Many different factors can contribute to why your employees feel unproductive at work. It could have to do with their home life, office environment, workload, or even their coworkers.
Reports show that only 7% of workers feel like being productive during regular business hours.
That is an incredibly low number and you might be noticing low employee efficiency in your workplace. Yet, you’re only able to control what goes on in the walls of your office.
Luckily for you, we do have some great tips and tricks to help improve workplace productivity.
Keep reading for our guide to six simple strategies you can use to improve employee efficiency.
Table of Contents
1. Set Goals and Give Instructions
The first way to make sure that your employee productivity is high starts right when they get hired. Having a well written and detailed job description can help your employees know exactly what they need to get done on a day to day basis.
They will know what each of their responsibilities is without the need for guidance each day. These instructions will help to establish what needs to get done for them to do their job to the best of their ability and also help line managers for tracking employee productivity in absolute terms.
Yet, as a manager, it is also your responsibility to sit down with each employee and help them set work goals. Giving your employees guidance is a good way to help with workplace productivity because then they will know what your expectations are.
2. Provide the Right Equipment
Something that can hurt your business productivity is equipment that doesn’t work efficiently. Having slow or outdated technology can cause stress and frustration for your employees. This is why you should make sure that all the tools your employees use are up to tip-top shape.
One of the best ways to find out if the equipment your employees use is working properly is to ask them. Your employees are going to know better than anyone else if a program you’re using is helping business efficiency or not.
Your employees might even be able to recommend a better tool or program to use!
You should also make sure that printers, fax machines, and computers are in optimal shape as well. Slow computers can hurt productivity in your office.
Check out the link below to find out how to speed up a slow Mac computer. https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-speed-up-a-slow-mac
3. Don’t Be a Micromanager
As much as you want to help with workplace efficiency, micromanaging can kill business productivity. Employees who feel like they’re being micromanaged are going to think that you don’t trust them to do their jobs.
With no trust in your employees, how do you expect them to get the job done?
Instead of micromanaging, be the type of manager who sets clear goals and expectations. Once you set the guidelines, then step away from the project and let your employees get to work.
You do want to make sure that you’re always around to help if needed, but don’t step in until you’re asked. Employees will feel more comfortable coming to you for help if you’re open and honest with them. Wait it out and let them get their jobs done.
4. Practice Better Communication
Do your employees come to you when they have a problem or need something address? If so, then this is a sign of good two-way communication.
If not, then improving to better communication with your employees is something that you need to work on. One of the best ways to do this is to get your employees comfortable reaching out to you with any questions or concerns.
You can start by having meetings with each employee to discuss their workplace productivity. Be sure to address the negative and positive aspects of their efficiency.
This is a good way to start talking about the goals that you want to see get done around the office with each employee.
At the meeting, make sure to let them tell you any issues that they might be experiencing. Be sure to address the issues as this shows that you listen which is a good form of communication.
5. Let Your Employees Work From Home
Coming to the office is a good way to bring everyone together face to face. Yet, if you feel like your team is lacking employee productivity, then offer a day to work remotely once a week.
Remote working can help business efficiency in several ways. Remote work means that employees can get more done in less amount of time!
Sometimes the distractions in the office can start to add up. Employees asking quick questions to each other may not seem like a big deal, but after a while, they can start to get out of hand.
When you let your employees work from home, then they spend less time having to get ready and commute to work. They can focus more on starting their day without the hustle and bustle.
6. Promote Self-Care
When employees don’t take care of themselves outside of work, then they tend to call in and take sick days more often. It could be from the stress that is either work-related or even from something in their home life.
Either way, they could feel unwell physically, mentally, or emotionally. Even if they did come to work on these days, then you know that they would be very unproductive.
As a manager, you need to promote self-care for your employees. Taking one day off to de-stress is much better than coming to work and being unproductive for three days in a row. If they can take one day off to recover and come back refreshed, then it is worth it.
One thing that you don’t want to happen is employee burnout. This is when an employee gets fed up with the stress, frustration, and exhaustion that their job causes them.
When you’re a manager you need to be observant and a good listener. Make sure that you take the time to care for each of your employees’ mental health at work so that they can be as productive as possible.
Improving Employee Efficiency at Your Workplace
Working with your employees to improve their productivity doesn’t have to feel like a chore or punishment. Instead, think like your employees would and do what is best for them when improving employee efficiency.
You’ll find that it creates a world of difference when getting things done in your workplace.
Our website is filled with advice on business, management, finances, and so much more! If you’re interested in learning more tips and tricks, then make sure to bookmark our page so that you can keep coming back for more.
Jason is the Marketing Manager at a local advertising company in Australia. He moved to Australia 10 years back for his passion for advertising. Jason recently joined BFA as a volunteer writer and contributes by sharing his valuable experience and knowledge.
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