13 Effective Ways To Boost Employee Productivity

Workers are the most vital asset of every business. Still, you’re not likely to see any successful business with unproductive employees. However, a recent study shows a sharp productivity decline among US employees. Simply encouraging staff to be more productive will have no effect since today’s workplace requires proactive thinking to motivate your staff, demonstrate the benefits of workplace productivity, and teach them how to maximize efficiency when executing their tasks. Below are a few ways you can achieve that.  

Set clear goals

You can expect your employees to be productive when you set out specific goals to strive for. However, they will have to be realistic and clearly stated. As a result, ensure that the tasks you assign to your employees are as specific and narrow as feasible. Inform your employees about your expectations and explain each job’s significance. You can adapt the SMART approach, which means your business goals are smart, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound. It is also advisable to consider your employee’s strengths when allocating work to them. Otherwise, figure out how to modify jobs to ensure your staff is focused and more efficient. 

Improve workplace conditions

According to a study, employees are 18% more productive when satisfied with the working environment. Therefore, you’re more likely to have productive employees by providing the right working conditions. For starters, your workers deserve a working environment that allows a good amount of natural light to keep them refreshed and alert while working. You can also include some green life to make them feel more at ease and consequently more productive at work. The paint colors you choose for the office space can also affect moods. For instance, according to color psychology, beige, greens, and yellows are the most stress-reducing colors excellent for a home working environment. 

Be willing to delegate

Work delegation has many benefits. Unfortunately, it is frequently one of the hardest things to implement, especially when the business is your golden egg and you can’t seem to loosen the grip. It is normal to want to manage everything, especially regarding quality delivery. But looking over every minute detail yourself instead of delegating can waste everyone’s time. Instead, hand over authority to qualified staff and believe in their ability to do the job. Learning to delegate work to your qualified employees can enable them to acquire more skills and leadership experience to benefit your business in the long run. 

Prioritize employee training

Your employee training significantly impacts how well they are prepared for jobs. And the more prepared they are, the more productive they will be. Employees should be able to become acquainted with their new firm far faster than if they did their own investigation. For instance, businesses may have unique tools, so training your team on how to use them can encourage productivity. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case, as a survey showed that only 12% of employees think their companies did well with training and onboarding. Failure to prioritize these may result in increased staff turnover and productivity loss.

Avoid micromanaging

This management style involves closely controlling or observing the work of staff. And while most managers frequently appreciate this, they find it difficult to let go. Micromanaging every detail, however, can render the task delegation ineffective. Research suggests that this can affect your employees in several ways, including reducing morale, impacting work performance, draining confidence, and restricting creative development. So instead, learn to manage expectations and requirements. For instance, you can set employee guidelines if you want a precise result. Give them the room once you have delegated, and watch them be more confident, calm, and secure in their abilities to deliver without you having to hover around their shoulders. 

Match jobs with skill sets

Understanding your staff’s behavioral type, skills and abilities are critical for increasing productivity. For instance, creative and outgoing employees will likely be fantastic individuals to propose ideas to customers. However, such people may struggle with detailed-oriented tasks. It may be unrealistic to expect your workers to be outstanding at everything. Instead, find out if they are capable and well-equipped to thrive at the role before assigning them. Otherwise, find individuals with the personalities and skills you require when assigning jobs. 

Hire the right staff

When hiring, paying attention to only good education, skill set, and relevant working experience is archaic. Another equally important criterion, if not more significant, is how well individuals fit into your workplace culture. You want to ensure that their individual views, behaviors, and values align with your business’s. Communicating your workplace culture from the start is key for ensuring that new hires know what they can expect as employees before accepting the offer. They are far more likely to leave the organization or be extremely unproductive if this is not acknowledged and cultural fit is not a part of your hiring strategy. This can cause workplace friction and drag productivity.

Allow flexible schedules

Because various people have varied peak productivity times during the day, adhering to a tight 9-to-5 schedule or working hard from the wee hours of the morning might not be suitable for everyone. So you can divide the day into two smaller time chunks, say four hours each, if your employees usually work eight hours continuously. Additionally, an SHRM study has shown that many employees seek remote-working opportunities, so you can consider allowing them to work from home if it makes them more productive. Begin by choosing roles eligible for remote work, setting availability hours for remote workers, specifying a response time, and directing your employees to register their time for productivity statistics. Currently, there are tools available for you to track their hours. 

Provide the right tools

You must provide your staff with the appropriate tools to boost overall efficiency. You don’t want them spending what should be valuable working hours constantly on the lookout for the correct tools to work. This may lead to a loss of concentration and impede their productivity levels. Additionally, always make the tools easily accessible if you have them. This way, your employees can work more quickly and efficiently by eliminating the time spent looking for tools. You can also consider linking your tools internally or outside to be accessible in one location. 

Incentivize your employee

Giving employees a cause to be more productive is one of the most effective motivating methods. Recognizing them for a job well done makes them feel valued and encourages them to keep boosting their productivity. When rewarding effective staff, consider their particular demands or preferences. For instance, one employee may appreciate a personal “thank you,” while another prefers public praise. Meanwhile, gift cards and certificates to local businesses such as restaurants, spas, and coffees or gift experiences like travel vouchers and event tickets can be excellent motivators for employees. Unsurprisingly, some businesses offer branded merchandise to incentivize their employees. The good thing is few businesses can help with corporate gift ideas to motivate your employees. You can visit their homepage to learn more. 

Encourage collaboration among teams

Collaboration has also allowed for idea sharing and reduced frustration. So any business looking to fully engage its employees should create a collaborative working climate. For example, a mobile app for your business intranet can be an amazing way to share business news with social feeds and features among your teams. Such collaborative tools allow your business to easily collect employee input or adopt changes, eventually enhancing worker productivity. 

Promote employee self-care

Encouraging your workers to care for themselves will go a long way toward motivating them and showing them you care. Aside from offering health benefits for your employee well-being, ensure that they are aware of all your business offers and urge them to take advantage of them. It could be full-physical examinations, vaccinations, and other perks useful for self-care. You can also enroll them in stress management or time management classes to assist them in learning how to reduce daily stress, better manage their time, or learn other valuable self-care practices.

Enhance employee onboarding

Many businesses still believe they are guaranteed loyalty from their staff after signing the contract. However, this traditional notion doesn’t apply to the new generation. As a result, a comprehensive onboarding program is required to incorporate the new hires into your business culture. Inadequate onboarding, according to statistics, can cause businesses to lose 17% of new hires within the first two months. The figure is alarming, especially for organizations recruiting remotely. A bad onboarding process may leave your workers with less confidence in their new responsibilities, lower levels of engagement, and a higher chance of jumping ship when they spot a new, more interesting opportunity elsewhere. Consider investing in extensive training and feedback, and check-ins for your employee onboarding. 

There’s no question that several organizations are witnessing a drop in employee productivity, but this doesn’t have to be permanent. Consider the above tips and give equal attention to what is advantageous to your firm and helpful to your employees to improve the overall workplace conditions.