Striking the perfect balance between flexibility and productivity is a challenge for managers. Discover four innovative strategies that can help managers foster a flexible work environment without compromising on productivity.
Rethink Who Works Together
In workplaces with less physical and temporal overlap between employees, managers may also need to reorganize their larger teams into multiteam systems of smaller, empowered, and interconnected groups
- These smaller teams improve flexibility and adaptability
- Each employee is only asked to help coordinate with a couple of other individuals rather than everyone in the larger team
Rethink Information Sharing
When employees were co-located and working roughly similar hours, it was easier to keep everyone on the same page with meetings and learn about important issues by walking around
- Long waits for status updates or answers to questions can kill productivity
- Managers should consider dusting off some classic project management tools such as the RACI matrix
Revisit What Employees Are Working On
Priorities are likely to change over time, especially in dynamic environments.
- To increase flexibility, managers need to think differently about when employees work together, who works together, and how to share information and with whom, all while being careful to stay abreast of any changes and rapidly communicating changes in priorities.
