Would you like to boost your business productivity by 20% or more?
Then you need to learn how to keep your employees happy. Happy employees are 20% more productive than unhappy ones. Companies like Microsoft, Zoom, and Costco, owe a lot of their success to their upbeat, and happy workforce.
When your employees love what they do, they’ll put their heart and soul into helping your company thrive. However, if employees are lost, or confused, you’ll wind up losing money, until you eventually go out of business.
To help your business thrive, we've created this short guide, all about employee management. What does it take to manage employees the right way? Read on to find out about pumping up your business productivity!
1. Instill a Sense of Purpose
First, one of the fastest ways to boost productivity is to give your employees a sense of purpose. A lot of business owners only tell employees what to do, and how to do it.
However, the best business owners take things one step further by explaining why. Your employees should know what the purpose of your company is, so they can rise to the higher calling.
For instance, let’s say you own a company that makes and sells dog toys. You could motivate employees by helping them see the difference your toys can make in both the owners and the dog’s lives.
You’re not just selling dog toys, you’re creating a way for owners to bond with their furry family members. You can use this logic and apply it to whatever product or service your company offers.
Ask yourself, “How is my company making the world a better place?”. Then share the answer to that question with employees.
2. The Power of Delegating
As a business owner, you have to wear a lot of different hats to keep your company afloat. However, there’s a difference between being busy vs productive. Make sure you’re not taking on too many responsibilities yourself, and instead find employees you can share your workload with.
Delegating jobs is something a lot of business owners struggle with since, after all, your company is your baby. However, if you try to do everything yourself, you’re going to drop the ball eventually.
Whereas when you delegate responsibilities, you’ll be showing your employees you trust them. You'll also instantly be boosting your business productivity since 2 heads are better than 1!
3. Best Employee Incentives
Moving on, incentivizing employees is a fast way to boost workplace morale. The best part is that employee incentives don’t have to be expensive.
Instead, you can create unique bonuses that you know your team members will appreciate. For instance, if your employees reach a certain productivity goal, you could reward them with an entire week of casual wear.
You could even have a fun pajama day in the office, provided you won’t have any clients dropping by! Finally, parking spaces are another inexpensive way to create a friendly, competitive atmosphere among your workers. Create a simple contest for employees to compete in, and let the winner have a whole week of parking in a special spot.
4. Use Productivity Tracking Apps
Have you ever met someone who used a Fitbit to count their daily steps? If you had a friend or family member who used one of these exercise gadgets, you know just how motivating they can be. There’s something about setting clear goals, that motivates people to work harder to achieve them.
You can take a similar approach by using productivity apps for all of your employees. You’ll want to look for apps that help track KPIs for small business owners, such as hours worked, sales, and so on.
Productivity tracking apps are especially helpful for your sales team. Instead of slowing down at the end of the week, your sales team will have fun being more productive as they compete to beat different goals.
5. Transparency Is Key
Transparency is crucial when you want employees to be more productive. A big part of transparency is providing employees with clear ways of communicating with managers. The more open communication you have with your workers, the easier it’ll be to establish a foundation of trust, which leads to success.
6. Provide Ongoing Training
Next, as your business grows and changes, you’ll need to provide training to teach employees how to be more productive. For example, let’s say you're using a new customer relationship management software (CRM), to help improve customer retention.
Even if you're using an easy to learn, intuitive software, that doesn’t mean every employee will catch on quickly. Instead, play it safe by requiring employees to complete short weekly tutorials to help them master the new software system.
7. Tips For Keeping Remote Workers Motivated
Do you have a lot of employees working remotely? To keep remote workers engaged, it’s helpful if you have weekly virtual meetings with the entire company. During your meetings, make sure you’re recognizing employees who are going above and beyond to deliver quality results.
Finally, use communication tools other than email, such as business communication platforms. You can create channels strictly for work, while also having fun channels where employees can socialize with each other throughout the workday.
8. Encourage Breaks
Lastly, breaks a powerful way to increase productivity. Encourage your employees to take their breaks away from their work stations so they can get their blood pumping.
A lot of workers think that working through their break is a good way to show their loyalty to the company. However, not taking breaks increases the chances of mistakes and workplace accidents taking place. Let your employees know breaks are a good thing, and not a sign of weakness.
Start Increasing Business Productivity
When you invest in your employees the right way, boosting business productivity is easy. Whether you decide to create incentives or use productivity tracking apps, don’t wait another minute to implement your changes.
Go ahead and choose one business productivity boosting tip from this article and put it into action this week. Before you know it your employees will be happier, and more productive, than they’ve ever been before. For more ways to help your business thrive, read another one of our efficiency enhancement business articles!
