As an HR manager, you must pay close attention to the things that distract employees. This can slow down the pace at which things are done. A survey conducted by a team of professional HR personnel shows that over 90% of employees are distracted by their smartphones during working hours.
One of the best ways to detox your HR system is through digital detox. Digital detox has to do with refraining employees from using electronic or digital devices for a certain time. In this post, we will consider some best tips every HR system can use to begin their digital detox and boost their overall productivity.
1. No-Tech Meetings
Instead of holding high tech meetings with tablets, laptops, and presentations on screen, make some strategic meetings to be tech-free. Although this might be a difficult decision to make considering we are living in the technological era. But you could adapt this method in brainstorming meetings where you need the employees to come with creative and new ideas without regular interruptions from message alerts and distractions from the bright screen.
Most employees stay glued to their smartphones and tablets during meetings. Thus, this action will help boost face-to-face verbal communication during meetings.
2. Encourage Employees to Take Regular Breaks
Research reveals that an average productive employee works in a constructive and concentrated burst for about 50 minutes before taking a 10 minutes break. This working pattern could be highly productive if the break periods are spent away from the use of digital devices.
Encourage your employees to take a break from the brightness of the screen within this short break while preparing for the next 50 minutes burst of work. They could make a coffee, take a short walk, or talk to a co-employee within this period. It further positions them to work effectively. The bottom line is that digital devices pose a big distraction during working hours.
3. Realize the Importance of Digital Detox
You must create a friendly workplace atmosphere and make employees understand that digital detox is not punishment. You should help your employees here and make them understand that digital detox is as important as marijuana cleanse. The employees must realize that it is for their good and will help the company to hit its target and goals.
4. Organize Workplace Mindfulness Activities
Lunch-time is one of the periods where employees stay glued to their social media handles and other online news outlets. After spending most of the morning hours in front of different technological gadgets, you should allow workers to take a break. This idea doesn’t end with your employees only. As an HR specialist, you should also take a break after spending some hours on your HR management software. You can leverage this break time to organize work activities targeted at boosting your employees. Yoga is one of the mindfulness activities you can engage your employees with during this period. Alternatively, you could liaise with local gym outlets to offer discount-based lunch-time gym classes for your staff. This will position them to stay active and healthy.
5. Implement a Tech-Free System
One of the ways to get the best out of your employees is to ensure they stay focused on every task they are carrying out. Adopt a policy where all staff turns off all non-essential technologies like instant messaging, email, and social media on a daily basis. This will position them to focus more on tasks that could be done without any form of digital communication with others. It could also stimulate face-to-face communication among team members.
6. Ban the Use of Personal Smartphones During Working Hours
Research shows that two out of every five individuals check their phones once every five minutes (about 200 times a day). This generally affects workplace productivity. A survey conducted by a team of professional HR personnel reveals that one of the most significant distractions during working hours is personal smartphones.
An average employee is productive for an average of five hours a day. The remaining hours are spent on social media and other online stuff. Banning the use of personal smartphones during working hours will go a long way to block out the distraction that comes with the use of personal smartphones in the workplace.
7. Ban Out-of-Work Access to the Email
The German carmaker, Volkswagen, was the first to take the drastic step of banning email access by employees outside working hours. It took this step after receiving numerous complaints from employees of how work affects their personal life. Since Volkswagen’s dramatic step, other renowned companies have imbibed this practice of imposing email bans as a way of maintaining, improving, and boosting employees’ work-life balance. This will position them to practice leaving office work at work and not allowing it to interfere with their personal life.
Conclusion
If you are looking for the best ways to detox your HR system, you can rely on these tips. We believe that if you practice these tips effectively, it will help you get the best out of your employees for maximum productivity. When employees are at home, they are free to act the way they want, but in the workplace, they have to follow the laid-out principles for maximum productivity.
Mary Walton is a professional editor, content strategist and a part of MarijuanaDetox team. Apart from writing, Mary is passionate about hiking and gaming. Feel free to contact her via Facebook.