Whether you have a small business or a large enterprise, there is nothing more important to a company than its employees. Increasing the productivity of your employees is essential for you because it is one of the keys to growing a company. Today, we often hear employees complaining that they have to spend more time in the office exceeding the standard working hours. However, just because your employees are staying in the office for a longer period of time does not mean that they are utilizing all the time staying productive.
Today, we will share a few tips with you to improve the productivity of your employees:
Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate
This might seem a bit obvious yet so many managers struggle delegating tasks to their employees because they don’t completely trust them. There is nothing wrong with keeping a check on quality and doing everything to deliver the best but if you check every tiny thing yourself, you will waste a lot of time managing and chances are that other employees will get frustrated.
So, trust your employees, and don’t be afraid of delegating tasks. This will only save you plenty of time, it will also help the employee gain leadership skills, functional skills, and will make him more responsible.
Utilise strengths and match skills
As a leader, you must know the behavioral style and strengths of your employees, especially those who are in your team or report directly to you. You should also be aware of their weaknesses such as interpersonal shortcomings. When you know your employees, you can benefit from their strengths.
For instance, an introverted, analytical, strategist is great for auditing and crafting strategies, while an extroverted creative person might be great at client servicing.
It is stupid to ask your employee to be great at everything. No human can be perfect at everything. So, before you delegate any task to an employee, make sure you are giving it to the right one.
Communicate Effectively
Good communication is a skill rare to find. Some people confuse communication with extroversion. If someone is an extrovert, this does not mean he will be good at communicating. Introverts can also be good communicators. And, they are better sometimes.
Communication takes the most portion of an employee’s overall time. According to research, emails alone take 28% of work time and are the second most time-consuming thing for employees after their core duties.
For things which are less important, try using other applications such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. These can save your employees a lot of time and eventually contribute to their productivity.
Keep Goals Clear & Focused
Your employees will waste their energy and time on redundant things if the goal is not clear in their mind. Goals can be different depending on the situation. In the context of employees and productivity, you should define the goal for each level. For instance, your employees should be aware of companies’ short-term and long-term goals. Moreover, they should know what is expected of them when they are assigned a task.
Every task has a different significance. Some are extremely important, some are urgent, while some don’t require perfection. So, before you assign anything, make sure that you have explicitly described the significance of the task.
Incentivize Employees
No matter how loyal, sincere or honest an employee is, incentives are important to keep them motivated. If your employees are overperforming, it is extremely important to appreciate them. If you don’t, they will feel demotivated. In fact, they will try switching to a competitor.
Moreover, when you decide to reward a worker, keep in mind that every employee is different. We all have different needs and preferences. For instance, an employee may appreciate getting recognized, while the other might feel happy after getting a gift. A working mother who finds it extremely hard to manage her schedule may appreciate getting a few days off without using her leaves.
You can implement these strategies to enhance productivity at your workplace. Moreover, you can also hire a global advisory consulting firm which helps employees get more productive by assessing their mindset and interpersonal skills.
