The #1 Secret to Highly-Productive Teams

The aftermath of a New Zealand study of a 4-day work week has employees and employers alike perplexed and interested in such a concept. With many employees seriously wondering, “maybe this could be my workplace”? 

And why couldn’t it? The secret to highly-productive teams is limiting the repetitive work and leaving the rest of the time only to work that matters. 

Essentially, automation to be productive!

The study found that by decreasing the number of work hours from 40 hours a week to 32 hours a week, while still maintaining 100% of salaries, they improved the work-life balance of its employees. 

“78% of employees feeling that they were able to successfully manage their work-life balance, an increase of 24 percentage points.” as reported in The Guardian. 

They employed different techniques to automate processes and decrease the amount of time spent on non-work related activities. 

Moving away from the obvious, this study shows a shift in mindset. By crunching time and installing new automation tactics, it allowed for a company and employees to re-align what matters in the company. The transformative work not the number of hours spent in the office. 

By eliminating the rudimentary processes not only does it free up more time for home life but it also opens up more time for more important work. 

By getting rid of tedious tasks, and giving more time to high-level tasks not only are we happier but we get more transformative work done. 

But, how can this be applied to your work? 

Well, the great thing is there are tools out there that can help make this a reality.

The secret to highly-productive teams is automation

1. In-app integrations

Many of your favorite apps already have integrations built-in that will allow you to automate your workflow and free up your time. 

Many of us use the same apps in conjunction with one another and so service providers have begun to think about how this and have provided common solutions. These can usually be found on the “Integrations” page (or a similar title) of your favorite apps. 

But, sometimes they are limited to what and how they can connect to other apps/services. There are also platforms out there that are specifically and exclusively made to connect apps/services to get any task done.

2. Integration tools

Integration tools or workflow automation tools are great for connecting the apps/services/tools you use on a daily basis. 

There are a number of amazing tools on the market that help a lot of people get their work done faster and easier. But, how do you choose the right one for you? 

Here are a few things to consider though when choosing a workflow automation tool:

• You want something that is simple to use but powerful enough that you can build an integration that will execute the way you actually work.

• You probably want to still control the schedule of your work. Timelines don’t go away just because you are away. So, look for a tool that has the capabilities to choose when your work is completed.

• And, I am sure a little piece of mind would be nice when you are handing over your workflow to an online tool. Look for something that can prepare for any possible situation or error.

Essentially, the tool should make your life easier. It still needs to react like you would, not causing you to manage it from afar.

Make

Make is the fully-loaded integration tool that allows you to create, build, and accomplish online work faster. With no-coding needed, users at any level can build scenarios (integrations) in just a few moments that will automatically do your work for you.

1. Unlimited steps

Do you need to connect multiple apps with multiple different actions and permutations happening simultaneously? 

With Make you no longer have to work linearly. Your scenarios not only can have unlimited steps but can also veer off in many different branches to set up scenarios that work as intuitively as you would.

2. Scheduling

Do you have to send off invoices on the day that your employees’ are off? Are you waiting for new leads to become qualified and then need to send down the sales pipeline as soon as it happens? 

You can have your scenarios run to continue to have your work fit your schedule. 

You can set up an execution schedule that will keep your work on time and within your own desired schedule.

3. Error handling

What if something happens while you are away causing a disruption in your work being completed? How can you prepare for that? 

Plan for every possible variable including an error in your data or an error in execution, with error handlers. 

Error handlers will dictate what will happen in the case of an error so your work can continue while you and your team are away or working on other projects.

The future work environment is looking for balance and agility in all forms. No longer will people have to choose between work and having a life. Or, between tedious and transformational work. 

Thanks to innovative studies like the one in New Zealand, the possibility of this becomes a reality. 

It’s just about finding the right tools and the right productivity style to set the parameters in motion to give time to work that matters. An automation tool like Make is a great place to start! 

If this has inspired you or would like to check out our service, visit www.make.com and try it today!

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