Several successful business people opine that employees are vital to their success just like customers, making it crucial to satisfy them. It is no secret that employees’ morale can significantly impact their work output.
Research from The Conference Board reveals that 53% of Americans are unhappy at work, necessitating that you seek practical solutions to make your workforce happier and more productive.
So, do you want to learn about ways to keep your workers happy for increased productivity? Consider the following tips.
1. Delegate
Delegation is a vital tool to employ if you want to increase your workers’ productivity and happiness. Several business owners typically fall into the cycle of taking on more responsibility than they should because they want a direct hand in all company’s affairs.
However, this only leaves your employees as unengaged bystanders, which will soon make them bored and unproductive. Therefore, delegate tasks to qualified employees to ease your burden while keeping your employees productive.
Delegation also presents employees with opportunities to gain valuable leadership experience and skills to grow into valuable company assets.
Business experts recommend merely letting go of specific tasks that your employees can execute while dealing with important things personally.
Also, implement an excellent hiring process based on experience and potential to gain competent workers who can handle delegated tasks effectively.
2. Effective communication
Businesses with many employees and several hierarchies often struggle to maintain adequate business communications. However, it is common knowledge that effective communication is crucial to any business’ success.
It would be best if you articulated expectations to employees at all levels to keep them engaged and productive. Although technology has some positive impacts on communication, many experts advise against over-reliance on technological platforms because unproductive communication still occurs on these platforms.
For example, a McKinsey study discovered that emails took 28% of workers’ time, making it the second most time-consuming employee tasks aside from official duties. Therefore, encourage the occasional use of a quick phone call or short meeting to settle issues without having to endure too many emails.
Effective communication builds a robust company culture that engages workers and improves knowledge sharing. Interacting also improves open and positive inter-departmental communication across all levels, so you should prioritize this to increase employee productivity.
3. Improve workplace conditions
Several studies have established a strong link between employee satisfaction and workplace conditions. Therefore, providing a comfortable and safe working environment is another strategy you should try to boost employee satisfaction and productivity around the office.
Experts advise that you keep stress low among employees by monitoring and regulating their work activities and encouraging regular breaks.
Also, revamping the office can ease stress and boost productivity. Adding lively colors, some plants, a ping pong table, etc., are all worth considering to relieve stress. Improving the workplace’s physical condition is also necessary to make workers productive.
Replace low flickering lights with brighter ones or opt for natural lighting, add comfortable seating, and give them better equipment and tools to carry out their duties more effectively. Finally, ensure that there are no known hazards around the workplace that directly endanger employee safety and health.
Getting hit by falling objects, slips and falls, and damage from defective equipment are some of the most common types of personal injury accidents employees suffer. Ensure that you create a safer environment to prevent lawsuits and disgruntled workers.
4. Encourage remote working
Remote working has become popular in many business’ work cultures for good reasons. Aside from saving on the costs of office space and office supplies, remote working does wonders for your workforce too. According to research, remote workers are better engaged, more productive, have more quality output, and take less sick leave.
Employees commonly cite their absence from loud working environments as central to their increased productivity away from the workplace. Being closer to family and not having to commute daily also boost worker productivity.
Happiness due to the flexibility that remote working allows for is also widespread among employees outside the office. As such, encourage work-from-home arrangements and other remote working options for your workforce to keep them productive and happy and for optimum results.
5. Reduce workplace distractions
A reported three out of four workers admit to feeling distracted at work. Workplace distractions manifest commonly as checking smartphones, using the internet and social media for other things other than work, and office gossip. E-mails, noisy co-workers, meetings, and an extended snack or smoke break are also frequent causal factors of workplace distractions.
All these are bad for productivity because even the slightest attention loss can cause employees to take longer to finish tasks and churn out substandard work quality.
Consequently, take proactive measures to reduce distractions around your office for increased productivity. Many business owners recommend instituting regular breaks to re-energize your workforce and keep them attentive.
Also, reduce visual distractions around the office by encouraging decluttered desks because a disorganized table is a prime employee distractor. Constant mandatory meetings can also be a significant workforce distraction.
Reputed Tech billionaire, Elon Musk, says that he prefers short and infrequent meetings to reduce workplace distraction. He also limits meetings at his famous Tesla company to six people, allowing other employees not contributing anything valuable to the discussion to walk away. Therefore, consider adopting this strategy around your workplace to keep workers engaged and productive.
6. Incentivize your workers
Worker incentives are a popular productivity-boosting technique that many of the world’s most successful companies use. So, consider adopting this strategy to replicate its proven success. Tesla employees save up to 35% off at the movies.
Other giants like Facebook and Google are also famous for offering perks like massage rooms and complimentary haircuts. These little positive reinforcers are influential in boosting worker productivity because motivation and satisfaction are key drivers of a productive worker.
You can also use incentives to motivate your employees because, contrary to popular opinion, they aren’t too hard to please. For some, a simple “thank you” after a job well done may be enough to boost employee morale.
You can also give day-offs, a bonus or raise, or take the workforce to lunch or dinner. Even simple gestures like handwritten notes and merely allowing them to leave work early for a week can convey appreciation enough to boost productivity and happiness, so consider incentives to better engage your workforce.
7. Encourage a better work-life balance for workers
Many business experts agree that the most positive workplaces allow for more employee work-life balance, translating into improved productivity and worker happiness.
This phenomenon is because workers who don’t view the job as a chore work harder, make fewer mistakes, and are more likely to become brand advocates. A healthy work-life balance also leads to fewer health problems, increased engagement, fewer burnouts, and more mindfulness.
You can improve work-life balance among your workforce by encouraging adequate vacations, extended maternity and paternity leaves, etc. Also, consider having reasonable, flexible work hours for employees to work instead of sticking to a rigid 9-5 schedule.
Doing all this will create an environment where workers feel connected to your business through positive work experiences. Therefore, encourage employees to find the right work-life balance to boost their productivity and happiness.
8. Train and develop employees
After screening and hiring workers, improving their expertise by teaching them the necessary skills for the job is also essential to improving productivity.
Training is critical for output because teaching employees prevents them from accomplishing tasks independently in the initial stages. As time passes, however, these employees will save you from correcting basic mistakes and answering simple questions because they can execute tasks without guidance.
There are several skills that you can help workers to polish. From everyday skills like typing or using a spreadsheet to more significant ones like effective time management for their work, focus on adding value to your workforce to make them happier and more productive.
A 2013 study in the International Journal of Science and Research indicates that training benefits employers and their employees alike, so prioritize training your workers to improve their capacity and boost productivity.
9. Clarify all goals and targets
Your workers can’t be efficient without goals and targets to aim for, making it crucial to set your business goals as a guide. It would be best to involve employees throughout the goal-setting process to inspire commitment to the set targets.
Multiple experts recommend setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) goals. Ask yourself whether assigned employee tasks fit within any of these requirements, and consider tweaking the work to help workers stay efficient. Also, link individual goals to business objectives to improve worker productivity.
Linking your company’s goals with everyday business objectives to form team performance goals will make employees more efficient. This increased efficiency manifests due to employees identifying their individual goals and the roles they have to play in your business’ big picture, encouraging accountability and higher performance.
Remember, setting goals without measuring them is counterproductive, so always outline your goals to present you with a tangible standard to track, evaluate, and improve employee productivity.