Sponsored by OnTheClock:
Sometimes, your team members might be cutting themselves a little more slack than they deserve. They might be bored, uninterested, and have made a habit out of procrastinating.
This can be a significant problem, which is why many business owners address it with employees quickly when they see it happening. If the productivity of your employees is leaving a great deal to be desired, you should ask yourself if the problem here isn’t yourself and not them.
Bosses can make as many mistakes as the employees they manage. Here are a few methods of boosting the productivity of your staff that actually work.
1. Track Time
There are various online employee clocks you can use to keep track of how much time your staff spends working and how much it spends on gossiping or playing Solitaire. OnTheClock, for example, offers you the opportunity to get accurate reports.
It’s basically a punch in clock. Whenever an employee is done for the day, he has to punch it. You can verify what work he or she has done in eight hours and take measures if that employee’s productivity was underwhelming.
2. Don’t Underestimate the Benefits of Awarding Good People
Employees lose interest when they have consecutive successes but aren’t congratulated on the jobs they’ve done. This doesn’t mean that you need to go over the top with accolades. Just let employees know they are appreciated.
Make a good example out of them and less productive employees could want to receive recognition as well. Your team will be more productive if it’s given the incentives it deserves.
3. Use a Team Management Platform
When you use a team management platform, it’s more difficult to employees to be unproductive, because they’ll know you have a clear overview of their tasks as well as the ability to set deadlines. Each down-tick in their effort can be closely monitored.
This can be viewed as an extreme measure, but when there’s no other way around it, this will solve your problem.
4. Don’t Overwork Your Team
Ironically, overworking is one of the most common causes of low productivity, because it creates confusion and exhaustion. The best way to avoid this is to know the strengths and weaknesses of your employees.
Communication is essential, too. Don’t give complex tasks to people you know for a fact can’t get them done. Unrealistic goals will slow the entire company’s goals. Also, allow your employees to take a break once in a while to renew their focus.
5. Embrace Technology
There are many apps that can make your business more productive very quickly. If you’re using Windows XP and tons of paper, you’re doing it all wrong. Instead, do everything you can to upgrade your equipment and consider investing in management and team building applications.
You don’t have to buy everyone smartphones, tablets, and state-of-the-art computers, but you shouldn’t be stuck in the technological Stone Age either.
6. Cut Down on Meetings
Nothing kills productivity more than excessive meetings. If you’ve ever watched The Office, you know what we’re talking about. Limit the number of meetings and don’t have one unless it’s necessary. You’ll see the difference this can make instantly.
Conclusion
In a company, productivity has to be constant, no matter how sluggish employees might feel. Most of the time, productivity stalls simply because the volume of work is overwhelming and employees don’t get clear directions.
Assessing what the real problem is must be a top priority. Once you’ve pinpointed the problem, it will be easy to solve it. These six tips will help you a lot if you decide to implement them in your company. They’ve been proven to be very effective.
