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What steps can you take to boost employee productivity at your company?
Assembling a group of hardworking people with the right skills is only the beginning when it comes to creating a good team of employees. Much of your success will come down to your ability to lead them.
But what are you doing to get the most from this team of talented individuals? As great as they may be, there is probably a lot you could do to improve their productivity.
Read on for a few tips and strategies to try.
Improve the Onboarding Process for Better Employee Productivity
Hiring the right employees is a good start for building a more productive team. However, that’s only the beginning. Effective onboarding is essential for setting new employees up for success and boosting productivity from the start. It can also help them learn the company culture and your expectations.
Make sure each employee has a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities from day one. To this end, develop training programs and learning materials to help them start fast. It may also help to assign a new employee a mentor or work buddy to integrate them with the team and help them get their productivity level up to speed.
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Express Appreciation to Boost Employee Productivity
Showing appreciation is another powerful way to boost employee morale and productivity. Recognizing employees’ hard work and achievements helps to create a more positive work environment. You could create various recognition or appreciation programs. Employee awards could be one option. You could even give gifts or bonuses to express appreciation.
However, you shouldn’t limit it to formal programs and awards. Take regular opportunities to show appreciation in simpler ways. Thank employees for their hard work when they complete a project. Look for opportunities to tell your employees you value them and the work they do. The small expressions of genuine appreciation can go a long way.
Maintain a Safe and Clean Workplace
No one wants to work in an environment that is unclean or unsafe. It is unpleasant, and the effect can not only influence employee productivity but also your team’s morale. To start, develop protocols for keeping the workplace clean. It might even be worthwhile to hire a cleaning service. Additionally, provide proper training and ensure the safety of all equipment and workspaces. You should also perform routine safety audits to ensure ongoing safety in the workplace.
Install Lighting Upgrades
You’d be surprised at how many workplaces have poor lighting. However, good lighting is essential for employee safety and productivity. If employees can’t see well enough, it could slow them down. So review the office lighting and look for areas that could use upgrades. If an area is dim, consider upgrading the lights or adding new ones.
If you want to do more to improve productivity, find ways to get more natural light in the workplace. Keep the blinds open and move any objects that may obstruct sunlight. If you own the building, you might be able to try something like commercial skylight installation. A good skylight can do a lot to introduce more sunlight and make the space more enjoyable.
Improve Workplace Communication
Few things can be more of a drag on employee productivity than poor communication. If employees can’t communicate well, it can create all sorts of bottlenecks in your workflow. It can also cause frustration and conflict in the office. Deploy a range of communication tools in the workplace. Phones and emails are a good start, but you might also want to consider a group chat platform. You even have tools that can unify all communication channels in one dashboard for convenience.
Encourage Breaks
Too many managers think you can only achieve increased productivity by keeping employees at their desks or workstations for as much time as possible. While the amount of time people spend at their desks can matter, driving people too hard can lead to burnout. That means encouraging breaks can be a way to improve employee productivity. Moreover, don’t limit it to the routine breaks in the daily schedule. Let employees know it’s okay to get up to walk around if they need to step away from their work for a few minutes.
Introduce Competition to Improve Employee Productivity
Introducing a little competition to the workplace can do a lot to improve employee productivity. People are naturally competitive, and the desire to win can be a strong motivation. You just need to determine a goal that aligns with the success of the company. An easy example is sales if you work in a sales environment. Create competition around the sales goal to motivate employees.
The competition could simply be for bragging rights or a workplace award, but you could up the stakes by offering a prize to the winners. A cash bonus is an obvious example, but it could be any number of things. Your employees might like a gift card to a popular restaurant or for online shopping. It could also be for tech gadgets that make their lives easier or company-branded items.
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Offer Flexibility
Another factor that could boost employee morale and productivity is flexibility in their work hours and arrangements. Offering options such as remote work, flexible hours, or a results-oriented work environment helps employees balance their personal and professional lives. This flexibility can reduce stress and increase motivation, leading to higher productivity. Employees will also appreciate the trust you show by allowing them more freedom to manage their time.
Increasing and maintaining productivity are ongoing practices. Try these tips and see what works for your company and employees. As a final tip, ask your employees what they want from a workplace. Their perspective might yield insights you might not consider on your own.
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