The Bagg Group Blog

Sometimes the best thing you can do to boost daily productivity and morale is take a short break from work.  But new research shows that the very best breaks are not those spent watching funny videos on Youtube, or chatting around the water cooler.  Instead, the most effective way to recharge is to do what you did in kindergarten –  enjoy a 20-minute outdoor recess.

However, you don’t have to climb monkey bars or jog, according to a recently released study reported in the British newspaper The Telegraph.  The research by psychology professor Richard Ryan at the University of Rochester concludes that all you need to do is just be outdoors to get a jolt of energy that is equivalent to a strong cup of coffee.

Working with 537 volunteers, Professor Ryan found those who spent just 20 minutes in the open air experienced a significant increase in vitality that had a positive effect on their work day. 

Even desk-bound volunteers who were encouraged to imagine being outside and were shown pictures of  the outsides recorded better mood and energy levels throughout the day than those who didn’t let their minds stray out of doors.

Professor Ryan says his study shows that “people feel more alive” when they can feel the sun and the breeze.  It’s logical, he adds, given the natural bond between humans and nature.

At The Bagg Group, we know from decades of interviewing candidates that employees truly value organizations which recognize life-work balance.  Now, science has come onside to confirm that staying glued to the desk from nine to five is counter-productive.

A 20- minute recess is good for the spirit and for decreasing absenteeism. Going outside increases wellbeing.  “People with a greater sense of vitality don’t just have more energy for things they want to do, they are also more resilient to physical illnesses,” said Professor Ryan.

This summer, spread the word to colleagues that they’ll be doing themselves and the organization a favour by not lunching at the desks, but picnicking instead.

At The Bagg Group, we know that giving your employees a high-five can make all the difference

It’s been more than a month since the Vancouver Olympics, but the cheering that took place in offices during the Games doesn’t have to stop.

During the Winter Games, our clients across the GTA saw employees interact in new, more positive ways.  Staff from different departments who rarely exchanged two words found common ground.  Cheers rang out office-wide when Canadians won medals.  Team spirit was high, and so was morale. 

In fact, the Winter Games were terrific for team-building in the workplace.  But like all team-building activities, the real challenge is to ensure the bonding continues long after the exercise ends. 

At The Bagg Group, our staffing solution experts talk to candidates every day who say they want to feel connected to their workplace, to be part of a community.  That’s why when there’s not an outside event to bring people together, our recruiters suggest creating one.

Here are two tips that our clients have implemented with great success over the years.

Get a company team together to participate in a fun-run:  Spring heralds the beginning of fundraising marathons, and now is the time to get organized and to get staff in shape and training.  As the Olympics proved, nothing brings people closer together than a physical challenge.  

Launch a Spring into Shape challenge:  Volumes of study prove that physical fitness improves productivity and morale.  Keep Olympic medal fever alive by setting up awards for employees who meet measurable, attainable physical fitness goals — like getting to the gym regularly for one month — and who buddy up to help colleagues meet their goals. 

An article entitled Finding the Right Fit that appears on the Canadian Bar Association’s website examines how some law firms are rewarding employees for getting into shape.  At one firm, staff voluntarily record their runs, yoga classes, power-walks, etc. on a special card, in exchange for points that lead to prizes.  

The most important reward, however, is nothing more complicated than a high-five.  And that’s been confirmed by a recent University of California study that shows the best teams in the National Basketball Association — the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers — recorded the most high-fives and slaps-on-the-back among team-mates. 

The researchers conclude that acceptable physical contact, like a high-five, reduces stress and increases good feelings.   

It’s been great cheering on our country’s best athletes, and now it’s time to cheer on each other for any and every professional and personal accomplishment.

As discussed in the previous blog, productivity melts in the summer heat.  So it’s a good time to start implementing time-savers so that your staff don’t lose any more minutes from their day than necessary.

Minutes matter, according to a study on work interruptions by Dr. Gloria Mark, associate professor at the University of California.  In her study, Dr. Mark shadowed 36 managers, financial analysts, software developers, engineers, and project leaders for three entire days.  The researchers timed, to the second, how much uninterrupted time people had while on the phone, working on a document, typing an email or interacting with a colleague.

