10 Ways to Boost Productivity in the Workplace
How do you manage to ensure that your team are being productive without constantly feel the need to motivate them and be micromanaging? It’s important to keep productivity levels in the workplace high, however it’s sometimes hard to know where to start when it comes to optimising your workplace to boost the productivity of your employees. Workplace productivity is vital to ensure a workplace is working at full capacity and that plenty of work is getting done.
What is employee productivity?
Employee productivity refers to the level of efficiency of your employees, the quality of their work and the time in which it takes them to complete it. If your employees are happy, their productivity will increase, which is exactly what you need to help your business grow. Increasing productivity and employee engagement in a workplace will not only improve the wellbeing, mental health and happiness of your employees however it will most likely improve your businesses’ results.
Importance of Employee Productivity
The aim of any company is to be successful, and productivity can either make or break success. High productivity means that they use their work hours wisely to produce high quality work and better results in less time. Employees being productive does not mean they work longer hours and push themselves to the point of exhaustion to get things done.
You always hear the phrase “work smarter, not harder”, which directly refers to productivity, and involves better managing your time, knowing what needs to get done and when, and utilising tools that will keep you on track.
What factors affect your team’s workplace productivity?
Your workspace should promote productivity, and this can be done through a variety of methods from switching up the office floor plan, to promoting employee wellbeing and mental health. There are many different elements involved in increasing productivity, such as time management, project management and job satisfaction. Once you know how to create a productive team environment, you can begin to expect positive results from your team.
Our Top 10 Ways to Improve Productivity in the Workplace
With all of this in mind, we’ve pulled together our top 10 ways to increase productivity in the workplace to help ensure your team are working at peak efficiency.
Regularly Meet with Your Employees
Holding regular meetings with your employees will help increase productivity in the workplace. Regular one to one interactions will encourage employees to collaborate and share progress updates and ideas. This can also increase job satisfaction and the mental wellbeing of employees as they will feel like they can communicate any issues or struggles they may have with the powers that be.
Offer Support and Set Realistic Goals
A lack of support and the setting of unrealistic goals is setting your employees up for failure, which is unlikely to promote productivity. Be sure to set achievable goals that they can accomplish without feeling overwhelmed or defeated. Setting up an ‘employee of the month’ award or other personal incentives could help increase productivity and give those who are working productively the recognition they deserve!
Offer Feedback
Offering employee feedback can help to motivate employees and identify any areas they need to work on. Make sure you tailor your feedback to each individual instead of just handing out general feedback to all of your employees. Setting personal goals to individual employees can certainly improve efficiency and productivity as they will be working towards specific targets and achievements which with the right tools in place could definitely create a more productive and healthy work environment. Recognising achievements will help boost morale and make your employees feel appreciated, which helps boost their productivity. Whilst positive feedback is important, don’t be afraid to offer constructive criticism if you feel like it would help the learning and development of an employee. Just like positive feedback, it’s important to know which areas could be improved so long as it is done in a productive and constructive manner. If their achievements go unnoticed they may be unlikely to work productively which certainly won’t increase productivity.
Promote Employee Wellbeing
Even before the pandemic 61% of workers said they were burnt out in their current job, with 31% feeling high levels of stress at work. Stress is detrimental to productivity, and can lead to mistakes, which is definitely not beneficial for your business! So make sure you encourage your team to stay both mentally and physically healthy. Wellness programmes may also be something to consider, with studies showing that they can increase productivity by up to 11%,
According to recent statistics, it was reported that 26% of work is actually done outside of normal (and paid-for) working hours. That may not seem like a huge percentage, however when you consider the amount of hours this may take up and consume from your down-time outside of the office, it could lead to issues within the workplace.
Another Promote a health work-life balance. Try and put a stop to employees responding to emails, or sending Slack messages after hours! Although you can’t force employees to take care of themselves, you can set the right example.
Invest in Your Employees
Your employees are the people who make your business what it is, so if you want to increase productivity in the workplace you need to invest in them. Whether this be improving your company culture or organising regular team socials, these things show your team that you care and have a direct impact on productivity. When people feel a part of something they actively want to work harder.
Reduce Distractions
Reducing distraction is essential when it comes to increasing productivity. Agile working spaces are specifically designed with the intent of allowing employees to have the choice to move around the office and work in areas that are supportive to the task they are working on.
For an employer, implementing agile working spaces can help to highlight the performance of your team. It can help you recognise what conditions are best for particular employees, as some may prefer to work in a busier environment where there is a lot going on, the phone is ringing and clients are entering. But on the other hand, you may have staff members who require the use of a quiet room to be able to work best for them.
Here at Office Options, we can help your business to implement agile working spaces with a Space Planning and Management consultation and the design and fit of Meeting Pods and Third Space furniture.
Workflows and processes
Poor workflow can be a major drain for your business. So make sure that any documents are organised and easily accessible for any employees to access. This will help prevent employees having to spend more time figuring out how to do their job than actually doing it.
Have the Right Tools and Equipment
Teamwork is also essential for productivity. So by ensuring that there are appropriately equipped work spaces it will help to increase the collective productivity of your employees. Outdated and poorly working tools and equipment will lead to ongoing frustration, and make it harder for your employees to complete their duties efficiently and on time.
Office Options’ furniture accessories are the perfect finishing touch to any office perfect office, not only by encouraging the ‘work tidy, work smart’ atmosphere but also by posing several ergonomic benefits.
Furniture
Choice of office furniture can also play a part in the productivity levels of your employees. They spend a majority of their 8 hour work day sitting at a desk, so it’s important that they’re comfortable – it’s hard to get on with work when you’re suffering from back pain after sitting down all day on a poorly designed chair!
Your furniture can be fitted with customised power and data points, and we can design and install coordinated storage, cloak cupboards, credenza units, refrigerator units and coffee points etc to meet your requirements. We can supply wall-to-wall fitted storage and display units to complement your boardroom furniture or desks, with integral display screens and power and data provision as required.
Improve workplace conditions
If you want to improve the productivity of your employees you’ll need to make sure that they’re working in optimal workplace conditions. Make sure there’s plenty of natural light in the office, as this will help to reduce headaches and eye strain. An environment that’s too hot or too cold distracts from concentration, so ensure that there is good ventilation throughout your office.
To find out more about improving your office atmosphere, read some of the following blogs:
How can we help?
If you would like to work with our team here at Office Options to help create a highly productive workplace, then please do not hesitate to get in touch today! Give us a call on 0800 342 3179 or email us at sales@officeoptionsuk.com.