How Efficient Are You At Work?
I’m sure you’ve heard people say “I give 110%.” We all know you can only give 100% because that’s all you have. So you will probably be surprised to learn that someone giving 80% on the job is doing really well. Why? People can’t be 100% efficient all the time. In between phone calls, checking personal email, getting coffee, going to the bathroom, chatting with people both on the computer and in the next work station.
There are a lot of reasons why being 80% efficient at work is a realistic number. An efficiency rating isn’t as hard to figure out as you might think. Putting a time value on each task is the most difficult part of developing your efficiency rating program. For example: If the average sales phone call takes 8 minutes, then this average you can use for each call. If you make a call, but don’t get the person you want, then you may assign a time value of 1 minute.
To create an efficiency rating program, you have to daily routine tasks on a spreadsheet and assign them a time value. Click here for an example of a spreadsheet you can use. Keep track of all your tasks each day and then list the task’s quantity next to each task. Now do the math. Let’s say at the end of the day all of time you spent on all of your tasks adds up to 250 minutes, then for that day you are 52% efficient.
There are 480 minutes in a normal 8 hour work day (8 x 60). Take all of the minutes of the work you did for the day and divide that into 480, this is your efficiency rating. When you do this you will find your efficiency rating to be ….well sobering. It won’t be as high as you think it will be. When most people see this percentage they say things like: “you can’t put a time value on everything I do” or “I didn’t write down everything” or “that’s just stupid”. You’ll hear all kinds of excuses but the numbers don’t lie.
Some people try to game the amount of time they give each task. You’ll find after determining time values for each task, a real average does immerge. There will be highs and lows for each task, but using an average and tracking it over a week will give you a good idea where you and your associates stand.
To summarize, you probably have more spare time each day than you realize. Work on being more efficient and productive to get better results, really value your work time! Make it happen!