Productivity has a major impact on profitability, which is why it’s important to monitor and enhance productivity levels at every opportunity. By doing so, you can increase outputs without utilizing more resources and increase your company’s revenue.
Your staff are critical to your organization’s overall efficiency, so you’ll want to pay close attention to individual, team, and department productivity levels. To maximize your commercial success, take a look at these five things that can affect employee productivity.
1. Unrealistic High Targets
Setting high targets motivates employees to work harder, right? Not always. Setting unrealistic or arbitrary targets can actually have the opposite effect and leave employees feeling more demotivated than ever. If experience tells them they can’t hit their targets, no matter how hard they work, they won’t have the impetus to be productive.
2. Space and Surroundings
Physical work environments set the tone for your organization and can increase or decrease productivity. If staff are crammed into a small workspace or don’t have the resources they need to operate efficiently, you can expect productivity to drop. Conversely, when you choose office space that provides a safe and comfortable working environment, you’ll see an increase in outputs. From lighting and office furniture to ventilation and warmth, there are numerous aspects of your physical working environment that affect employees.
3. Recognition
Although employees are compensated, by your business, for their work, it never hurts to provide extra recognition too. When people feel valued and rewarded, they naturally work harder. Thanking staff for their efforts, introducing reward schemes, and taking their feedback on board are easy things to do but they have a major impact on productivity levels. Additionally, they’re a great way to gain loyalty from your staff, which can reduce employee turnover and reduce your operating costs too.
4. Workload
Ensuring staff have an appropriate workload can be a difficult balancing act. If they don’t have enough to do, they might be tempted to take a more relaxed approach, which could result in their efficiency levels dropping. In contrast, when someone’s workload is too heavy, they can become despondent and unproductive. Using scheduling and time management software can be an easy way to resolve this issue. Team leaders and managers can monitor and update workloads as needed, while employees can manage their schedules with more control. As a result, you’ll find that staff feel empowered, motivated, and more productive.
5. Training
When you first hire staff, you probably deliver onboarding or induction training, so that they can familiarize themselves with company processes and protocols. However, training opportunities should be available to employees throughout their careers. By providing employees with regular training, the company benefits from their enhanced skills, and staff feel valued. A natural increase in productivity typically follows, which means employee training can have a major impact on organizational efficiency.
Prioritize Employee Wellbeing
A happy workforce is a productive workforce, so don’t overlook the importance of nurturing your employees’ wellbeing. By doing so, you can provide a motivating work environment, garner loyalty from your staff, and maximize productivity levels.
