7 Tips for Increasing Employee Productivity

What is Employee Productivity?

Employee productivity can be the determining factor of a successful company. It is a measure of each individual employee’s output. If by increasing employee productivity, your business can benefit from:

• Increased Profitability
• Lower Operational Costs
• Increased Engagement
• Reduced Employee Burnout
• Improved Morale
• Optimized Resources
• Improved Customer Service

Improve Productivity at Work

You most likely don’t think about employee productivity when everything is going smoothly. But when there’s an issue, everything stops. So how do you make your employees more productive? Here are 7 tips to try today:

1. Improve Workplace Conditions – Ensure your employees have everything they need to create optimal working conditions. Natural light is a must and including plant life is a bonus. Green offices make employees more comfortable, which means they’ll be more productive. Choose bright, energizing colors for your walls instead of white or off-white.
2. Optimize Meetings – Meetings can waste your employees’ time if they’re not necessary for communicating. Email can often be a more efficient means of communication. Only hold essential meetings and create an agenda for each one.
3. Allow Flexible Schedules – Allow employees to work remotely, but define specific response times in order to maintain accountability. Utilizing a time tracking app can be useful for productivity reports.
4. Improve Office Communication – Collaboration starts with effective communication and leads to optimal productivity. Use the communication tool that each employee prefers. You can use Slack or Google Hangouts to build your team remotely. And when you’re in the office, engage your team by planning outings or hosting team lunches.
5. Optimize Employee Training and Development – Professional development and training are essential to ensuring productivity and can help improve employee performance. Try using a Learning Management Software (LMS) that provides various courses to help employees expand on existing skills or learn new skills.
6. Don’t Micromanage – Let your team take ownership of projects and how they manage their own time and resources. While micromanagement can be second nature to managers, you need to trust your employees to manage day-to-day operations. Coach them as needed rather than doing tasks for them.
7. Offer Employee Perks – Offer perks to enrich your employees’ lives. Some employees may prefer public recognition, while others may appreciate a private “thank you.” Here are some incentives you can implement:

• Offer additional PTO
• Take them out for lunch
• Offer late arrival
• Try a wellness program
• Send a note

These strategies can really work if you just try them! It’s been proven over and over again that happy and engaged employees are more efficient. Consider what’s important to your employees and implement a few of these strategies over the next few weeks. You’ll start to see employee productivity rise, which means your business will be more profitable.