One of the most critical things to focus on when running a business is the overall productivity of your team. The more motivated that your employees are, the better the outcome, but they should also be able to manage their workflow efficiently, and there are certain things you can do to help that. If you think you could be seeing better results from your team, here are a few things to keep in mind to help them reach their full potential.
Realistic Goals
Every business has certain goals that need to be reached each week, month, quarterly, and annually. There are also long-term goals to consider, such as where you expect your company to be in 3-5-years, etc. Setting targets for your team to reach is essential, but you must make sure you’re realistic about the goals of your setting. You know where you want to be by the end of next year, so take the time to break down your overall goal into smaller, manageable targets. It’s worth reviewing these goals quarterly to determine what is working and what isn’t, so you can alter your expectations and make sure your employees aren’t reaching burn-out and losing motivation.
Employee Feedback
While you might have a vision for your company, remember that your employees are the ones helping you to realize it, so their opinions matter. They are the ones who are putting your ideas into practice; therefore, they will understand what works and what doesn’t in reality. Let them to share their thoughts and concerns with you and keep that in consideration when you’re developing new plans. It’s important to listen to their needs as individuals and to make sure each employee is getting the right support from your company. Regular appraisals are a good way to have one-on-one conversations with your team members, but you could also send out annual or bi-annual surveys to get their feedback, too.
Assess Workflows
Look at your current workflow patterns – are they the most efficient way of reaching the company goals? Is the data that’s collected as useful as it could be? Are the people assigned to these tasks right for the job? For example, if you’re developing some video footage to promote your brand, does your marketing team understand the complexities of video production? You can find out more about the workflow strategy in this video production guide. Changing up your workflow processes after some assessment could be a great way to maintain and improve productivity throughout your company.
Consider Incentives
As mentioned previously, keeping your employees motivated is one of the main things that will improve productivity for your business. While asking for their feedback and making sure they are happy at the company is a good place to start, think about how you can show your appreciation by rewarding them for their hard work. Treating them to breakfast every Friday is a nice thing to do and will help boost morale, or organizing a fun day out once a year. To increase their motivation even more so, implement an incentive scheme to encourage them to hit and exceed their targets. For example, the first team to hit their weekly/monthly goals wins a food hamper.
Flexible Working
If 2020 has taught businesses anything, it’s that employees can work remotely from home and still meet their targets. It might not be the same as the usual 9-5 routine, but modern working patterns are starting to change. Offering your employees the option of flexible working hours, or working from home a few days a week could help increase the overall productivity of your workforce. This is because everyone works differently, and some people are more active and focused in the morning but tend to start drifting later in the afternoon, while others are the opposite. Allowing employees to set their hours (where suitable) could result in you getting the best out of each individual who is a part of your team. As long as the deadline meets their targets, does it matter whether they work during daylight hours or at night? It may not work for every company, but it’s certainly worth considering.
Revamp Your Office Environment
Your office’s décor could also have a lot to do with how well your team is working. The working environment must be a positive, vibrant one so that people feel focused and motivated to work. If your current office space is cluttered, cramped, and dull overall, this won’t be helping to bring the best out in your team. Where possible, try to let as much natural light into the office as you can. This will help people feel happier naturally, as will including some greenery and plant-life into the work environment. There are also certain color schemes you can use to redecorate your office that is said to improve productivity.
Training
Another vital thing you need to focus on as a business owner is the quality of the training your staff receives. You are responsible for making sure they can keep up with their workload, and understand the duties and responsibilities of their role within your company. Writing up an employee handbook to give to each employee when they begin to work for you is a great place to start, but also look at online training programs or the possibility of sending them to conferences and seminars that could help them learn new things and realize their full potential.
Upgrade Software
Finally, look at the kind of software you’re using to manage your workflows and other tasks in your office. By improving the overall business network and programs your employees use each day, this could help them become more organized, communicate with each other more effectively, and allow them to track their progress. By making their daily tasks easier to manage, the overall productivity of your team will improve naturally.
There are many things that you need to think about as a business owner but reaching your company goals and growing stronger as a business is key. If you think your company could improve on this, think about the suggestions above and how they could help your team boost their productivity.
