Has your team recently failed to meet the usual deadlines? Have you noticed a decline in the overall quality of work? These could be signs pointing towards a decrease in employee productivity and morale. What starts as a few missed deadlines will eventually lead to a dip in profits.
However, by recognizing such signs early on and implementing suitable measures, you can get your team back on track. We’re sharing proven strategies for improving employee productivity. Take a look.
1. Don’t Micromanage
Your intentions might be good, but hovering over employees and overlooking every single task isn’t helpful. Because of micromanagement and constant scrutiny, employees might feel that their manager doesn’t trust them. You have hired them to do a particular job, so allow them to prove themselves.
2. Establish Clear Communication
If you want to get a job done right and on time, then clear communication is crucial. Make sure any task or goal is explained in a detailed and comprehensible manner. This will not only help employees work efficiently, but it will also reduce the possibility of errors.
However, opening your inbox and finding a long list of unread emails can be overwhelming. Instead of communicating every little thing over email, adopt something like Google Hangouts or Slack.
3. Avoid Too Many Meetings
Rather than conducting a meeting every morning, resort to calling a team meeting if there is something valuable to discuss. Too many meetings are a huge waste of time and also break employee workflow.
4. Conduct Team Building Activities
Team building activities offer more than just a break from regular office work. With the help of such activities, you can encourage leadership and creative skills in your employees. It also does wonders for improving team communication and collaboration. You can easily find suitable team building kits for your organization.
5. Incentivize
When an employee has continued to perform well, it’s crucial to recognize their efforts and commitment by incentivizing them. Giving a bonus or raise is a tried and tested way to improve morale and motivation.
6. Express Appreciation
Monetary incentives aren’t always necessary for boosting employee morale. You can show appreciation by publicly congratulating a hard-working employee or taking your team out for a lovely meal. Expressing gratitude will motivate your employees to continue the hard work.
7. Enhance Employee Skills
In addition to initial training, it’s also important to invest in retraining employees. Training helps employees to adapt to the changing business environment and enhance their skill set. This will also help employees achieve greater confidence and job satisfaction.
8. Create a Pleasant Work Environment
Is your space dimly lit and stuffy? Do employees have to work with inadequate equipment? All these factors contribute to loss of productivity. You cannot expect the employees to give their best when the surrounding environment isn’t allowing that.
Make changes to your office space, keeping in mind the comfort and wellbeing of your employees.
9. Encourage Self-Care
Employees aren’t machines. Other than their immediate work environment, other factors can impact their productivity. So, foster a company culture to show that you care. Listen to your employees and be willing to cut them some slack if they’re going through a difficult time.
10. Implement Remote Working
A long commute can make employees feel tired, which will reflect in their work. By implementing work-from-home policies, you can cut down money and time wasted on commuting.
11. Ask for Feedback
If you’re unsure what your employees want, ask them for feedback. With direct feedback from employees, you’ll know exactly what can help workplace efficiency.
The Bottom Line
Employing a team is more than just a monetary transaction. By reevaluating your company culture and investing in employees’ growth, you will observe an improvement in overall productivity.
