Employee productivity is a deceivingly simple idea. The term itself refers to the amount of work a person produces within a set time. Increasing productivity of employees is always on the minds of business owners and managers, but many struggles with the steps to take.
When you’re facing a lull in productivity, it can be hard to kickstart your business into a thriving and energetic workforce, but the benefits if you are successful in doing so are bountiful. The more output your employees achieve, the more efficient and effective your business will be, leading to increased profits and growth. Increased productivity doesn’t only benefits businesses but also employees themselves. Companies with high productivity among their workforce report higher levels of employee satisfaction, promotions, and career progression.
If you are struggling with employee productivity, utilise the below top tips.
1. Scrap the micromanagement
Micromanagement can lead to decreased morale and therefore decreased productivity among your workforce. Recent findings from HR Magazine on a study of HR professionals which examined issues reducing employee productivity showed that micromanagement was among the top 5, with 28% citing it as a major problem.
Arguably the best way to remove micromanagement from your business processes is to put people in the right position. When you match skills, talent and interests of people to the requirements of their role, they won’t need to be monitored so closely, it is these employees who are more likely to be self-starters, who love their job and take full accountability for their responsibilities.
Using a recruiter with an abundance of market and industry expertise can help you to ensure that you hire the right people, leading to decreased micromanagement and increased productivity.
2. Minimise mindless chatter
It has been reported that the average employee wastes nearly 13 days every year in ‘unproductive’ meetings, which the majority felt were a waste of time. In fact, 66% said they would make up excuses to get out of them. Useless or excessive meetings lead employees to become bored, and therefore unproductive in their working day.
This poll was conducted pre-Covid and so prior to the working from home phenomenon that the global workforce experienced at the beginning of 2020, this arguably heightens the importance of relevance in meetings. If employees found particular meetings mindless while sat in the boardroom, you can almost guarantee that you’ve lost their attention now they are at home.
Managers should carefully consider that while meetings are great for keeping your team connected and engaged, especially if they are remote, they must still be relevant to attendees. Ask yourself; what is the purpose of the meeting, does everyone invited need to be there, or could you present the information in a more effective and efficient way?
3. Reward and incentivise
While there is a lot that managers and business owners can do to increase employee productivity, it takes two to tango. Employees need to be fully on board with business goals and strive to achieve them. One important aspect of this is of course ensuring that you have the right individuals in your workforce, that’s where we can help.
Another helpful idea is to reward employees who are productive, therefore incentivising those that have room for improvement. Utilise monetary rewards such as bonuses, or for tight budgets, recognition programs, additional annual leave and occasional treats such as meals out or gift cards can act as great motivators to employees.
The above describes only three of the ways in which managers and business owners can increase the productivity of their workforce, among many others. Our experienced teams are on hand to assist with all of your recruitment needs, please reach out to us today to ensure you get the best talent into your business and give your employee productivity a kickstart.
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