Productivity plays a huge part in any business, especially in an office environment. In an ideal world, everybody would work together to ensure that hard work abounds and procrastination knows its place. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world.
When productivity slacks, it’s up to management to ensure that everybody stays motivated and do the tasks they are responsible for. Here are some tips to create the ideal work environment and keep employees productive.
Know what motivates :
Different people are motivated by different things. Offering a promotion or opportunities that involve working longer hours to a person who wishes to spend more time with his or her family will probably result in the employee looking for work elsewhere.
The reverse is also true; offer more off days to a workaholic and he might assume that his hard work is not appreciated. This may seem obvious, but offering the wrong benefits is counterproductive.
Keep communication channels open:
Get to know your employees. Find out what their interests are, what they do in their free time, etc. Perhaps discuss the type of goals they wish to set for themselves and how you can help them achieve their goals.
By establishing goals that are rewarding to the employee as an individual, you are creating a work environment where people not only feel appreciated, but are also motivated to give their best.
Team building:
Most companies do a team building exercise once a year, usually over the holidays, and can range from simple bonding exercises to checking into a retreat for a couple of days. The goal is to bring the team closer together and to break down the work related tensions that accumulate during the year.
Give responsibility:
Delegating responsibilities will go a long way to keeping the productivity levels up and running. Giving employees the opportunity to take responsibility for a project/department increases motivation, trust and fulfillment. This goes hand in hand with celebrating achievements.
Acknowledging hard work or taking note of a special contribution to a project will boost morale. Ignoring an employee’s efforts will most likely lead to frustration on their part, and a decrease in motivation, which in turn will reduce the productivity of the entire team.
Keep track of employee performance:
Once every six months, sit down with employees in a one-on-one meeting and discuss performance. Here you could stipulate objectives and suggestions on how to reach them, as well as reflecting on past performance. This meeting should also include any concerns you have on your side, as well as concerns your employee might have.
It is important to focus on behaviors instead of personalities. Any action you take against an employee should be based on their performance and not on who they are as a person.
When done right, a performance appraisal will help your staff learn from past experience, achieve their goals/objectives, and stay motivated.
There are various other ways to increase your employees’ productivity. Do you have any suggestions?
