Employees are the backbone of any successful company. Nonetheless, the need to improve their focus and increase productivity in the work environment is a reality that can’t be ignored. The good news is, increasing productivity at work isn’t rocket science. It’s about creating a healthy environment that your employees look forward to every day.
Managers play a fundamental role in setting the stage for excellent performance and productivity in any business. Thus, they are responsible for making minor modifications to regular office habits to improve the level of focus, performance, and efficiency of employees. Read on for strategies to improve employees productivity.
1) Focus on the big picture
For a business to be successful, you need to understand that performance is a by-product of other essential components, such as commitment and capacity. To ensure your company achieves its goal, managers need to analyze these aspects and fix any existing loopholes in either or both.
The capacity to perform, in this case, refers to having the right resources, competencies and an opportunity to perform the task. In general, an employee must have knowledge or personal attributes, tools, and a chance to complete a job satisfactorily.
On the other hand, while it may be challenging to promote employee commitment, you can incorporate the following strategies for the best results.
- Making employees feel valued by involving them in the decision-making process.
- Showing your staff how their roles play a significant part in achieving the big picture.
- Using employee feedback to develop effective employee performance plans.
- Establishing an environment where employees feel valued through recognition and incentivizing excellent performance.
2) Establish an accountability system
Accountability not only ensures your employees maintain focus and improve performance but also enhances productivity and combats procrastination. Encourage the supervising managers to oversee daily progress reports from staff within their departments to promote accountability, the achievement of goals and meeting deadlines.
3) Delegate tasks
Develop the habit of delegating tasks to your best employees and trust that they will deliver the best results. Doing this saves time and promotes employee development— one of the critical factors that drive talent retention in most successful companies. Moreover, providing your employees with increased responsibility plays an integral role in improving staff morale and job satisfaction.
Additionally, it’s vital to study your employees’ skills and behavioural patterns to maximize efficiency. This means that as you delegate tasks, ask yourself, is this the best person to perform this job? If not, find somebody with the right skills and behavioural patterns that match the demands of the job.
4) Communicate
Effective communication is key to a high-performing workforce. What’s more, technology has enhanced today's communication methods. You can contact any person in your team with just a click of a button or touch of a screen.
Moreover, you can incorporate communication platforms such as Slack, Asana or Basecamp to promote quick communication and collaboration across departments. Alternatively, you can hold a quick one-on-one or conference call with your team members to discuss urgent matters.
5) Provide the right resources
Ensure your employees have the right tools and equipment to get the job done efficiently and on time. If anything, it would be counterproductive to wait to print paperwork because of a slow device. High-quality technological products and services make a significant difference in the efficiency of your workforce. Additionally, it saves time and effort that can be used to perform other critical tasks to the business.
6) Offer support and provide skills development platforms
One of the significant problems that most managers face today is the lack of a clear or strong sense of their employees’ capabilities. Nonetheless, you can set standards or achievable goals to determine this as well as clarify expectations.
Setting standards plays a crucial role in communicating the company’s expectations. Additionally, effectively communicating these standards eliminates excuses, ensures employees understand what is expected, and how to perform their tasks and responsibilities.
Moreover, provider platforms that promote professional growth and Promoting to allow your staff to develop new skills that may be critical to your organization’s success. Also, this encourages them to focus and perform well for an opportunity to advance to leadership roles.
7) Look out for motivation killers
As a manager, carefully assess the work environment to ensure there are no problem areas that affect your employees’ performance. These can include anything from lack of opportunities for growth, abrasive behaviours, lack of organizational vision, poor communication, feelings of lack of appreciation, among others. Ensure that you address each of these as an entity to ensure you tackle each problem effectively.
Moreover, it’s common for employees who work under stressful conditions to develop work-related stress. In this case, you can incorporate a wellness program that promotes their overall health, which may require you to collaborate with the best neuro center in Dubai to ensure they get the needed help. It’s paramount to provide targeted solutions to each motivation killer rather than one size fits all type of solutions.
8) Incentivize good performance
One of the most effective strategies to encourage your employees to be more productive is by giving them a reason to do so. This may include recognizing a job well done and making these employers feel appreciated for their hard work. When rewarding employees, ensure you put into account their preferences. For instance, some employees may prefer additional paid time off while others a simple ‘thank you’ is enough.
Moreover, to encourage excellent performance, always provide feedback. Employees can’t improve if they don’t know what they’re doing wrong in the first place. This is why performance reviews play a crucial role in measuring employees' performance to pinpoint the areas they are excelling in and those they need to work on.
Promoting focus and maximizing productivity in the workplace isn’t an overnight job, but boils down to making subtle necessary changes to achieve these goals. The trick is to come up with a strategy and a thoughtful execution plan to implement the above concepts and ensure business success.
About Author: Dr. Harry works at the best neuro center in Dubai, the German Neuroscience Center. He is a UK-trained Clinical Psychologist, originally from Ireland. He completed his master’s degree in Health Psychology with the University of Ulster and completed his doctoral training in Clinical Psychology at the University of East London. He has almost a decade of experience working across a diverse range of mental health and other specialist psychology services in Ireland and the U.K.
