Skills That Power Productive Teams: A Guide for Employers and Employees

Productivity is one of the indicators of a healthy workplace and one of the keys to a successful organization. For employees, productivity skills are some of the most important for your career prospects, and the ability to showcase productivity skills in your job applications can give you a big advantage. In this article, resume experts from jobseeker discuss the time management skills that power productive teams, and how both organizations and employees can make the most of them.

Why are productivity skills so valuable?

Productivity skills are valuable because they help organizations to maximize their resources and gain a competitive advantage. High productivity rates indicate a motivated workforce and efficient processes that allow employees to do more work in less time, or with fewer resources. Increasing productivity is one of the key ways a company can improve profitability, and it can often be done by making a few simple changes to the way the organization works.

For employees, productivity skills are particularly powerful because many companies are seeking ways to improve their productivity rates. If, as a candidate, you’re able to prove yourself as a productive employee with a strong track record of results and achievements, you’ll be far more likely to succeed in your applications. In the workplace, productivity is a crucial step towards promotion and career progression.

What are the key skills for productivity?

Some of the key productivity skills employers seek in candidates and employees are:

• Time management/prioritization: the ability to manage your time and prioritize your workload is a key element of productivity in the workplace. Being able to organize your time at work, and prioritize your workload to deliver the most urgent, important work with maximum efficiency is extremely valuable.

• Communication: organizational productivity relies on effective communication between employees. If you’re a strong communicator, you’ll be able to keep colleagues and managers up-to-date with your progress, so they can know what to expect from you and provide support and assistance when necessary.

• Self-motivation/work ethic: for employers, a self-motivated employee needs less supervising and can be trusted to produce what’s required of them with minimal interference. If you can prove you have a strong work ethic and intrinsic motivation, you’ll put yourself in a great position for success.

• Focus: remaining focused in a busy work environment is a valuable asset that can turbocharge your productivity rates. The ability to block out distractions and focus on the task in hand can help to make a trusted and valued employee.

• Decision-making: sound decision-making is a critical factor in ensuring high productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Employers value employees who they can trust to assess a situation and make the right decision, as it indicates confidence, proactivity and the ability to take control of a situation.

Prioritizing productivity skills during recruitment

Prioritizing productivity skills in the recruitment process is one other effective way employers can enhance productivity levels for their organization. Here are some tips for targeting the most productive candidates with your recruitment:

• Creating suitable job descriptions: detailed, well-designed job descriptions can have a significant impact on the quality of candidates for each vacancy. Make sure your job descriptions outline the requirements of the role accurately and succinctly.

• Focusing on transferable skills: while some roles require specific technical skills, transferable soft skills are becoming more and more desirable. Prioritizing skills such as communication, problem-solving, adaptability and decision-making can all help you find candidates who will settle well and become productive quickly.

• Using standardized assessments and interviewing: adopting a standardized approach to candidate assessments and interviews can help you to measure candidates fairly and accurately against one another, making it easier to draw conclusions on their likely productivity and cultural fit.

• Developing a strong onboarding program: onboarding is a critical step in providing candidates with the knowledge, skills and resources they need to be productive. It can also help employees to settle into their role and team more quickly, further increasing productivity levels.

Developing productivity skills as an employee

As an employee, there are plenty of things you can do to develop your productivity levels and stand out from your colleagues, or other candidates. Here are a few simple tips to take your productivity rates to the next level:

• Focus on one thing at a time: while multitasking has long been heralded as a desirable quality, in reality it’s extremely difficult for people to concentrate on more than one thing at a time, and it usually results in doing both things less well. Dedicate yourself to one task at a time, and focus on doing it to the best of your ability.

• Communicate openly: open communication is one of the keys to productivity, and it helps to build strong ties with your team. Let your colleagues know how you’re getting on with your work, so they know what to expect from you and can offer the support you need.

• Block out distractions: setting aside time to focus on complex tasks can help you to be more productive during your workday. Consider blocking out certain times in your calendar, closing your emails or setting your status to ‘busy’, ‘away’ or ‘unavailable’ in your communication apps.

• Set clear goals: setting clear, achievable goals gives you something to work towards. Whether you do this by yourself or in collaboration with your manager or your wider team, these targets can help you to become productive and stretch your capacity over time.

Showcasing productivity skills in your job applications

Showcasing your productivity rates in your job applications is a surefire way to impress employers and stand out from other candidates. Here are a few tips for proving your productivity skills in your resume and LinkedIn profile:

• Quantify your achievements: employers will want to see evidence that confirms your productivity, so make sure you include figures, statistics and project outcomes that showcase you as a productive, efficient employee.

• Provide examples of successful projects: whether you add them on your resume or in your LinkedIn profile, examples of successful projects and career achievements can go a long way to convincing hiring managers of your productivity levels. Use examples that show your ability to produce under pressure, or when faced with limited resources.

• Showcase transferable skills: review the job description for an indication of the skills employers are looking for, and make sure your resume includes examples of transferable skills that can help to maximize your productivity. Focus on showcasing time management, communication, decision-making, self-motivation and other productivity skills.

• Include feedback and testimonials: your LinkedIn profile provides the ideal opportunity to add testimonials that employers can review to assess your performance in previous roles. It’s normal for employers to check LinkedIn profiles as part of their assessment of candidates, so make sure yours showcases positive feedback and evidence of your productivity.