Productivity is a quality that every business does, or at least should, actively seek. It is a highly effective measure for a workplace, ensuring that tasks are completed promptly while also demonstrating that operations are running successfully.
There are a number of qualities that can affect the productivity of employees, both negatively and positively, and it is an ongoing process to ensure that a workplace remains productive. During annual, or more frequent, reviews, company data will typically describe how productive a team has been, illuminating any issues that might have influenced progress. This has been particularly apparent for most during the pandemic with certain periods, like the transition to lockdowns, having an undeniable effect upon workplace progress.
As a result, businesses have placed a greater emphasis on ensuring and improving productivity, especially as uncertainty remains pervasive in both personal and professional circumstances.
Offer Training
The investment of training employees is often met with a certain degree of hesitation within businesses. However, the potentially positive outcome of having a more capable and certified workforce should be enough to persuade you otherwise.
Well-trained employees reduce risk, increase productivity, and, importantly, minimise staff turnover by creating a culture of loyalty and reward, one that is recognised inside and outside of the company itself.
Incentivise
Staff incentives have always been pervasive within businesses, and remain an effective way to boost team morale and increase productivity. By offering incentives, be it forms of recognition or financial reward, staff are more likely to find workplace satisfaction and even develop bonds as a team.
They can also be effectively used to boost productivity in key areas, with incentives being offered to those who excel or demonstrate improvement in an area of business that was previously falling behind. Incentives may also be long term, such as progress maps, demonstrating the potential for promotions and salary increases.
Support Independence
During various lockdowns, People Group Services revisited their Learning From Leaders series, focussing on the modern experiences of business leaders. One recurring lesson that was expressed by a number of businesses was the importance of trust in a workplace.
As employees began working from home and finding themselves operating in various new circumstances, it was a degree of autonomy that saw their levels of productivity not only sustain but even grow. Targets, of course, must remain in place and with strict expectations, but the methods used to accomplish such goals were able to become more flexible.
Improve Software
It is a common development within businesses for departments to become reliant upon software. While there is nothing inherently wrong with such a situation, it becomes problematic when the software develops shortcomings or is not reviewed regularly. This is because software processes are continuously evolving, requiring close attention.
If you are not already making software reviews, and comparisons, a regular part of your schedule, your business may be falling behind with employees spending time on processes that have otherwise been automated or eliminated. While there is an understandable cost of changing the programs our businesses rely upon, as well as the tasks we utilise them for, occasionally it is insignificant in comparison to the benefits of remaining up-to-date.