Improve Employee Productivity Fast: 8 Simple Solutions for your Business
Running a successful business is not a cakewalk. Most entrepreneurs know this too well. You probably undertake several measures to keep things up to speed, from audits and marketing campaigns to automated tools and sales pushes. One crucial aspect sometimes gets overlooked in the madness, proving detrimental in the long run. Poor employee productivity does not only affect the staffer in question but also your company as a whole.
What is employee productivity?
It is a metric defining how much work an employee does in the specified time. A low number indicates poor output, which slows things down and affects targets. It also impacts other critical factors like employee morale, work atmosphere, and retention/attrition rates.
Tracking and working on this all-important metric is imperative in a post-Covid world. Several employees have started engaging in “quiet quitting,” which means they disengage from their jobs slowly, producing fewer results and taking more days off. Forcing team members to return to the office after an extended period of working from home has also worsened this trend.
Simple Tips to Boost Employee Productivity
We have consolidated approaches you can implement quickly without overhauling your business model or plans. They are known to generate fast results as well.
Streamline Communication Channels
Plenty of time gets wasted in companies globally because of improper or inadequate modes of communication. Many of your employees likely have to wait for design confirmations, code approvals, reviews, responses for major sign-offs, e-mail chains that show no sign of closing, etc. Each moment lost because of such delays affects the final productivity of the employee and their team. Implementing smoother channels and mechanisms for communication is necessary for faster and better results. For example, you can initiate a policy that no e-mail thread should linger beyond five. It indicates a time for a virtual or physical meeting.
Check Task Delegation
A common reason behind the lowered performance is improperly assigned tasks – too few, too many, or badly suited. An employee who doesn’t get enough responsibility loses the motivation to perform. Similarly, an overburdened staff member is unlikely to deliver a quality output or bear a favorable disposition toward the company.
Working on task delegation involves gauging the outcomes and measuring them against desired results (quality and time). The employee’s behavior and attitude toward the task can also tell you volumes. A simple way to offload some of the grunge work is through digital tools. A free paystub maker is a fine example of software to streamline paystub creation, reduce calculation errors, and simplify distribution during payroll time. Adopting artificial intelligence technology can also create an upsurge in productivity.
Roll out Employee Training Programs
Staying updated with the latest trends, tools, discoveries, etc., will help your team members perform more efficiently. Periodic training also reinstates the belief that you care about their growth and career advancement. Micro-learning can benefit new hires as well. It helps them get the hang of everything they need to deliver their best in the workplace.
Introduce More Flexibility
A crucial aspect of productivity lies in being free to complete your work in a manner that works best for you. Organizations that allow their employees this much-needed flexibility will likely enjoy better and faster outcomes. It has become even more vital in the current hybrid model followed by many workplaces. Working from home or remotely offers different challenges than a regular day at the office. Micromanaging your team will produce counter-productive results and trigger stress and dissatisfaction.
Switch to Automated Tools
Efficiency and profitability are closely linked. Using automated tools and software for mundane, time-consuming tasks is a simple but effective way to boost productivity. For instance, StubCheck.com can help you generate paystubs for your employees in minutes. The updated background calculator does the math and generates detailed, fully legal documents you can e-mail (or print). A free check stub maker is a time- and effort-saver when you weigh it against the chaos of tax season. You can also digitize other business processes like report generation for sales and marketing campaigns.
Hand out Financial Rewards
The spa day and office dinner are all good, but the truth is, we all need to bring the bread home. Financial rewards are indispensable in keeping your team charged and invested in their jobs. Ensure that appraisals are performance-linked and dole out monetary rewards just as much as other forms of recognition.
Spending money on your employees certainly brings your company tangible and intangible rewards like a positive reputation, better retention, and higher profitability. A recent Workhuman-Gallup study confirms this. The 2023 survey among numerous global organizations found that employee recognition helps businesses gain $90 million in boosted productivity. Here’s the unfortunate part: just two in 10 leaders view it as a priority in their business.
Welcome Employee Feedback
Anyone can have a great idea that takes your business to the next level of profitability. Periodic employee surveys and feedback forms can encourage brainstorming and bring forth plans that you, as the boss, may not have considered. But the starkest advantage lies in giving your workforce the much-needed voice in the company. It helps them develop belonging, directly improving their productivity.
Revamp your Office Space
Before you dismiss this as cliché and a waste of money – hold on. The presence of plants, ergonomic furniture, decluttered workstations, and break rooms has gotten scientifically linked to improved performances. As a business leader, it would be an oversight for you to ignore the positive impact of these natural elements in your workspace. A recent study by Naava, a Finnish nature technology company, found that employees make 43% fewer mistakes when working in a biophilic room, i.e., in the presence of air-purifying plants, green walls, etc. Imagine what that can do for your monthly targets! Other simple ways to enjoy these benefits include artwork and soothing lighting.
Should you use Tools to Monitor Employee Productivity?
How will you know if your measures to improve the work environment and worker satisfaction are reaping dividends? Sometimes, the impact on profitability, sales, and other tangible wins can take time. Some managers use tools like ActivTrak, ProofHub, and Timely to measure the work done against the time taken. Such efforts can be helpful for staffers whose work goes unnoticed or is under-recognized.
However, we recommend exercising caution while doing this. Some tasks – usually simple, repetitive ones – are easier to track. But knowledge-intensive, complicated ones that rely on innovation and creativity are not so straightforward. Using the tracking results for misaligned rewards or financial incentives can trigger massive distrust.
Employee productivity must never be ignored – more so in these stressful, post-pandemic times when many of us are harrowed and seeking greener pastures. Being dedicated to giving your team an amiable, rewarding work atmosphere can conjure miracles for your organization.