According to the findings, the average amount of time that people spent on any single activity before being interrupted or switching to something else was only 3.05 minutes.

Juggling so much at once may sound like multi-tasking.  But Dave Crenshaw, author of The Myth of Multitasking, argues that the brain is incapable of focusing on multiple tasks at the same time.  He says studies show that rather than working simultaneously on several activities, we actually switch rapidly back and forth between tasks.  And every time we do, our focus and productivity slips.

With decades of working with GTA employers on staffing solutions to our credit, The Bagg Group has compiled this quick tip list for buoying productivity, minute by minute.

Think about disabling the Reply All button.  Neilsen reported great success with this technique as a way to cut down on overloading staff with unnecessary email.    

Start off every written communication with your most important info.  Known as the inverted pyramid, this style of writing helps people get clear on what they need to know, very quickly. Whether writing emails or enrollment packages, lead with the most pertinent points.  Once you get your key info out of the way, you may find you don’t need to add much more.  That saves writing and reading time.

Break tasks into small steps.  It’s helpful to the time-stressed when you specify the individual steps you that are required.  It’s equally useful to help an employee prioritize to fit these tasks into an already busy day.

Think twice about meetings.  If a meeting is strictly to impart standard information, consider sending a to-the-point email instead, and inviting questions by email in return.

Assign tasks per skill. Maximize output by ensuring employees aren’t wasting their energy on tasks that don’t require their skill level.  Reassign or consider temporary or contract workers to keep focus where you need it.

This summer, make the most of every moment.

With the warm weather comes daydreams of vacations and dips in employee productivity. Recently, a survey of a British staffing agency showed 68% of employees admit to spending a significant part of their workday thinking about their impending holidays and 25% of respondents acknowledged a drop in their productivity.

That’s not unusual. When fine weather finally hits, even the most disciplined of us find it difficult to block thoughts of canoes and cottages. 

At The Bagg Group, we advocate vacations.  They are all the more important in a recession when employees need a break from a heavy workload and office stresses.

Across Canada, most companies offer an average of 17 annual vacation days.  That’s down two days from 2007, but still three more than Americans, according to a  2008 Expedia survey of employed workers in North America and Europe

In Europe, the practice has always been to provide significant time off. In 2008, employees in Great Britain typically got 26 days off,  a two-day increase over 2007, and Germany, Spain and France saw increases of one day, with workers receiving 27 days, 31 days and 37 days respectively.

Recruitment agencies in  the GTA concur that there are three reasons to encourage employees to take their vacations:

Vacation help reduce burnout:  Rest and relaxation is the best way to re-charge the batteries.

Vacations promote creative thinking:  Often, in stepping away from a situation, you can see it more clearly and so come up with better solutions.  

Vacations improve work/life balance:  A holiday is a time for employees to reconnect with families and personal interests and increased quality of life can lead to increased quality of work on the job.

Still, daydreaming and vacationing employees can add up to a seasonal headache for managers and hiring authorities who must ensure smooth operations, regardless of the temperature outside.  As staffing solution experts, here are some tips that we have shared  successfully with top employers in the GTA.

Create work schedules for the summer frame of mind:  Allow flexible work hours that let workers start and finish the day earlier.  In this way, workers complete eight-hour days at the office and still have time to enjoy the sunshine

Post a visual chart showing who is absent when:  This is useful for colleagues, and helps managers ensure key employees are not on holiday at the same time.

Have employees compile a list of clients, suppliers, and anyone else who may need to be contacted in case of an emergency:  This list is useful year-round, and the summer holiday is a great incentive for the employee to put it together.

Cross train employees to take over duties of others:  Have employees prepare a list of their major duties and step-by-step instructions on how to fulfill these. But put on hold those tasks that can wait a week.  It’s not helpful to to overburden  colleagues left behind.

Consider hiring temporary staff or contract workers:  This ensures continued smooth operation, and allows the other employees to focus on their work.  Also, it helps the vacationing employee who can suffer a bad case of post-holiday blues if returning to work that has piled up.

Look for opportunities to celebrate summer:  After our long winter, we do need to make the most of summer.  Consider holding one-on-one meetings at a patio or allowing Bermuda short and sandal days.