How to Increase Productivity Among Your Employees

To increase productivity among your employees, is a challenge. A recent study found that 85% of employees feel uninspired; as a manager, that’s a daunting statistic to overcome. And not only are you tasked with getting the most out of your team, but you also have to connect with each employee individually and provide a working environment that allows them to learn, grow, and succeed. That’s a massive challenge, no matter who you are.

Managing employees is tough work

The key is to start by examining your own management processes. Here are a few ways a manager can make changes to empower their employees and to provide a happy, productive workplace.

Create Efficient Processes

One of the biggest ways to improve the productivity of your employees is to remove any issues that consistently cause frustration. That requires listening to your workers and working with them to quickly change processes when they no longer work.

For example, if you’ve found that a specific process is taking employees a long time to complete, find a loophole. See where the employees are getting stuck. Improve the process or create a new process that’s easier to understand and execute.

Delegate the Work

Don’t be afraid to delegate the work. An insecure manager has to be a part of every single process because they don’t trust that it’ll go well without them. At the core, this is a pride issue; you’re assuming that you have to hold onto these tasks because an employee would mess up the work. Can you see how that might make for a less-than-ideal work environment?

Hire people who you believe are more than competent. When this happens, it’ll be easier to delegate more work to other employees. Begin the gradual process of letting go. When you are involved in every single process within your department, this ties up everyone’s ability to efficiently and effectively move forward.

Communicate Effectively

It seems like a simple thing, but effective communication can go awry in a plethora of ways. Your words can be misconstrued based on your rapport with the employee, their current demeanor, or even things from things happening in their personal life.

One of the biggest ways to improve communication is to make your official conversations personal and intentional. When something matters, speak to your employee in person. Be clear about what you need from them and your thought process on why they were chosen for whichever assignment.

Create an Incentive Program

Who doesn’t want to earn more paid time off? Most employees will never turn that incentive down. If they know the process is incentivized, they’re more likely to perform at their peak. Plus, you’ll want to consider the benefits that resonate with their lifestyles. If you have employees that would kill to work from home one day a week, consider making that a bonus incentive that employees can potentially earn.

Implement Training Programs

Training programs are fantastic for a myriad of reasons. Not only will they allow your team to become more efficient and productive in the short-term, but they also help your employees to learn the skills they’ll need to advance – something that’s always on the minds of employees.

The key, however, is to plan these training programs in advance. In a time where employees are constantly worried about their professional career and future, it allows you to effectively communicate a plan to help employees grow and succeed.

Create Space for their Voices

When you have a boss that doesn’t care about your opinions or viewpoints regarding projects within the workplace setting, this can be extremely deflating and frustrating. As a result, you’re less likely to give your all on a particular project. Since you’re in the managerial role, you have the power to change the tide by creating a safe space for your employees to share their perspectives on work-related projects.

Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanagement leaves no room for an employee’s interpretation or perspective to thrive. Remember that you’re not the sole expert in your field. Give room for your employees and their professional development to thrive.

Offer Praise

Don’t underestimate praise and the power of positive reinforcement. When you have an employee who performs well, make sure the department knows it. Consider celebrations like ’employee of the month’ to help you get started.

As you work towards the successful execution of these tips, remember that this is a daily commitment and process. Find new ways to approach these tips so that they’re as effective as possible. Before long, you will enjoy the results of a team that’s highly productive. That is how you increase productivity among your employees.