Perhaps more than any other group in the office, your programmers need to fully focus on the work in front of them. Whether they're writing a program from scratch or tweaking an existing piece of software to work within set boundaries, long, uninterrupted periods of work time are essential. Even the slightest distraction can lead to errors that will take months to work out.
But as workplaces have redesigned to fit the open-plan office trend, visual and audio distractions have become impossible to avoid. This is added to the emails, texts, and phone calls that come in throughout the day, as well as voluntary interruptions such as social media and web surfing. For employers, it's important to make it as easy as possible for developers to be productive in order to maximize the wage you're paying them. Here are a few ways to keep your programmers focused.
Isolate Them
Your office design may not allow you to put your developers behind walls. However, you can help them by relocating them to an area of the office where they have fewer distractions. This could be a corner or the very end of a long wing. Anything is preferable to the practice of settling development staff around a long table under the assumption that they need to collaborate throughout the day. As a result, programmers never get into "the zone" where they're most productive, which wastes money and leads to high turnover.
Outsource to Remote Workers
There are a wide variety of reasons to hire freelance developers to work in house. However, when you allow contractors to work remotely, those benefits increase. You can access highly-skilled workers in rural areas or other regions of the world who charge less for their work due to their reduced cost of living. Since they're billing hourly, they'll also feel a greater responsibility to produce during the hours they're being paid and if you see a lack of productivity, you can choose to work with someone else at the end of their term.
Eliminate Technical Distractions
It's easy to eliminate the distractions around you, but its even tougher to eliminate those in front. Since programmers spend 99% of their day on the computer, it's best to eliminate all potential technical distractions. A great resource to use is FocusMe, an app and website blocker for IOS, Windows, and Android. FocusMe allows you to block certain apps or websites for a duration of time. If you block off all potential distractions during the workday, you'll be able to train your mind to stay more focused. Not all programmers have the willpower to hyper-focus, so help them out with a blocker.
Eliminate Noise
Open-plan offices have created a demand for noise reduction, with businesses now specializing in sound masking systems. This can be pricey, though, especially for smaller businesses with limited budgets. Instead it may be more cost effective to encourage development teams to bring headphones from home or, better yet, provide noise-canceling headphones as a job perk.
While they're working, they can also utilize various sound applications that boost focus and creativity. These apps work great with noise canceling head-phones and are a guaranteed way to completely eliminate any audio distractions. Using ambient or white noise while working will surely boost focus and creativity over listening to their favorite songs.
Time Management
A great way to reduce distractions and stay productive is to adopt good time management habits. A programmer's time costs a pretty penny, so every minute counts. Utilize software like RescueTime that allows you to track their daily online habits. RescueTime will run securely in the background and keep track of how time is spent. Then, you can produce detailed reports and even set notifications so you can maximize their efficiency.
Programmers perform an important function for businesses, but it's important to ensure they're as productive as possible during working hours. The nature of the work makes it easy to set up a work environment that reduces distractions and helps them focus. Businesses should be aware of the unique work requirements of development staff and find ways to keep morale high among team members to reduce turnover.