I recently came across an article that still has me scratching my head. It started with a discussion of the Pareto, or 80/20, rule. It posits that 80 percent of our production results from 20 percent of our efforts. If you can figure out that 20 percent, you can start to utilize better, reduce, or eliminate the other 80 percent.
Because technology has grown so significantly in the workplace, we can now get more done in less time. Correspondence has moved from snail mail to email. We no longer have to drive to meetings, we can teleconference. Documentation that used to be on reams of paper is now available at the touch of a button. Because business doesn’t take eight hours a day anymore, the idea of a five-hour day looms large. Here’s how to make it work for you.
Don’t dive off the deep end
Abruptly changing from eight hours to five is a disaster waiting to happen. It will only leave your employees confused and stressed. Phase in the change over a period of time to give your workers time to adjust and adapt their procedures and processes. Everyone, especially you, will be much happier.
Use technology to simplify the process
You are already using technology to help in the workplace but are you using it to its full potential? Without looking too hard, I’m betting you can find more ways to use it. Materials tracking and handling, expense tracking and management, employee and project scheduling, logistics, and estimating are all areas where there are applications that can reduce time-consuming jobs from hours to minutes or seconds.
Get rid of lunch
An 8 to 1 or 11 to 4 workday is easy to power through with a short break or two and a snack. It eliminates an hour of the workday without any effort, and it’s an unproductive hour as well.
Maintain expectations
A reduction in hours does not mean a reduction in productivity. Remember the goal is to only reduce unproductive hours. Be clear that targets won’t change. Some workers may still decide to work longer to complete their assigned tasks, but they’ll feel better about it because they know they aren’t required to.
Hire smart
If you’re going to require the same workflow in less time, you may want to re-evaluate the types of workers you’re hiring. You’ll want to shift your focus toward ambitious and disciplined workers who attack their tasks and, when they finish, look for more. Once you have them on the payroll, evaluate their strengths and play to those when assigning tasks.
A five-hour day won’t work for everyone, and there’s some front-end work involved. It will pay off in the future.
