Lately I've been doing a lot of one-on-one employee productivity coaching with several of my clients' sales teams. With the economy struggling, productivity becomes of paramount importance - especially in a sales team that serves as the "life-blood" of an organization by ensuring that it continues to generate sales and revenues - even when times are tough.
One area that I've noticed several inside and outside sales employees struggling is with time management. These individuals just aren't getting as much done during the course of a day as their colleagues are and as a result I have sensed a slipping of moral among this group.
After observing and speaking with these individuals I began to suspect that the root of their time management problem was self-awareness. These individuals just weren't aware of how they were spending their time at work and as a result weren't making as many sales as they could be.
Inspired by recent health research suggesting that individuals who keep a food consumption diary lost twice as much weight as those who did not, I decided to try a different approach to time management and employee coaching with these individuals.
I asked each of these individuals to complete a simple, yet revealing exercise for two weeks. Each of these sales representatives kept a work journal and recorded how they spent their time each day, specific tasks, major projects they worked on, accomplishments, etc.
At the end of two weeks I met with each of my coaching clients in private and asked them what they thought of and learned from the exercise. For many of them the exercise "clicked" and I received excellent feedback such as:
- I didn't realize I was spending so much time doing tasks that weren't leading to new sales - I think I need to focus better.
- I seem to waste a lot of time writing out sales proposals - maybe their is a way to streamline/template the process.
- I kind of talk to "Sue" a lot about non-work related issues.
These comments were all a direct result of increased self-awareness. None of my coaching clients was purposely wasting their time - they just didn't realize the extent to which they were doing so.
By asking these employees to track the use of their time they were able to see for themselves where they could be more productive and many came up with suggestions on their own on how to be more effective in their jobs. In doing this these individuals were able to identify their own growth opportunities and now "own" ways to improve their productivity at work. With their manager's assistance they were able to a develop - mostly on their own - an action plan for optimizing their time at work.
I have found from experience that this is a far more effective way to bring about positive personal change and improved employee performance. While I had a good idea how each of these individuals could be more productive, I allowed them the chance to come up with a solution for themselves. This method largely eliminates the need for "lectures" from one's manager (or even worse - a consultant) and adds to the sense of pride that comes with improving one's performance and effectiveness at work.
If your employees are struggling with time management and productivity, give this method a try - it is typically non-threatening and will allow your employees to come up with a time management solution on their own terms, giving them a sense of ownership over the process.
I'm reminded of the great quote by Lao Tzu which sums things up nicely: "A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves"
Now go Maximize Possibility!
Other articles that will be of interest:
- Improving Employee Performance with Coaching Score Cards
- 8 Tips for Improving Employee Morale
- Do Your Employees Know Your Mission?
- Hiring the Best Salespeople
Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention. Bring Chris in today!
