B6
W E D N E S D A Y, M A Y 2 0 , 2 0 1 5
BUSINESS
EDMON TON JOU R NA L edmontonjournal .com
CAPITAL IDEAS c apital id e a se dm o nt o n .c o m
P R O J E C T L E A D E R : K A R E N U N L A N D , 7 8 0 - 4 2 9 - 5 2 6 0; k a r e n @ c a p i t a l i d e a s e d m o n t o n . c o m
CAPITAL QUESTION:
UPCOMING:
What does workplace productivity mean to you? Entrepreneurs share how they keep their organizations motivated “In simple terms, workplace productivity means getting the work done properly and in an efficient manner. Generally, the goal of successful businesses is to use their resources to provide the maximum quantity of quality products and services for their clientele. While a portion of this equation may be mechanical, an often larger component is the employees.” — Debbie Engel, owner of Debbie L. Engel Professional Corporation — depc.ca “I see productivity as two-fold in our business: Some days productivity is the ability to efficiently multitask between clients, phone calls, emails, interruptions, etc. Other days, productivity is the very act of mindfulness. Listening attentively, spending one-on-one time with a distressed family or client, or simply being present to what is the priority at any given moment. Productivity is compassion in action!” — Keltie Brisson, co-owner and recreation therapist at Rehab and Retreat — rehabandretreat.com
PHOTO BY: SAMANTHA J. WALKER
Sharleen Oborowsky, president of Fully Managed (fullymanaged.com), says that for her company, productivity means having a culture of ‘getting things done.’ “Every employee has a mindset of getting things done and is accountable to that. We leverage productivity tools such as Asana, a task management cloud-based software to organize our projects and tasks. I believe the way to approach this in your work culture is to first get organized; this will remove the clutter, clear your mind and increase productivity.”
“Objectives and key results help us to move our internal change objectives forward by keeping them top-of-mind and celebrating progress, and our Kanban board ensures that we visualize our work as a team and limit our work in progress as individuals in order to keep our customer projects moving forward at the right pace. It’s not about how many hours we put in; it’s about whether we get the right things done. That’s what we measure.” — Paul Bellows, co-CEO of Yellow Pencil — yellowpencil.com “Part of workplace productivity is having a happy team. Having systems in place that are easy and stress-free for everyone to follow, but also making the workplace a positive place to be. I think it is important to create a workplace that feels like a second home; one where your team is comfortable and they feel welcome and appreciated at all times. A happy, positive workplace will increase productivity!” — Stacey Hogbin, owner of Wevive Fitness — wevivefitness.com “My friends at Go Productivity would say it is about growth and optimization. I agree, but more importantly, it’s about measurable growth and optimization. It is not about doing more with less, but about optimizing what you have to maximize growth defined as revenue, profit, impact, etc. All workplace assets optimize differently because people optimize differently. Workplace productivity is about the people.” — Darryl Moore, vice-president of marketing and communication at Executrade — executrade.com
“You can really gauge the productivity of a workplace by how happy its employees are. When the employees are happy, they tend to be more engaged and do better work. While some measure productivity through the lens of the amount of time spent on a task, we like to view it as the effectiveness of the task done. At our company, we found the happier our staff, the more creative they are when solving difficult problems.” — Amin Ahmed, co-founder of VenueJar — venuejar.com “It’s important for businesses to understand what the best-in-class metrics are respective to their industry, and then measure how they are comparing versus those metrics. It’s equally important to set short and long-term goals on attaining specific metrics that your team has collaborated and agreed on, and then measure regularly. Learn from the results and get better. Most importantly, celebrate the wins!” — Ashif Mawji, president of Trust Science — trustscience.com “A productive workplace needs employees who are enthusiastic to provide quality services to our clients, who have the right training, tools and support systems, and who work with each other collaboratively so that everyone can succeed at their job. Part of that is corporate culture, part is training, tools and supports, part is team fit, and part is employee attitude. The right mix and process equals a recipe for success!” — Chris Vilcsak, president of Solution 105 — solution105.com “Productivity is ... getting the highest value idea out with the least amount of resources, which means choosing your resources carefully and being thoughtful about how you deploy them. Business resources need to be thoughtfully deployed after the entire value chain is considered, eliminating waste. It’s about doing more, and better, with less.” — Angela Armstrong, founder of Prime Capital Group — pcclease.com “The important factor is motivation … To get more workplace productivity, we need to focus on some key drivers, such as building leadership, creating and respecting cultures, encouraging and supporting innovation, investing in people, providing health and safety to all employees, etc.” — Stephen Richards, director of ATB Financial — atb.com
These answers are in response to a question posed by Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business. Here’s his take: “Workplace productivity is about more than just working people hard at their desks, or at their workstations. Yes, people might still work hard, but productivity is really about getting results in a way that best achieves that. In the old days, it was about creating repetitive and monotonous work that would happen in a fixed workplace for a fixed set of hours. Today, that might mean doing creative work that is changing regularly, and happening all over the place and all the time. What I know is that the best entrepreneurs that I have met look way past how the work is done to how great the results can be. Achieving that takes an open mind where one finds ways to get the most from themselves and people. And, as a side note, it usually means making the work meaningful.”
MAY
Productivity 101
MAY
Local University: Search Marketing Seminar
27
28 MAY
28 MAY
29 JUNE
16
Workshop designed to inspire your team to strategically tackle internal productivity Where: World Trade Centre (9990 Jasper Ave.) When: 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Admission: $34.95. Tickets at edmontonchamber.com/events
A full-day workshop where you’ll learn how your business can use the Internet to get more customers Where: Lister Centre, University of Alberta (11613 87th Ave.) When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: $199. Tickets at localuedmonton.com
Grand opening: NABI + TRTech co-working space Meet and mingle with other entrepreneurs as you check out Edmonton’s newest co-working space Where: Harley Court (#1200, 10045 111th Street) When: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: Free. Tickets at nabi.ca
Gateway of Possibilities Open Reception and Mixer A reception and business mixer hosted by the North Edmonton Business Association Where: Edmonton Expo Centre, Hall C (7515 118th Ave.) When: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Admission: $4 to $20. Tickets at neba.ca
Google Partners Digital Lunch An exclusive Google event co-hosted by Adster to help entrepreneurs learn how to grow their businesses Where: Charbar (618 Confluence Way S.E., Calgary, AB) When: 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission: Free. Tickets at adster.ca
For more great events, visit capitalideasedmonton.com/edmontonevents.
COMMUNITY QUESTION: What online marketing strategy has been most effective for you? Modern technology and the Internet have revolutionized how we connect with people, communicate, learn, shop and do business. That’s why Darren Shaw, founder of Whitespark and a speaker at the upcoming Local University event on Internet marketing for local businesses, wants to know: What online marketing strategy has been most effective for you? You can answer the question in two ways: • Open today’s Capital Ideas email if you’re a member, or • Visit capitalideasedmonton.com We’ll publish the best answers, along with your business name and website address, on May 27. Local University is a full-day workshop on May 28 featuring experts from Google and local Google partners to help Edmonton-area businesses acquire new customers and engage existing ones. Learn more at localuedmonton.com.
B U S I N E S S OW N E R S H E L P I N G B U S I N E S S OW N E R S
JOIN US! Get expert advice on your biggest challenges Share insights with entrepreneurs like you Appear in the Edmonton Journal
SIGN UP at
capitalideasedmonton.com
Join our LinkedIn group: Capital Ideas at the Edmonton Journal. Follow us on Twitter: @capitalideasyeg