TEN (10) WAYS TO BOOST EMPLOYEE'S PRODUCTIVITY

Nowadays, many companies’ ideal is to make more benefits. In this light, Human Resource Managers would like to have a productive team that has the ability to drive profits, make customers happier and actively promote their company. This ideal world makes them push their employees to full productivity capacity at all times. Employees are now likely to spend more and more time at the workplace and might have no time to rest. However, increasing working hours does not necessarily increase efficiency. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself what would motivate you to be more productive. The following points are tips to boost your employee’s productivity without increasing working hours at all costs:

1.     Set realistic and focused goals

Set clear, realistic and obtainable goals for your employees to complete within a specific timeframe. To do this, you must set a general goal and assign specific goals to each employee. As an employer, do not expect efficiency when you do not have a focused goal which you work for. A goal is like a compass that guides the director and reminds employees where they head to. Therefore, if it is not clearly defined and actually achievable, the company will drop. The Human Resource Director should try to make sure employees’ assignments are as narrow as possible. Let them know exactly what you expect from them, and tell them specifically what impact assignments will have on both the company and working conditions. A better way to do this is to make sure your goals are SMART:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Each time you assign a task to an employee, make sure it meets each of these requirements; or rather, ask yourself how the task can be carried out to help your workers remain focused and awesome.

2.     Give your employees more power

Some Human Resource Directors might think it is the most obvious; on the contrary, it is often the most difficult to make it operational. For sure, your company is your most precious jewel which you would not want to joke with. This explains why you might want to have hands on everything that goes on with it; but, set up priorities which the most important is quality: it obviously causes percentage increase. Rather than trying to have eyes on every little detail yourself, delegate some of your responsibilities to qualified collaborators. This empowers them and is rather a source of motivation that will definitely help boost productivity. One of the advantages is that it helps save valuable time. This helps them acquire more skills and leadership experience that will, in the end, be beneficial to your company. The reason for which you hired them was to prove you did not make a mistake; it is time to give them a chance to prove you right.

3.     Build up capacities and Develop Employees

Reducing in-service training or cancelling it altogether, might be a good way to save company time and money. Obviously, learning by doing is said to be an efficient way to build up capacities. Nevertheless, this could create a contrary effect. Thus, instead of trying to make workers train themselves anyhow in the view of accomplishing a task with no guidance, take some hours to drill them with regards to the general goal. After it, they will be able to skillfully take up challenges encountered in accomplishing their tasks on their own and so, your time will no longer be wasted on answering simple questions or correcting funny mistakes. Do not rely on their initial training and encourage continuous capacity building. Helping them gain more skills will build up advanced workforce to get off the ground. This benefits your company in the long run. Ways to support employee development include individual coaching, workshops, courses, seminars, shadowing or mentoring, or even just increasing their responsibilities. Everybody likes climbing the career ladder at the end of the day; rewards, and you can reward them by adding bonuses on achieved goals. If they do not see this opportunity they will lose motivation. This for sure, increases motivation that brings about added value; that is, boosting productivity.

4.     Give Each Other Feedback

There is no hope in trying to boost productivity by increasing employees’ efficiency if they do not know they are inefficient in the first place. This is why it is very essential to go through performances; then organize and preside over individual meetings to inform them about where they are excelling, what areas they need to improve on. Boosting productivity does concern only employees but, some of the responsibilities fall on you as well. So, after reviewing their performance, do not forget to ask them what you could do to help them work more efficiently. Perhaps, they need a little more guidance on some specific tasks or might prefer a little room for themselves to express their full potentials. Asking for feedback also emphasizes open dialogue which continues enhancing their skills over time.

5.     Match Tasks to Skills

Knowing the skills of your employees and their behaviour is essential for increasing percentage. For instance, an energetic and happy employee who enjoys being with other people and that thinks creatively seems to be the right person to persuade clients. However, if they do not work directly with clients, they might just struggle to express themselves in the assigned tasks and so the company might experience drops. Asking your employees to be great at everything is just an expensive joke. Before assigning them a task, verify whether the person is best suited and if their skills and styles match your needs. If not, find someone else if you really want to increase percentage.

6.     Make your company a family

This does not entail treating an employee the same way you would do with your siblings or parents, but to create a family-like atmosphere in which every employee feels like they are at home. In this cohesive environment, members of your company would always like to protect each other. No one would like to hear negative talks about family members. You should make sure your employees know that despite how you feel perhaps, after a poor performance, you always like them and is ready to defend and protect them at all cost. If you need a team that works towards percentage increase, make them feel safe first. If you care about your employees, they will care about you. Organize family meetings based on workload to build up relationships. This will help your company pick up steam.

7.     Decisions must be final

A smart employer must welcome observations and suggestions but, ultimately the final decision must come from you after you must have listened to employees. Therefore, do not hastily take any decisions. This shows that their opinions and suggestions count. Equally, they are flattered and now constitute a better source of percentage increase for the company. The more they feel that you give them attention, the more they gauge the environment conducive. By the way, decisions you take must be final.

8.     Provide employees with the right equipment

Some employees used to complain that they do not have suitable equipment in their office to carry out the tasks assigned to them! For this reason, they will be less productive. Nothing is worse than hearing an employee say they could not achieve their daily goals because some working tool was not responsive. For instance, imagine a financial secretary who is not able to produce reports because the computer misbehaves or merely because they could not print a balance sheet for a meeting.  Do not blame them or threaten to reduce salaries, hire someone to maintain equipment. Provide the necessary tools for the assigned tasks and invest in the workforce. When workers have appropriate instruments to carry out their tasks, they boost efficiency and drive productivity.

9.     Be a role model and celebrate success

Many Human Resource Managers spend much time preaching than showing examples, forgetting that employees are also motivated when their boss works. When they see how committed you are, they do the same. Most of the time, a workforce reflects their immediate hierarchy and some employees would even like to do better than their supervisors. You must organize and avoid mixing family or privacy issues with your job. In addition, acknowledge job well-done. When an employee sees that every positive contribution to the team is acknowledged, they always make sure they work harder. However, even though people do not work in the same position, there is nothing worse in the workforce than seeing employees not being treated as equals.

10.                         Reduce meetings, but communicate

In many companies, employees do not like meetings especially if they are boring. Cancel unnecessary meetings or go straight to the point because the existing schedule is already hectic. Nonetheless, put in place important ways to enhance communication but avoid time-consuming means. Of course, emails and social networks are vital instruments of communication but, too many emails or social media chats inhibit productivity. However, a short phone call keeps it short and simple. It instantly informs the employee concerned about an urgent task or priority. Keep your collaborators updated so that they are constantly aware of the latest in their field of work.  

Following these tips will provide a favourable environment to boost employee’s productivity.

Sir NGUEUTSA