In small organisations, maximising your assets is an absolute must. Workplace productivity is something that is often taken for granted, so in this blog, we take a look at a few key ways you can ensure you are getting the most out of your most valuable asset… your workforce!
The people that occupy your team are the most important, as, without them, your business can’t function. By putting a few things in place, you can double (maybe even triple!) the productivity of your team.
Setting Targets To Improve Workplace Productivity
Setting achievable and measurable targets for both teams and individuals is imperative. Aligning both your expectations and your workforce’s goals means that you are moving towards a common goal. Whether this is a long term or short term goal, having something to head towards drives productivity. When setting targets and goals, it is important that you are able to evaluate those targets at a later date, so make sure your team is setting SMART goals.
Once you and your team have come up with targets, ensure to discuss and agree on them together. Just as important as setting the targets, is reviewing them periodically, so that you can adjust and refocus. There is no point in setting a goal that will never be visited again. If targets weren’t achieved, take the time to investigate why and try to realign for the future. Settings goals and targets not only drive individual performance but allows your staff to understand your organisation goals as a whole.
Playing to Individual and Team Strengths Improves Output
Too many businesses miss out on maximising their employees potential, simply by assigning them the wrong tasks. Understanding and playing to peoples strengths is an absolute must. People naturally produce a higher standard of work when they are doing something they enjoy, so try and allow your team the flexibility to become involved in what motivates them.
Your staff is a long term investment. Their learning and development are ultimately you increase your return on investment. That being said, people are only as powerful as their role allows them to be. Processes that can be automated by the software are of far too little value to have people power behind. For example, accountants can spend several days a month matching bank statements to account transactions. However, with Sage Live’s automated Bank Reconciliation, they can automate this process, saving hours of time and allowing them to focus on more important tasks, such as Financial Analysis.
Incentives Increase the Standard of Work
This one speaks for itself. You don’t need me to tell you that the promise of a bonus can help drive productivity in the office! However, it is not just financial incentives that can do the trick. Everyone likes being rewarded for hard work and dedication. At team meetings, why not spend a couple of minutes letting your team recognise somebody that helped them out that week. Making sure your employees are feeling valued is one of the simplest ways to increase workplace productivity.
Creating a work environment where you constantly provide feedback can sound like quite a difficult task. However, it is easier than you think. Start small and it will soon become a culture to evaluate each other’s performance. It is now much more common for workplaces to have relaxing areas… from table football to massage chairs, the ‘Google Office’ era is upon us! Providing your staff with perks like this can help them to relax an ultimately provide a better standard of work.
Sharing Authority Frees You Up
When you run your own business, it is often difficult to let others make decisions. After all, your business is your baby! However, your team will appreciate being giving some authority. Your staff are not stupid (we hope!) and it is glaringly obvious when you are in a team with no authority. Working towards decisions that are then overruled by other managers isn’t great. Delegation is vital and not just to reduce your workload, people feel much more responsible for their work when it’s their name up there next to it.
Letting go of the reins slightly means you can not only give your team the freedom to do what they do best, but you can too! Going back to our first point, you can spend time evaluating team performances and targets. By doing this, you will learn to understand your team’s strengths. In turn, driving your business forward further using the resource you have… makes sense, doesn’t it!
Conclusion
So, there we have a few top tips on maximising workplace productivity. The key thing to remember is that your team is made up of people. People are more powerful than any software when they are used in the right capacity. Use technology for automating/streamlining repetitive tasks, and use your people for things technology can’t do. But most importantly, keep your people happy! A happy workforce is a productive workplace.
Kate is a self proclaimed Data Nerd! A specialist in Business Intelligence, she loves creating reports and dashboards the help solve problems. Outside of work, Kate can usually be found on the football pitch.
