Workplace productivity is key to industrial growth but it’s an aspect of the business world that many companies struggle with.
When a company is productive it increases profitability, lowers production costs and improves customer service and business relationships. The more productive a company is, the easier it is to establish organisational growth. But productivity will only increase when employees are happy, supported and have the right equipment to perform their tasks.
According to a recent Forbes report the keys to workplace productivity include: limiting unproductive meetings; encouraging regular breaks; limiting personal distractions; the use of time-tracking software and the recognition and reward of employees.
Limit the number of meetings, if possible, since many meetings can become quite time-consuming and unproductive. Only schedule meetings around topics that demand people to be present, such as business strategy and important announcements, will save you valuable time that can be spent on operational work.
A recipe for disaster is to look at employees as faceless robots that clock in and out. This attitude will make your employees fatigued and cause burnout before you know it. They will soon feel miserable and lose the urge to do a good job.
We all check our social media networks to see what’s going on from time to time, but for some employees this can easily consume too much of their time that should be spent on work tasks. Also, personal phone calls can be a distracting factor that reduces productivity for many workers.
Time-tracking software can help monitor employee productivity. Time-tracking software makes it easy for team members to plan their day and know how long each task takes to complete. As a result, they will have more control over their schedule, which could lead to a boost in productivity.
Recognising employees when they do an excellent job can boost work morale and make them want to work even harder. Motivating and rewarding your team can cultivate a sense of fulfilment and inspire others to be more productive.
Happy and motivated employees are essential for any business that wants to increase productivity. Seeing and rewarding what your employees do on an individual level can boost personal fulfilment and productivity in the workplace.
A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management highlighted the top two factors that negatively impact employee productivity: poor management and no longer being motivated by the work (reported by 38 per cent of employees and 63 per cent of HR professionals). Each factor negatively impacts employee productivity, especially in regards to a lack of accountability on the job.
Other factors that negatively impact employee productivity include feeling under-compensated, poor time management skills, wasting time, too much work for too few employees, poor communication and a lack of clear priorities.
‘Presenteeisim’ is a key factor in poor productivity, with half of both employees and HR professionals saying their organisation requires employees to be present – even if they are not being productive.
