Unproductive employees cost the US a whopping $600 billion annually. If left unnoticed, they can result in sales losses, failed projects, unmet deadlines, poor customer satisfaction, and many others.
That said, making some small adjustments can do wonders for your business. Increasing your team’s productivity can result in new opportunities and better overall performance. What is more, you and your employees are likely to end up happier in the process.
Here are 4 Ways To Improve Your Team’s Productivity:
1. Be A Good Boss
This goes without saying.
Employees with bad managers are among the least productive. In a survey by B2B Market Approved Index, 42% of employees cited a bad boss as their reason for leaving a company. The top reasons for disliking a manager were lack of recognition (41%) and the feeling of being overworked (40%). Conversely, 74% said getting along with their boss helps boost motivation, even more so than job satisfaction.
One way to get your employees on board with your vision. Common Desk provides an office for rent for those looking for coworking spaces.
Your team’s productivity begins with you. Motivate your team by recognizing their efforts and keeping their workload to a manageable level. Also, be kind! You can never go wrong with kindness.
2. Offer Constructive Feedback And Insights
Employees that receive feedback (including negative feedback) are 20 times more likely to be engaged at work. The key to great feedback, however, lies in the delivery.
69% of employees say they that receiving regular feedback encourages them to work harder. However, these benefits change when feedback is delivered in a disrespectful manner. Over half (54%) of employees do not feel respected by their leaders. This corresponds to a drop in health, well-being, motivation, and ultimately productivity.
Want to up the ante? Ask them for feedback on your performance as well. This sends a message that you’re interested in improving your relationship with them. Employees are significantly more engaged when they are able to give feedback on their leader’s performance.
3. Curb Meetings
In a survey by Industry Week, both managers and employees agreed that scrapping some meetings would lead to increased productivity. In addition, nearly half of employees consider meetings to be the number one time waster in the office.
Meet only when absolutely necessary and invite only those who are absolutely needed. Meetings should be concise, deliberate, and decisive. To make your time more productive, send your team a briefer with all the relevant information including an outline of the agenda. That way everyone is on board even before you enter the room.
Also, keep late people out of the meeting. Recapping what they’ve missed disrupts the flow of the meeting and results in a lot of idle time. Instead, allow them to catch up with other team members after the meeting is over.
4. Build A Collaborative Environment
Statistics show that coworking spaces helped 50% of professionals to increase their income and enabled another 64% to complete their tasks on time. Unlike traditional offices, coworking spaces provide an environment conducive to collaboration and camaraderie. People who work in a shared office are less likely to succumb to office politics and unhealthy competition.
Moreover, coworking spaces allow workers to come up with more creative solutions to problems because they get to interact with people from different fields. Not only does this make your employees more productive, it also gives them the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skillset.
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