Employees spend about five hours at their desks every day and you, as a business owner, are responsible for how that time is spent. Sometimes, the results of the work done and the time they spent “working” are not in tune, and an employee that seems to be the most productive can, in fact, be one of the worst in the office.
A recent survey has shown that many companies are realizing that they need to allocate resources for performance management, and focus on the performance of their employees so that their output aligns with the goals the company has. So, we have compiled a list of several ways that will help you improve efficiency, productivity, and engagement in the workplace. Following them can lead to an increased ROI and a happier workforce.
Frequently Measure Employee Productivity and Activity
If you want to increase ROI, you need to measure productivity. To increase the number of leads, you have to start counting them. This can also be applied to employee-performance management. To improve the structure, you need to have a recorded history, so that you can compare.
This way, your managers can see how the team is doing in comparison to last year, and how many productive hours the team has every day now, compared to last month. So, to improve productivity, you need to have a clear idea of what needs to be improved. You can record the use of applications and websites to keep track of productivity levels, as long as you do it in the right way.
Set Goals and Help Your Employees Grow
As a business owner, you need to understand what the current state of your company is and, based on that, set the rules and expectations. If one of your employees spends approximately seven hours working on office and email applications and one hour on personal social media sites, that employee can be considered productive, or maybe not. It all depends on the goals you have set for your company.
Perhaps the goals can include achieving a 10 percent increase in sales, 5 percent less time on personal websites and 10 percent on customer satisfaction in support. An employee can be unproductive due to spending too much time on websites that are not work-related, or perhaps there are some distractions in the workplace. If you identify what leads to unproductivity, you can work to help every individual grow as a professional.
Give Them Brain Breaks
Monitoring and understanding employee productivity is critical for the overall success of your company, but you as a business owner need to know that everyone is human, and that your employees need to have a break from time to time. Short breaks like vacations and wellness programs have been proven to increase productivity and simply help the brain function better. Because of this, it is perfectly reasonable to give your employees some space and allow them to conduct personal business while they are working on their computers.
Do Not Restrict Internet Use
In many cases, employers restrict internet use, mainly because of the fear that employees might misuse the company computer. But, the truth is that your employees can complete their tasks more efficiently if they are allowed to roam the web. A perfect example is social media, which in many cases has a legitimate business purpose.
There are employers who don’t allow their employees to use social platforms while at work. It is not always about Twitter or Facebook. Employees can experience a lack of productivity without ever using them.
These are the four ways that can help you increase productivity at the office. Study them well and try to implement them as soon as possible. We are sure that both your company and your employees can and will benefit from them. Always remember that your employees are humans who need their space and your help to grow, so make sure to always give them support and help them become productive professionals.
