We’re not talking about people who eat smelly lunches at their desks or snap their gum – we’re talking about traits that get in the way of you getting your job done.
And there is no shortage of them, according to a new survey of 1,400 CFOs out of staffing firm Accountemps. Finance execs served up a slew of behaviors that drive them batty.
Take a look at what topped their list. It just might be what tops your co-workers’ … or even your boss’ own list:
- Sloppy work and lack of attention to detail (41%)
- Gossip and engaging in office politics (22%)
- Missing deadlines (18%)
- Being perpetually late (12%)
- Presenting others’ ideas as one’s own (5%), and
- Not knowing or not giving an answer (1%).
Any one of these is a recipe for disaster, especially in Finance. But there are steps you can take to keep productivity and accuracy up.
Let’s tackle the biggest shortfall: sloppy work and lack of attention to detail.
Of course, you can institute some policies and procedures to make sure any sloppy work gets caught, such as having staffers crosscheck each other’s work.
Train their brains
But there are also a few fun exercises you can do with staffers to improve their attention to detail. After all, the brain is a muscle like any other that can be trained. Consider suggesting a few of these:
- The memory game. Have staffers each take an object from the office (a tape dispenser, the three-hole punch, etc.) and study it for 20 seconds. Then ask people to hide the object and write as many details as possible about that item. It’s worth doing a few times a day.
- The shakeup. Encourage staffers to change things up in their workspace a bit. You certainly don’t want folks relocating files or items that coworkers will need access to. But simply switching where staffers keep their personal stash of pens or Post-Its forces them to train their brains to be more mindful.
- The “eyes” have it. Your vision is critical to your ability to focus and concentrate. So a few eye exercises can help you and staffers and send the sloppiness packing. You’ll find a ton of them online here.
Did the Accountemps survey miss any of the most annoying traits? Chime in here.
