3 Tips to Improve Workforce Productivity
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Running a successful business can be fulfilling and rewarding – yet exhausting.
You’re chasing sales goals, trying to keep clients happy, and always keeping your eye on the bottom line.
If one person slacks doing his or her job, it can implicate profit, infuriate your customers, or limit business growth.
So, how do you ensure productivity is always at its peak?
1. Change Your Management Methods
How many of your challenges are created by your own leadership?
It takes great skill to manage a group of people and optimize their productivity.
Recognizing some of your bad habits or flaws—and having the courage to admit and rectify them—can be the key to your success.
Model the Right Behavior
Your workforce will follow your example and stick to it. Why should they put in those extra few minutes if the bosses aren’t willing to?
If leaders only give the bare minimum, don’t think your subordinates will exceed your efforts:
- When your managers don’t showcase high productivity, employees will feel resentful if more is expected of them than their leaders. Resentment leads to demotivation, working slower, and even arriving late at the office.
- Employees may think it’s not necessary to perform well because it seems managers reach high positions without optimizing their own productivity.
What message is your leadership subconsciously sending your workforce at the moment?
Be Supportive
One of the skills managers need to learn is having empathy with workers.
No, this isn’t about coddling employees and giving them the freedom to make demands.
But when someone is going through a tough time personally, your office should be one of the places your workers feel safe.
They may even want to ask for some time off.
Won’t this lower your productivity? Not in the long run.
Employees who feel understood and view you as approachable will give everything they have when things go back to normal:
- Time
- Effort
- Motivating others
- Positive attitude towards the business
And when cared-for employees share their experiences with others, the office’s positivity—and productivity—will soar.
Are You Clear About Your Goals?
Know that even self-motivated workers still need guidance from you. What exactly do you expect them to work towards?
That’s why vision casting is meant for all employees, not only your leaders. Your vision is the motivation behind tasks and procedures.
Because people instinctively search for purpose and reason, your vision will motivate them, too.
You want your employees to take initiative and help build the dream.
When they know your vision, their decisions will align with the company’s goals, so you’ll have productivity in the right areas of your business.
Empower, Don’t Micro-Manage
For these motivated individuals to fulfill their tasks, you need to create an empowered workspace:
- Do they have the necessary tools and equipment to perform activities quickly?
- Do they waste time reporting to leadership constantly, or do you allow a little freedom so they can get on with the job?
- Do you see how each small decision you make impacts how much work your employees will get done by the end of today?
Build a Healthy Team
Yes, it’s a lot of responsibility to shoulder when you look after your employees. But the ROI is worth it. So, let’s help you get it right.
Educate and Train
How will an employee function in a modern work environment if he or she only knows outdated methods?
New technology is supposed to help businesses get work done faster, but this only happens when people can optimize it by knowing how it works.
It’s an employer’s responsibility to ensure everyone can use the software or equipment that enters the workplace.
You should also think of education as motivation.
You may have employees who dream of filling a certain position.
When you offer training and help them reach their goals, chances are they’ll repay you with hard work:
- They’ll give more time and effort to employers they trust.
- When employees feel they’re understood, they’re more optimistic about their work.
- To keep the job they’ve always dreamt about, they’ll give their best.
2. Let Them Do What They’re Good At
This notion also leads to learning more about employees’ natural talents. You’re bound to work faster and harder with:
- Tasks you are naturally good at
- Activities you find interesting instead of boring
- Work you’ve been trained for
It’s the same for your employees, so allocate work accordingly, and you’ll see impressive results.
3. Start Using Technology
Lastly, you need to realize there’s no turning back now. You live in a technologically advanced age, and using it is the only way your productivity will be good enough to oust your competitors.
Businesses are operated with countless technologies. Whether it is Human Resource Management, Accounting Practices, or Social Media, there are technologies that can help your team be more productive.
Managing Projects
Don’t have another meeting in your office.
Why not meet online so your employees can continue with their tasks even if they’re off-site at the moment?
That’s how management apps and software enable teams to improve their efficacy.
You can share documents, timelines, feedback, and more so everyone will always be informed.
Tracking Hours
Of course, there are always workers who need to be managed every step of the way.
Perhaps being managed adds the necessary pressure to optimize their performance. But you don’t have the time to stand at his or her desk every second.
Tracking hours with smart clocking-in systems are designed to give you feedback on someone’s hours worked.
There is more accountability, so they’ll spend less time in the staff kitchen and more time at their desks because they know they’re being monitored. And it’s not micromanaging. It’s about teaching people to stay accountable.
Improve Communication
Last on this list, but it should be first on your to-do list. Here’s how communication helps your productivity:
- Continual communication prevents misunderstandings about job descriptions or expectations.
- It helps build relationships, which add to a healthy working environment.
- Communication systems—even a simple email system—place necessary information within the team’s reach so they don’t waste time looking for it.
This is what modern platforms are designed to do: Share and communicate so you and your team can get more done.
And that’s the beauty of technology. It doesn’t simply help maintain the status quo. It’s going to boost your productivity higher than ever before.
In which of these areas are you an expert, and where do you realize you may need to improve your toolbox?
Don’t judge yourself too harshly. You function in an ever-changing business environment where it’s challenging to stay up to date. But now you know the truth, the possibilities, and the how-to. So get started.
