6 Ways You Can Increase Productivity From Your Employees This Year

Getting each year off to a productive start can be difficult. The winter holidays don’t always prove restful for your team, who may return to work with a case of the winter doldrums.

Building a Culture of Productivity

Fortunately, the chance to improve productivity exists year-round. Consistently high productivity is the result of longstanding habits and ingrained processes. Here are six ways to build a culture of productivity that can help your team stay on task throughout 2020:

  1. Improve Efficiency

Do your daily business operations maximize ease and flow? Or is there a better way to structure the team’s day – one that leads to the frictionless achievement of daily goals?

Talk to your team about their sense of efficiency during the workday. Experiment with changes and track the results so that you can find the best flow for your team.

  1. Delegate Smarter

Delegating provides two benefits to a team. First, it keeps team members engaged with new work that pushes them to expand their skills. Second, it frees up team leaders for higher-value tasks that can’t be delegated.

Delegate, but hold staff accountable by checking in with them each day to see what they’ve accomplished so far. Done well, delegation can boost morale as well as productivity.

  1. Schedule Distractions

Teach your team how to trade-off between distractions like checking emails and tasks that require deep thought. For instance, using a Pomodoro timer can help workers focus deeply while also taking necessary breaks to rest, recharge or address urgent needs.

  1. Examine Your Equipment

It’s difficult to stay productive when computers freeze up, keyboards stop working, or the copy machine jams on every third page. Start the year by reviewing the state of your team’s equipment and tools. Wherever maintenance, repairs or upgrades are needed, make them a priority.

  1. Set Goals

If you asked managers whether their teams were high-performing, how many would say yes?

If managers can’t easily answer this question, it may be because they haven’t set effective goals or metrics for their team’s success. Work on creating clear goals with objective measurements for achievement. Communicate these to teams to keep everyone on the same page.

  1. Encourage and Reward

Workers are more productive and engaged when they feel their efforts are noticed. Acknowledge success with praise and thanks; respond to questions or struggles with constructive criticism that focuses on how the worker can do the task better. Help your team understand the big picture by showing them why their work is important – to their co-workers, to other teams and departments, and the company as a whole.

At THE RIGHT STAFF, LLC, our recruiters help businesses in the Twin Cities find and keep the talent they need to improve productivity and reach their goals. To learn more, contact us today.

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