Dive Brief:
- The word "please" included in task requests resulted in deliverables being completed late 38% of the time, a two-year analysis of project management via Slack revealed.
- Similarly, the Aug. 6 data analysis from Chaser showed that tasks including "ASAP" or "!!!" were also completed late at a similar rate. Task requests presented in a neutral but direct fashion were completed late only 31% of the time.
- The study suggested deliverables were most often finished on time when tasks were completed voluntarily and when one worker had ownership over each task.
Dive Insight:
Productivity remains a moving target for managers. What works well according to Chaser’s analysis is when a task has a single owner; these tasks were almost 70% more likely to be completed on time, compared to when the tasks were owned by two people. In a similar vein, tasks that people volunteered to do were more than 70% likely to be completed on time.
For managers that can’t always assign tasks to just one person or can’t rely on volunteers, Chaser’s analysis offered some key advice: Share the ask in a group message, not just one one one. Tasks shared in a Slack channel were 44% more likely to be completed on time, according to the research.
A concrete deadline also helps push productivity along. Deliverables without due dates were 2.5 times as likely to never be completed at all, the report said.
Interestingly, today’s productivity woes seem to go beyond human limitations, such as choosing to be polite or forgetting to set a deadline. Despite underlying desires for artificial intelligence to increase productivity, managers and employees alike have expressed concern about losing problem-solving abilities and developing an AI dependence, among other things.
With some workers saying they spend more time managing AI than producing work, another concern among workers is the necessity to babysit AI — a phenomenon known as “botsitting.”
When talent is already resistant or reluctant to complete tasks, HR may be able to assist with learning opportunities focused on coaching and time management.
