{"id":4005,"date":"2019-06-10T11:13:46","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T11:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/?p=4005"},"modified":"2020-09-10T07:54:24","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T07:54:24","slug":"team-productivity-carl-pullein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/team-productivity-carl-pullein\/","title":{"rendered":"Two easy tricks to boost your team productivity &#8211; with Carl Pullein"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3><strong>What is team productivity?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Productivity means something different for every industry, company, and department. A common misconception tied to it is the idea that it means <strong>being busy<\/strong>, running around with a long to-do list and pushing deadlines. In fact, it\u2019s the opposite. When a team (or an <g class=\"gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"7\" data-gr-id=\"7\">individual<\/g>) is <em>truly<\/em> productive, <strong>work runs smoother, with less stress and staying on schedule is a child\u2019s play. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Productivity is not<strong> the same <\/strong>as profitability. However, any boss worth their title will be focusing on the efficiency of the work in question. So, when we\u2019re talking about productivity, we are in fact discussing how much <strong>quality work <\/strong>your team can produce within <strong>an acceptable time frame.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"836\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Time_is-money.jpg\" alt=\"A picture two people closing deals.\" class=\"wp-image-4010\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Time_is-money.jpg 836w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Time_is-money-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Time_is-money-768x459.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Time_is-money-370x221.jpg 370w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Time_is-money-270x161.jpg 270w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Time_is-money-740x443.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px\" \/><figcaption>Productivity is not the same as profitability, but they are still closely related.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To tackle the issue of productivity, we invited an expert on the topic to provide some valuable input. We had a chat with Carl Pullein, a productivity expert, an author and a coach with an <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carlpullein.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">awesome blog<\/a>,<\/strong> full of practical tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"770\" height=\"433\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f_HQqDYgwYI?start=3&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f_HQqDYgwYI&amp;t=4s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Check out the full interview! (opens in a new tab)\">Check out the full interview!<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Most common symptoms of low team productivity&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>How can you be sure your team is struggling with productivity? You might already suspect you\u2019re having issues with it, so let\u2019s see if your team if exhibiting any of the symptoms below:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Delayed projects and missed deadlines. <\/strong>The one red flag companies usually notice is failed projects, missed deadlines and an inability to meet the norm. If your team is regularly moving deadlines, it could mean two things: the deadlines were too optimistic to begin with or something is standing in the way of their productivity.<\/li><li><strong>Too many status meetings. <\/strong>A productivity expert, Carl Pullein claims<strong><em> <\/em><\/strong>that <em>\u201cyou can tell there\u2019s a problem by the number of meetings about a particular project. If there are a lot of meetings, the outcome hasn&#8217;t been expressed clearly enough. As a result, the team is not sure of what they are supposed to be doing, because they are always having meetings, to clarify.\u201d<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"836\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Looking_for_answers.jpg\" alt=\"Group of people stressing over meetings.\" class=\"wp-image-4011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Looking_for_answers.jpg 836w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Looking_for_answers-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Looking_for_answers-768x459.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Looking_for_answers-370x221.jpg 370w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Looking_for_answers-270x161.jpg 270w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Looking_for_answers-740x443.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px\" \/><figcaption>A lot of meetings and no clarifications = a lot of questions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Ineffective meetings. <\/strong>Even if the number of meetings is not too excessive, their quality is of equal importance. Low-productive teams often keep ineffective meeting where people are bored and unenthusiastic and where one or two people are the ones doing all the talking<g class=\"gr_ gr_16 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace\" id=\"16\" data-gr-id=\"16\">..<\/g> As a result, it\u2019s difficult to reach a decision the entire team believes in.<\/li><li><strong>Lack of speed. <\/strong>Have you noticed that even the smallest tasks take a long time to be <g class=\"gr_ gr_10 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace\" id=\"10\" data-gr-id=\"10\">completed.<\/g> If despite the general feeling of everyone \u201cbeing busy\u201d, certain matters take ages, you should find the culprit for this clog.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Lack of disagreement or too many conflicts. <\/strong>Communication is the key to team success and a rise in the number of conflicts points at inefficient and broken communication. But even the opposite is true &#8211; people need to disagree sometimes, and if your environment is consistently conflict free, it might mean there\u2019s no communication happening between people.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/5-warning-signs-your-team-is-nearing-disaster-how-to-fix\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Other signs your team might be heading downhill!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>What can you do today to boost productivity in your team?<\/strong><br><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve found yourself and your team facing these symptoms, it\u2019s time to grab the proverbial bull by its horns and take action. After all, the cost of leaving it untreated will inevitably affect your business as a whole.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the fact that there are numerous tips on boosting your team\u2019s productivity, we\u2019ve focused mostly on two very strong, practical changes you can implement today to see a productivity boost almost immediately:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>1. Communicate goals&nbsp;\ufeff<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve written about the importance of goals <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">in our blog<\/a>,<\/strong> and it\u2019s just proof that outlining the objective for your team is incredibly important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"770\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Set_your_goals.png\" alt=\"Post it with a question.