productivity. You’re not alone. Managers from all types of sectors notice a dip in work rate as the holiday festivities approach. So how do you go about increasing productivity with a team distracted by online shopping and dreaming of vacation days?

Communicate Face-to-Face

We often rely on messaging applications like Slack and email to relay important information to teammates, but with all the digital noise available, crucial points may be lost. If you want to keep your employees’ attention, start logging IRL face time with your developers. Getting them away from the screen will help keep the task at hand on their mind without being overly aggressive.

Clarify Project Specs

If a project’s specifications are not clear, your team will waste hours trying to hit a target they can’t even see. Ask your programmers about the requests they receive and their clarity. There is always room for improvement as far as processes go and you will save time and money, in the long run, figuring out how to fix them today.

Lead by Example

Your attitude this season will affect your team’s, so be positive and productive if that’s how you want them to function. Teams work harder if their leader has a good attitude, so make a concerted effort to stay that way throughout the season.

Encourage Breaks

You may think that encouraging your team to spend time not working is counterproductive, but there is scientific proof that breaks boost productivity in the workplace. If you notice your team members are plugging away hour after hour and not getting up from their desk, gently remind them that it’s not a crime to take a break. Encourage them to take a 10-minute walk, get a fresh cup of coffee, or even take a minute to stretch.

Set End-of-Year Goals

Going into the season, have your developers set goals to reach by the end of the year. Help them decide how they will break up the work into daily activities so they can accomplish the goal. Setting small milestones is a good way to keep your programmers on task when the time of year tempts the mind to wander.

At Number8, we encourage healthy business relationships for increased productivity as well as job satisfaction. If you’re interested in learning more about Number8 and what we do, give us a call at 502-212-0978!