Spoiler alert: high productivity is essential in business. Okay, so that isn’t really a spoiler alert because every single business leader the world over ought to know that. It just isn’t good practice to have employees that cruise along and wait for that paycheck to hit their bank account at the end of each month. There is just too much competition out there for you to allow your productivity levels to be risked, which is just one of the reasons why you should push your company to achieve more.
Of course, one of the big issues that employers make is in thinking that it is up to the employees to be proactive and productive. Yes, it is their responsibility to a degree, but it is also your responsibility to motivate, encourage, push and support a culture where productivity prevails. It is about giving your employees that sense of awesomeness by valuing their efforts.
None of this is new to you, though. We know that. However, what you may still be stuck on is ‘how’? How on earth do you increase the productivity levels of your business? Luckily for you, this question has been fizzing in our minds for some time now – not just how to increase the productivity of your employees, but keeping them engaged, motivated, happy and focused too. Each of these has a factor to play in the amount of work that gets done and to what level of quality too.
So, to help you answer that question and start seeing results, we have come up with a list of ways you can boost the productivity levels of your workforce at the same time as seeing more smiles crop up in the hallways too.
Accountability For Everyone
The more accountable an employee of yours feels for a task the more likely they will be to complete that task to their best ability. It gives them a whole new level of responsibility and that is a very motivating tool. Giving out accountability without risk, however, is no easy feat, which is why your best bet is to clearly state what is expected from them. It is also making sure that they know they can ask for help and that there is a support structure around them to ease the pressure on their shoulders. What you will find from going down this route is that you have much more empowered employees; employees that want to take on tasks; employees that know they can’t deflect any of the blame. The result: improved productivity.
Let Them Go Their Own Way
Chances are, you weren’t always a boss. You were an employee somewhere at some point for someone. Well, think back to what you loathed about your experience as an employee and you will probably find the words ‘micro-managed’ floating around somewhere near the top of your list. We understand that your employees need to be given a sense of direction so that they can get the job done to the standard you desire, but standing over them and analyzing every single detail of what they do is not going to be helpful. You have got to let your employees breathe, let them get on with things and make sure the minutiae of a task they are handling aren’t being scrutinised constantly. Nothing gets done when there is too much red tape to get through. Just because their means of getting the job done maybe slightly different to your way doesn’t mean they are wrong. That is why you should allow them the space to work in their preferred style. By having this encouragement from you they will become a lot more valuable to your company.
Give Them The Right Tools
You’re right, you should never blame your tools. However, that said, if you don’t give them the right tools to do their job to the best of their ability then you are at fault. Technology has improved to make life easier and boost productivity in all walks of life. So, if you need a system whereby locks and keys need to be managed efficiently, then make sure you visit somewhere like https://www.keypersystems.com/products/lock-control/ to grant them a system of achieving productivity. If you have a sales manager that is often on the road and a smartphone is going to help them do their job better, then get them a smartphone to do their job better. It doesn’t even have to be specific tools. It could be that you need to upgrade your internet. It could be that you invest better in your IT support team so that any crashes are dealt with quickly and no one is left playing pat-a-cake while they wait.
Productivity Is Improved By Breaks
Now that may sound like the most counter-intuitive advice you have ever heard, and something that sounds like hornswoggle, but it is true. A culture that enforces constant work is a culture that invites stress. The most productive country on earth is Sweden and they have a six-hour working day, which you can read about at http://uk.businessinsider.com/. How does this work? Because people don’t procrastinate. They go to work, work hard for six hours because they can and they deliver results that reward this level of trust. Now you may not want to drop down to six-hour working days, but just encouraging your employees to grab some fresh air, get a coffee, or just play in the games room you set up is going to break up the workload and reduce stress, both of which will help productivity. A workforce that is made up of tired eyes, limp bodies, migraines and broken backs is hardly going to see you get the results you want.
Embrace The Sharing Community
One of the best ideas we heard of during our search for the ultimate way to boost productivity was sharing. Yeah, sharing your expertise is just a brilliant means of enlightening your staff to different approaches that have been proven to work. Hold some quick meetings now and then, perhaps with department heads, where they discuss what methods have worked for them. Better yet, have your most productive employees stand up and talk to the rest of your company. By sharing ideas on what they find help, what they have found out through research, or even what they do in their personal life to be more organized could all have a huge amount of success.
