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7 Valuable tips to increase productivity in your recruitment agency

7 Valuable tips to increase productivity in your recruitment agency

Friday 20th September 2019
PrimePRO Software

As a recruiter are you working late every day? Or working over the weekends? If so then you're very unproductive! Because working hard only shows that you must work hard to get results. Being productive is very different from working hard.

For any successful business Productivity is the key word and such companies are constantly looking for ways to increase their productivity rates and efficiency.

If you get the feeling that there's never enough time in the day to complete all your tasks. Is the problem a lack of time or a lack of time management?

Silly question but do you know what productivity is?

Productivity is being able to achieve more with less, increasing your output with less input, for a recruitment agency it's to fill more bookings with less work, to process more timesheets with less admin and so on. It's not about working harder but working smarter and making better use of your time.

1. Task organisation
Rate them in terms of importance say 1-6 and time weighting. So, if task one takes 10 minutes, rated 1 and another takes 1 hour rated 6 your task list can be arranged accordingly. This way you will be able to complete each task on time. Your tasks become achievable because you can work out exactly how much time you need to complete each of them and in order of importance. Becoming more effective and delivering on the essential items first.

If you consider yourself to be a great multi-tasker, then think again as this is very bad for productivity because you take longer to complete your tasks by jumping between them.

2. Don't do too much all at once
Science has proven that if you do one task at a time you will achieve better results.

Neuroscientist Earl Miller said that the human brain is not wired for multi-tasking and too many commands slow down your performance.

Make a habit of doing one task at a time and this will increase productivity.

3. Avoid Putting it Off
How many times have you found yourself give up and say "I'll do it later". This is a bad trait that is damaging for those wanting to achieve better results and productivity.

If the task needs to be done, do it. Putting it off will cause the workload to pile up in front of your eyes, that will play on your mind, increase stress and affect your performance.

Once you have done the bigger priority tasks first the rest of the day is an easy downhill ride from there!

4. Do Meetings Standing up
Too many meetings will kill your productivity!

Make them no more than half an hour, three quarters max.

SCRUM tells of the benefits for stand up meetings, by creating some discomfort forces the participants to be more to the point and less long winded with the agenda items.

5. Set Goals
Be aware that every task must be done in a certain time frame

Make your own goals match your pace and the needs of business.

Say you're working on a tender document
Set a reasonable time to complete it and stick to it until it's finished.

If you're a manager
Communicate goals to your team and give feedback on progress.

Good managers are totally predictable, and your team is clear on what they need to do to be more productive.

6. Rest
Frequent rest breaks help you or your team clear their minds to recharge between their sprints of work.

Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that uses a timer to break down work in to intervals, typically 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks of say 10 minutes over 4 cycles, then on the fifth cycle you can take half an hour and return for a future 4 cycles.

Think of it like you're doing a workout at the gym. To make gains you must do more (lift more). By doing rest breaks you allow your muscles to recoup between sets and allowing you to increase your load. If you didn't rest, you will burn out quicker and your performance will plummet.

7. Use Technology
The function of technology is to make our lives easier and give us back time. For this to be realised it is critical that you use the right software for your recruitment agency. Giving them the tools to work more efficiently, substantially increases productivity and gives your recruiters more time with candidates and clients.