Improving Staff Productivity

Employee productivity can have a direct impact on your company’s bottom line. You may have recruited the best talent in your field with the assumption that results are a slam dunk. Not necessarily. Pressuring employees to work harder and faster isn’t the answer, either. When looking at Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies To Work For” the common thread among most of the top organizations is the mention of high productivity and satisfied employees. Productive and satisfied employees represent more than just good management practices—they are a crucial element to a successful business.

A company’s employees are one of its most valuable assets, and managing them can be one of the most important—yet challenging—tasks required of a small business owner. How motivated, productive, and satisfied your employees are can impact your company’s bottom line. What are some things you can do to create and/or improve employee productivity?

Accountability

Every person needs to be well aware that he is accountable for his/her actions and decisions and can neither pass the buck nor pass the blame to someone else. This will help your employees work more meticulously.

Manage but Avoid Micromanagement

Employees should given direction and assistance as needed, but allowed to think for themselves and analyze the consequences of their decisions and actions. By giving them this freedom, they’ll become more motivated.

Offer Rewards and Recognition

Words of encouragement, extra time off, and/or economic incentives can make an employee feel recognized and needed. Rewarding hard work put in by employees makes them feel appreciated and they’ll continue to work hard.

Set Realistic Work Targets

Employers need to set realistic goals that are within the limits of achievement. While an aggressive employer may want his people to outstretch themselves to achieve farfetched goals, it may also burn them out. Setting expectations keeps employees accountable and helps determine an evaluation path of their job.

 Teamwork Environment

Successful team building and working together is bound to bring out the best out of the employees. Teamwork helps in increasing workplace productivity since there is more input in the form of more ideas and minds at work.

 Ensure Your Employees Enjoy Their Work

While employees are hired based upon their given skill set and tasks in which they excel, devising ways of making the work seem challenging and interesting rather than mundane and boring will keep everyone motivated and happy.

 Less Time in Meetings

Meetings can be distractions that are time killers, however there are a couple of options to make them productive. Hold short release meetings first thing each morning to review the upcoming day, or schedule only two meetings per week—one on Monday to set goals, and one on Friday to see where everyone stands.   Short and informative is the key.

 Tools and Equipment Will Raise Productivity

Your workplace must have the best machinery, devices and equipment that yield error free results in the minimum possible time. Efficient electronic equipment with no connectivity issues and breakdowns will help to save precious time. They should take the place of paper work, and yield fast results. Some of these include smart phones, laptops, tablet computers, and latest applications and software that offer quick connectivity and access.

Lead by Example

Leaders are always being watched and judged, so make sure you set a good example to your employees. Take responsibility for your mistakes and fulfill your commitments. Asking for their help or advice teaches your team how to resolve issues together.

Provide Training and Feedback

Employees welcome the opportunity to enhance their skills and learn new things about their chosen field. By providing training session opportunities you, too, will benefit from your staff’s enhanced performance. Offering feedback, both positive and negative provides ways to improve work performance. If your staff is doing a good job, let them know. If necessary, give positive pointers on ways they can improve their work performance. Either way, they’ll feel encouraged and appreciated.

 Talent is a valuable asset for any organization, and it needs to be tapped to its fullest. Focus on keeping your employees motivated to perform their tasks and deliver the results you know they are capable of. Taking a few basic measures to increase the efficiency in the workplace will lead to a happier staff and a more productive work environment.