Efficiency vs productivity: how to use both in the workplace

Productivity is about finding new ways to do more with the time and resources you already have. That's where efficiency and productivity cross paths - the two work perfectly together to achieve better business outcomes.

Let's say you make your comms process more efficient; this can spur productivity throughout the team because they're no longer weighed down with tasks that zap their productivity, i.e. having to have a three-hour ideas meeting when you could have collaborated through software instead.

There are many things that can affect productivity outside of the lack of operational efficiencies. Low morale, burnout, poor management, and generally unpleasant company culture all impact employee productivity. So, although both efficiency and productivity work together, you should always address both separately.

Efficiency focuses on doing things in the best possible way, with minimal waste (this can be time, effort, or resources). Productivity focuses on doing as much as possible, such as increasing the amount of tasks.

In short:

It’s possible to be productive without being efficient (e.g., you can do lots of tasks but waste a lot of resources), and it’s also possible to be efficient without being productive (e.g., you can do things well but not complete many tasks).

The ideal is to be productive and efficient at work. So let’s talk about how you can achieve this!

The aim of the game is to achieve maximum output (productivity) while delivering quality results (efficiency) - it’s a fine balance, so where do you start?

By setting clear goals for employees, you’re ensuring everyone is on the same page, whether it’s throughout a particular project or in day-to-day team management. Setting clear SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) and expectations help boost productivity. No one is sitting there wondering where they belong or what to do next; everyone is focused and purposeful.

Let’s say you have disparate systems for staff communication - email, Slack, Trello, Google Chat. Comms become fragmented almost immediately, and you’re not fostering team collaboration. This leads to inefficiencies and declining productivity.

In this example, introducing technology that harbours all internal comms means no communication goes missing, and you start to build a hub of connectivity for all staff - even if they’re working remotely.

76% of professionals say they have moderate to high stress levels. That’s a significant number - you don’t want to find your employees also sitting within this statistic. Instead, you can better support employee wellbeing by implementing flexible or remote working policies, buying into better employee benefits, and improving efficiency to help them better manage workload.

Before making changes to any of your processes, it’s best to ask the people who are at the heart of them for guidance. From department heads to employees of all levels, ask them what would make processes more efficient and how they’d feel more productive.

Consider asking them to submit answers anonymously or have 1-2-1s to get to the nitty gritty, no holds barred. If you’re going to shake up your processes, implement new technology and tools. It’s crucial you don’t waste time implementing something that will have little to zero effect on the bottom line.

If you start adopting a new process, train employees properly so they can hit the ground running, and you will immediately benefit from that increase in productivity and efficiency. Adopting new tech can be daunting for many employees, but the sooner you start training them, the sooner the tech gets to work streamlining archaic processes, turning your company into a hive of productivity and efficiency.

Mental health has a huge impact on workplace productivity, and its importance in the workplace has become a talking point over the last few years, which is much needed. But as a result, the importance of efficiency working together with productivity has become a forgotten counterpart of organisational success.

You can improve productivity as much as you possibly can, squeezing the most out of every hour worked, but if the way you’re completing these tasks isn’t efficient, you’re missing out on completing even more within the same timeframe. This leaves you open to burnout and productivity declining once more.

It can become a vicious cycle. So take the time to understand current processes and attitudes to working, listen to feedback, and implement solutions that help you achieve both productivity and efficiency long-term.