How to Boost Employee Productivity
Hint: keep them engaged.
Can you envision your employees working at maximum efficiency? The key is to keep employees engaged because disengaged employees have higher absence rates and are more likely to look for a new job. However, only 34% of the U.S. workforce feels engaged according to Gallup. We’ve gathered a few tips on how to increase employee engagement and boost productivity.
The Right Tools
Start with providing employees the right tools to help them be productive. This includes time and project tracking tools as well as collaboration and communication software. By reducing the amount of time an employee spends on administrative duties, you can increase their time working on the actual project itself.
There may be a ramp-up period, as there is when any new process is introduced; so be sure to give staff a thorough introduction and access to learning materials so they can utilize the tools to their maximum ability.
Employee Wellbeing
Encouraging employees to stay home when they have a cold has been an accepted productivity practice for many years – which makes sense because you wouldn’t want the whole office to get the flu. And there is a bigger focus on promoting physical and mental health – like sit/stand desks or in-office meditation sessions. But emotional health is just as important.
The American Institute of Stress has reported that the number of employees calling in sick to work due to stress has tripled between 1996 and 2000. Here are a few good ways to promote emotional health in the office:
- Provide challenging, meaningful work
- Establish clear goals
- Listen to employees
- Give constructive feedback
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to produce engaged employees. If they’re happy, their productivity will increase, and that’s what you need to help your business grow.