\" class=\"wp-image-4008\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Set_your_goals.png 770w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Set_your_goals-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Set_your_goals-768x479.png 768w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Set_your_goals-370x231.png 370w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Set_your_goals-270x168.png 270w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Set_your_goals-740x461.png 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><figcaption>Set the right goal!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cMost of the problems I&#8217;ve come across are connected to the way they are communicating the outcome. I am all about the outcome. The biggest problem I find is, leaders and senior managers are not communicating the outcomes clearly enough.\u201d &#8211; Carl Pullein<\/em><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the team keeps the goal in mind, it\u2019s much harder for them to stray and slow down the process. There are numerous tricks for getting the goal across and making sure it\u2019s not forgotten:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Make your goals visible at all times. <\/strong>Use the walls, a whiteboard, a poster &#8230;<\/li><li><strong>Use different types of communication. <\/strong>Not everyone is the visual type. Repeat the goals in meetings, send it in an email, mention it in face-to-face meetings.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cWe have many types of people in a team. We got visual learners, we got auditory learners, we got kinetic learners and they all need this message communicated in a slightly different way. The manager or the leader generally communicates in his preferred style. Some get it, some don&#8217;t, some need clarifications and they are too shy to ask for clarification. They don&#8217;t want to look stupid.\u201d Carl Pullein<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Track team goals in real-time. <\/strong>Use roadmaps and publish them or give access to your teammates. Share the progress!<\/li><li><strong>Break the goal into smaller chunks. <\/strong>Make it easy to digest and break it up in weekly plans and goals.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A good practice we have in our LOOP office is setting and sharing weekly goals every Monday \u2013 The team leads send out an email with bullet points that sum up the key goals we are aiming to achieve by Friday. They then checks on the progress mid-week, sync with the team about what\u2019s finished and what is left, rewards the team with some positive feedback or gives additional advice if needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Find more teamwork hacks (24 to be exact) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/effective-teamwork-hacks-loop-email\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">HERE<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>2. Optimize meetings<\/strong><br><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Meetings are a time hog, no doubt about it. We\u2019d all be happier if we could just delete them from our calendars, but some are still very necessary. For greater team productivity, Carl Pullein advises to <strong>limit meetings to 30 minutes max:&nbsp;<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cA fundamental change happens, when you change it to 30 min maximum. Firstly, there is no small talk. Secondly, people are no longer being late. If it&#8217;s an hour long meeting, people think, nah, it is not gonna matter if I am 5 minutes late. It\u2019s different when you limit it to 30 minutes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"770\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Clock_is_ticking.png\" alt=\"A stop watch.\" class=\"wp-image-4009\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Clock_is_ticking.png 770w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Clock_is_ticking-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Clock_is_ticking-768x479.png 768w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Clock_is_ticking-370x231.png 370w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Clock_is_ticking-270x168.png 270w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Clock_is_ticking-740x461.png 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><figcaption>30 minutes meetings time frame!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Another trick that will increase your team productivity around meetings is a clear <strong>agenda. <\/strong>When you tell people what they can expect in a meeting, they come better prepared and the meeting can begin without unnecessary delays!<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cMy rule is: whoever calls the meeting, has to send an agenda 48 hours before the meeting. Because that forces them to think about what they want to accomplish in the meeting.\u201d&nbsp; Carl Pullein<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>\u201cHow will I know it\u2019s working?\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope by now you&#8217;re convinced that these two small changes can fit into your team. Very soon, your team could be exhibiting these positive changes:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Holding fewer meetings and saving lots of time.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Finishing meetings early.&nbsp;<\/li><li>All staff members on the same page about goals.&nbsp;<\/li><li>A quieter, more peaceful environment, because people are actually focused on work.<\/li><li>Meeting deadlines and finishing projects &#8211; sometimes even days before the deadline.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"770\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Motivated_team.png\" alt=\"A group of happy working people.\" class=\"wp-image-3257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Motivated_team.png 770w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Motivated_team-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Motivated_team-768x479.png 768w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Motivated_team-370x231.png 370w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Motivated_team-270x168.png 270w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Motivated_team-740x461.png 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><figcaption>Motivated team makes achieving goals easier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ready to give it a try? Let us know how it goes and follow our podcast for more useful information about business, communication and teamwork!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Boost your company\u2019s productivity with the help of a communication tool made especially for teams. Meet your new team inbox &#8211; give Loop Email a try.&nbsp;<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"770\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/loop-email-try-shared-inbox.jpg\" alt=\"Loop Email banner.\" class=\"wp-image-3682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/loop-email-try-shared-inbox.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/loop-email-try-shared-inbox-300x62.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/loop-email-try-shared-inbox-768x160.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/loop-email-try-shared-inbox-370x77.jpg 370w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/loop-email-try-shared-inbox-270x56.jpg 270w, https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/loop-email-try-shared-inbox-740x154.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What\u2019s team productivity and how can you improve it? Carl Pullen, a productivity expert and coach shared two tricks you can implement today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4005"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4005"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4033,"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4005\/revisions\/4033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intheloop.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}