A business is all about the people, so employee productivity has a direct consequence on success. It isn’t always easy for the owner of a small business to know how to increase employee productivity, however, as it is not always a simple thing. If you are a business owner, check out these five strategies to do that.
Get them the right tools
No matter what kind of business you are in, the best way you can increase employee productivity is to give them the tools they need to do the work. This might seem obvious, but more than 40% of employees believe that employers skimp on the tools they need, particularly technology, for effective performance of their tasks.
There is really no reason to scrimp on the tools you need, Modern technology and equipment has become much more affordable today. Sometimes, equipping your employees with a cloud service and a smartphone might be all you need. Of course, some equipment can be a bit of an investment, but the returns on it can be significant in increased productivity.
Give them the proper training
Most small business owners often ask their employees to play multiple roles. You want to make sure they will perform effectively in every one of them by giving them the proper training. If you give them the opportunity to learn new skills on your dime, they are more likely to stay on. More importantly, it motivates them to do a better job because they feel that you believe they are an important part of the team.
Aside from the morale boost, employees with the proper training do become assets to the company. Overall, making training opportunities in different skills available to your employees is a win-win deal.
Give them a good working environment
Many business owners tend to forget that employees are people with different biases, idiosyncrasies, and backgrounds. It is up to you to make sure that you promote an inclusive environment that will allow your employees to work together effectively.
You want a cooperative rather than adversarial culture if you want to increase productivity. As such, you will need to hire people that can fit in with your existing culture and work with your existing employees. It can keep the environment harmonious and energetic.
Give them access to you
Small businesses might seem like a natural environment for constant communication, but you might be surprised at how little actual access they have to you. After all, you are the boss, so they might not be comfortable opening up to you about their concerns and expectations.
You can put them more at ease by giving them an opportunity to air out their thoughts by arranging regular conversations with them about your goals and mission of the business. Engaging them in this way makes them feel they are stakeholders in the business, and encourage them to become more enthusiastic. This will increase their satisfaction in their work and their productivity.
Give them clear goals and assessments
It is very difficult for anyone to be productive when they have no clear goal for which to aim and milestones to establish progress. The same is true for employees.
You need to set goals for employees to motivate them and give them confidence in their ability to get the job done. This can help driven them to better productivity and performance. However, you need to make sure to keep goals realistic for each employee, or you risk the opposite effect.
Aside from goals, you need to put a system of assessment in place to help them and you measure progress. Think of your assessment as stages leading up to the goal. This will encourage your employees to reach each stage as efficiently as possible to achieve a sense of accomplishment.
Conclusion
You can employ all these five strategies on how to increase employee productivity. They might require a bit of investment in time and money on your part, but they are very effective. Ultimately, it can lead to business success.
