Driving Productivity with Leaner Teams

In the ever-changing world of work, one thing is certain: change. The post-pandemic landscape has brought about global market fluctuations and rapid technological advancements, challenging organisations in new ways. As a result, tough decisions have been made, and smaller teams are being asked to do more with less.

So, how can we maximise the performance of our current employees and ensure they adapt to this new way of working?

This was the central question during our recent roundtable events in Copenhagen, Berlin and Dusseldorf, which have now brought together 100+ senior executives across industries.

Achieving Sustainable Productivity

Each role is unique in its output and the time it takes to achieve the required goal. If you're not adapting what productivity means for each role within your organisation, you're getting things wrong.

Redefining Productivity

While productivity might be easy to measure in sales roles, where the results are clear, it's much harder to define for roles like DevOps, where the impact is gradual and less immediately visible. Every organisation needs to define what productivity means to them based on their specific goals: profitability, expansion, operational efficiency, or something that is more focused on the industry they operate.

Creating the Right Environment

To unlock the full potential of employees, it's crucial to create an environment that supports their productivity. This can be achieved through clear communication, promoting a healthy work-life balance, and ensuring that employees feel valued. When employees feel supported, they’re more likely to perform at their best.

Acknowledging Employee Needs

Beyond creating the right environment, organisations must also address individual employee needs to help them excel. This could include regular pay reviews, opportunities for development, or recognition for their contributions.

Balancing Focus and Innovation

As teams become leaner, it can be easy to become narrow-minded and only focus on efficiencies to ensure the fundamental jobs are completed each day. However, this mindset can create innovation challenges.

Efficiency vs. Creativity

When resources are tight and teams are smaller, there’s often a push to work through tasks quickly, which can stifle creativity. However, innovation is crucial for long-term success. It’s important to maintain a sharp focus while also allowing space for creativity.

Fostering Psychological Safety

After downsizing, employees may feel insecure, making them hesitant to suggest new ideas. Yet, innovation often thrives in difficult times. By ensuring employees understand the reasons behind decisions and feel supported by their leaders, organisations can foster a psychologically safe environment where innovation can still flourish.

Making Job Titles Redundant

Job titles can create power dynamics that lead to fixed thinking about responsibilities. In leaner teams, it’s essential to encourage a sense of shared responsibility for all tasks. This not only speeds up task completion but also boosts team morale, as everyone takes pride in collective achievements.

Gaining Trust Through Transparency

Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship, including those within the workplace.

Striking a Balance Between Transparency and Oversharing

Building trust requires transparency, especially when employees are directly impacted by changes. However, it’s important to balance transparency with discretion to avoid overwhelming employees with too much information, which can lead to confusion or unnecessary worries.

Acting on Feedback

Collecting feedback is a great start, but acting on it is essential. When employees see that their input is valued and acted upon, it strengthens trust and engagement. Neglecting this can lead to employees feeling unheard and undervalued.

The Power of Data-Driven Decisions

Our panel emphasised the importance of making decisions based on data, rather than instinct or immediate resource availability.

Strategic Hiring

Instead of hiring simply because the budget allows, it’s important to hire strategically with a focus on long-term goals. This ensures that every new hire aligns with the organisation's broader objectives and reduces the likelihood of needing to make redundancies in the future.

Understanding Innovation

Innovation doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual process that requires patience and persistence. Accepting that there are no "lighthouse moments" in creativity can help organisations manage expectations and support continuous improvement.

By redefining productivity to fit your organisation's goals, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach as seen in the past, you can reap the rewards of an engaged and motivated workforce, despite being stretched further than previously experienced. As we continue to face new challenges, the key takeaway is clear: success lies in balancing efficiency with creativity while ensuring that every decision and action aligns with the long-term vision of the organisation.