The greatest strength of all teams is the people that make them up.
If your team feels overworked and overwhelmed, they may find it difficult to complete their tasks.
Here are 7 things you can do to help your team manage their workload.
Stop multitasking
Multitasking can make it harder for some people to get through all their work.
This is because they shift their focus from one task to another in short periods of time.
If you let people focus on one task at time, they have a higher chance to get work done on time and to a good quality.
Put time aside to review tasks
Schedule a time in your team’s diary at the start of each workday for them to review their tasks.
Get them to organise tasks based on most to least important.
You could also schedule a daily stand up.
Ask your team what they need
Everyone is different and this includes how they work.
Ask each member of your team what works best for them in managing their workload.
Block out time in diaries
Get your staff to block out time in their diaries for tasks.
If your team works in an office-based role, tell them it’s okay to use the ‘do not disturb’ function on Outlook, Teams, Skype or Slack.
As we all have an obligation to be responsive in the code of conduct, staff should balance their time available and time unavailable.
Be clear about deadlines
Make sure you’ve clearly told your team about their deadlines and what work is a priority.
Talk with them when you’re planning work, so you understand their capacity or if you need to re-prioritise other work.
Have an open-door policy
Be there to talk with your team.
Encourage your team to talk to you whenever they want to about their work.
Let them know it’s okay to tell you if they feel overworked or overwhelmed.
Be fair with how you allocate work
Give difficult work across the team fairly.
Don’t always give it to the most productive person.
If you do this, some team members may build feelings of resentment, which could impact productivity.
Be transparent with your team about who is given what work, so everyone can see it’s an even spread.
Be considerate about when you give out hard work. If it’s the end of the day, then think about if the task can wait until the morning.