Productivity is key in the workplace. You need to be able to get work done in an efficient manner to turn a profit. However, making employees more productive is not as easy as simply telling them to work harder. In fact, that approach is more likely to backfire and could lead to high turnover. The tips below can help you increase efficiency in the workplace without damaging employee retention.
Appreciate Employee Efforts
You may have heard the phrase the carrot and the stick before to refer to an option of either praise or punishment to motivate. As an employer, you’re much better off using just the carrot, focusing on appreciation. After all, you probably want employees who are more motivated by appreciation than fear. Letting your staff know that you pay attention to what they do and are grateful for it can spur them on to greater accomplishment.
Help Them Be Efficient
Sometimes, it isn’t that the person doesn’t want to be more efficient; it’s that they don’t have the resources they need to achieve that. If you don’t know what is standard in a particular department, find out and provide it. Fleet managers and dispatchers need dispatch software to make sure that routes are as efficient as possible. However, not just any type of dispatch software will do. You need to keep several things in mind before making this purchase. Whatever it is that you need to buy in order to help your staff work more effectively, be sure that you do your research first.
Be Realistic About Limitations
Even with the best resources in the world, there is a limit to what people can do and how long they can work. In fact, for most, productivity drops substantially when they start to put long hours in. You simply cannot perform at a high level working twelve-hour days over weeks or months at a time. Unfortunately, it’s usually your best workers who try to do this, but the inevitable result will eventually be burnout. Understand what the limits are for your employees, and don’t push them to try to go past those limits or penalize them for protecting their boundaries. Instead, encourage them to pursue a good work/life balance and give them the time in which to do it. A well-rested employee is a more efficient one.
Have a Clear Vision and Objectives
At a surprising number of companies, people are flailing because they simply don’t have a clear picture of what their workplace is trying to accomplish or how they fit into that overall vision. Many modern jobs are performed at a far remove from the actual objectives of the organization, and people can begin to feel as though their roles are pointless. With a clearly stated overall vision for the organization and a specifically designed set of objectives for each employee, your workers can feel a sense of purpose, and this in turn helps them become more productive. This clarity can also help you develop metrics you can use to reward high achievers.
