Running a business is never a one-man show. It's always teamwork. You're highly mistaken if you think you can pull your business off on your own. Your employees are your backbone; without them, you don't stand a chance. Having said that, you've got to make sure that you've got a competitive and highly productive team of employees working for you.
You may have the most competitive employees on board, but it doesn't necessarily mean they'll always give their best. You may not realize, but many factors can affect the productivity and efficiency of even the best employees. It could be the work environment, your attitude towards your employees, the working conditions, etc.
If your employees aren't giving their best at work, your business won't thrive. If you want your business to thrive, you've got to ensure that your employees' productivity is at maximum.
This blog post highlights how employee productivity is linked to business growth and how you can boost workplace productivity.
The Link Between Employee Productivity and Business Growth
Many business owners fail to understand the link between their employees' productivity and business growth. As a result, they miss out on the potential their business is capable of achieving.
The growth of your business is closely linked to how well your employees perform. High productivity means your employees are getting more work done in less time. With that, you'll need fewer employees. This would help you cut down on operational costs, which means more profits for your business. This is just one of the many ways employee productivity affects your business.
Let's look in detail at how employee productivity affects a business and why it is important to take steps to boost employee productivity.
Poor Quality End Results
When your employees aren't giving their best, and their productivity is low, they'll take a lot of time to complete work, and the results they deliver won't be of the best quality. Poor quality end results mean the employees will have to rework to deliver better results, which wastes time and resources. It also means that the end users aren't satisfied with the deliverables. All of this means low profits (even losses) for the business.
Low Morale and Motivation
When an employee's productivity declines, their interest and willingness to take the initiative or go over and out for their employer also takes a fall. Their morale goes down, and their motivation to do better also takes a hit. The result is highly disengaged team members, poor coordination, missed deadlines, and poor end results.
Lack of Creativity and Poor Problem Solving
You'll face numerous challenges at work every day, but if you aren't your most productive self, you won't be able to come up with creative solutions. Your problem-solving skills will get affected, and you'll sit on the tasks for longer, which will only cause delays. Delays in deliverables will only affect the business. If you're a business owner, know that if your employees aren't the most productive, there will be delays in project timelines. Your employees will need a lot of handholding, which is something you may not be prepared to do!
How to Boost Employee Productivity?
There comes the point in everyone's life when they feel tired, exhausted, and burned out. Their motivation to work fades, and they struggle to get day-to-day tasks done. It's your responsibility as an employer to know what's causing your employees' productivity to decline so that you can take the necessary steps to restore it.
The employees aren't to blame all the time. You may not know, but some of your policies or the work conditions of your office are affecting your employees' productivity.
We've listed down some ways to help you boost the productivity of your employees. The more time and effort you invest in helping your employees feel better about themselves and their jobs, the more profound will be the productivity boost.
1. Give Your Employees Space and Don't Micromanage
One of the most common reasons why employee productivity gets affected is micromanagement. If you don't give your employees the space and authority to do the work their way and keep following up closely, they'll be stressed and anxious all the time, and it'll affect their productivity. What you can do to boost your employees' productivity is to give them a sense of ownership of the tasks.
When an employee feels responsible for something, they'll put in their heart to deliver the best results because they'll know their work will define them. Giving your employees ownership will significantly boost their productivity and work quality.
2. Assign Tasks Based on Strengths and Weaknesses
You can't expect all your employees to be good at everything. Every employee has certain strengths and weaknesses. It would help if you tried to identify what each of your employees is good at and assign tasks to them based on that. When an employee gets to work on something that brings their skill into use, they'll be highly productive and, as a result, deliver the highest quality results. If you assign someone a task they aren't made for, you can't expect them to deliver results as well as someone who's really good in that area.
3. Improve Your Office Conditions
Poor work conditions can also affect your employees' productivity. In fact, it's one of the biggest reasons why your employees may feel exhausted and burned out. If your employees aren't comfortable at work, they'll be distracted. Not being able to concentrate and focus on work will only affect their productivity and efficiency.
What you can do to boost your employees' productivity and efficiency is improving the working conditions. Replace your office furniture with ergonomic varieties to make your office ergonomics-friendly. Good ergonomics will enhance the comfort and well-being of your employees and boost their productivity.
Let's say your employee is sitting on an uncomfortable chair at work, hurting their back and shoulders. The employee would only want to get the task off their table without really focusing on the quality. They would just want to get done with it and go home. However, if you provide them with an ergonomic desk and chair, they'll be a lot more comfortable at work.
An ergonomic desk will ensure their work desk is at the right height and that they don't have to sit in awkward postures at work. An ergonomic chair will offer superior back support and minimize stress on the body, thereby ensuring they don't get tired and fatigued from sitting for long hours in an incorrect posture. As a result, they won't be distracted, and as a result, they'll deliver higher-quality results.
4. Encourage Your Employees to Take Breaks and Relax at Work
One of the biggest reasons employees get tired at work is that they don't take breaks. Sitting in front of the computer screen for long hours every day and in an incorrect posture puts stress on the body and the eyes, which then affects their productivity. One way to improve employee productivity at work is by encouraging them to take short breaks between work.
Build relaxing rooms where employees can go and relax for a few minutes. Game rooms are a good initiative too. You can also design outdoor sitting areas where employees can enjoy some fresh air and return to their work desks feeling refreshed. The better the employees feel, the better they'll perform.
5. Reward Your Employees Often
Appreciation and acknowledgment go a long way. If you reward your employees for their contributions, they'll naturally show more willingness to stretch themselves and go out of the way for work. They'll put their heart into work and deliver the highest quality results. Rewards can be as small as sponsored family dinners, cash vouchers, appreciation certificates, or gift hampers; anything that makes your employee feel like they matter to the business.
6. Improve Office Lighting
If your office is poorly lit, it can make your employees feel gloomy and dull, which will directly impact their productivity and efficiency. Dim lighting also causes eye strain that can cause headaches and further reduce employee productivity. Improving office lighting can have a positive impact on employee productivity. Designing your office such that there's plenty of natural light during the day will ensure employees stay happy and fresh at work and work to the most of their potential. Office lighting shouldn't be too bright or too dim. It should be just right so that it doesn't strain the eyes in any way!
Closing Word
The level of your employees' productivity directly impacts the profits and results for your business. The more productive your employees are, the better it's for your business. You may think that designing an office where employees are the most productive is an unnecessary added expense, but it's anything but that! Every ounce of money and effort you invest in providing your employees with good working conditions to boost productivity will pay off several folds!
