I’ve always been a proponent of giving employees as many technology tools as the company can handle supporting and then letting them develop their own productive work habits. My rationale is that employees who cannot self-manage their time shouldn’t be working for any company I am involved with. I don’t want to have to babysit and if I do, then you won’t be working for me for very long. A new study indicates that IMs can indeed enhance employee productivity.
We all know instant messaging has great potential to lead down the path of non-productivity, but researchers at Ohio State University and University of California have found it can be a productivity booster—if used efficiently.
Who are the most efficient workers? That’s easy – workers who feel a sense of ownership. These people are also the people most likely to feel a sense of pride in their work. They are the people who have a stake in the success or failure of the company. Every single employee of a company should be made into some sort of stakeholder and consistently reminded that they are a meaningful piece of the corporate puzzle.
Invest in employees, give them all the freedom they need to get things accomplished, weed out the people who aren’t interested in accomplishing anything and you will grow indefinitely. My preferred instant messenger is Google Talk. I use to to communicate with my staff, my wife and my vendors while working. It increases my efficiency and productivity drastically.