Post Covid-19, employees have learned the new adjustments that come with working from the office, such as wearing face masks, sanitizing their hands regularly, and maintaining social distance. However, it is also essential that they learn better productivity habits to reduce their work stress.
Therefore, companies need to inculcate methods to boost their employees’ productivity. Boosting employee productivity helps in better employee engagement, which further contributes to the growth of the company’s business.
Mentioned below are a few things you can do to boost employee productivity in 2022:
- Create Specific Goals
Employees can’t be productive if they don’t have a clear objective in mind and the company’s goals are not communicated properly. One way to avoid that is by clear goal setting. If you ensure that what employees are working on is clear to them, they will be self-motivated and gain confidence while working.
An effective way to set goals is to create ‘SMART’ goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. While assigning the task to the employees, check if it meets the SMART requirements.
- Appreciate and Incentivize
Employees feel demotivated and underperform if they are not appreciated for their work. One of the ideal ways to ensure employees are good at their work is to incentivize them. Incentivization includes appreciating and providing rewards to employees. Appreciating them for their outstanding work and contribution will make them feel valued and thus be motivated to work better and harder. Moreover, recognizing and rewarding them will make them feel like they are a part of the company’s success.
While awarding them with incentives, ensure that you consider their preferences. While few prefer to be acknowledged in front of the whole team, others like it privately. Encouraged employees are more likely to stay happier, be more productive and create better working environments.
- Build Strong Communication
Companies that lack strong communication between employees and managers experience a decrease in productivity at the workplace. Therefore, communicating with employees is essential as it builds an understanding and a rapport between the manager/senior managers and the employees. Managers need to communicate with their employees regularly regarding their tasks and responsibilities.
By doing so, employees will understand the company’s goals and visions. This further encourages employee efficiency and increases job satisfaction.
- Provide Advanced Tools
Employees who don’t have access to the right tools for their job are found to be frustrated and demotivated. This further affects their performance and work productivity.
For example, when employees travel for work purposes, they must browse through various websites to book their flights and accommodation by keeping the company’s policies in mind. Incorporating tools such as travel and expense management software will help save their booking and expense management time.
- Encourage Team Collaboration
The team tends to work out of sync if they don’t collaborate, leading to a drop in productivity and understanding. Hence, establishing a strong collaborative work environment is essential for any company looking to collaborate with its employees.
When employees collaborate with each other, it leads to more innovative ideas, increased productivity, and business growth. From the beginning, set expectations of collaborative work. It will be even better if it is included as a part of the onboarding process.
The job description of the employees should clearly mention both individual and collaborative tasks they need to carry out. Working in collaboration helps in team building and thus improves the company’s overall productivity.
Moreover, you can also take advantage of cloud-based collaboration tools available in the market, which enable multiple employees to work together, irrespective of their locations.
- Train Your Employees
Not focussing on training and onboarding employees can result in a decreased turnover and poor employee performance, hampering employee productivity. Hence, you need to provide proper training to your employees. Training plays a big role in understanding how prepared they are for their job.
Regular employee training will result in employee preparedness, making them more productive. The training should include things such as new company policies, tasks, assignments, changes in job roles, etc. This will help them better understand the work rather than having to research or find out by themselves.
- Encourage Time-off and Flexible Working
If employees are not taking breaks and working countless hours, it will lead to burnout and eventually lead to employees quitting the company. Hence, you should encourage employees to take time off. This will help them have healthy work breaks and avoid burnout.
Companies should encourage flexible working for employees. This gives employees the autonomy to work at their own pace while suiting their needs, leading to a good work-life balance. A good work-life balance will ensure employees’ well-being and encourage them to take ownership of their tasks.
Final Thoughts
There is no doubt that many companies are facing challenges with employee productivity. But this phase isn’t permanent. By identifying the root cause and taking a few corrective actions such as regular sessions, training, appreciating employees, developing ideal working environments, etc., companies can motivate their employees to work and perform better.
Ensure you give equal consideration to what’s important for employees as well as the company. Following the above-mentioned tips will help you stay ahead of the curve and ensures your employees are more productive and happier.
