HR MANAGEMENT - How to Boost Employee Productivity?

How to Boost Employee Productivity?

by Louise Balle, Demand Media

A company’s productivity is directly related to its bottom line. If you feel that one or more of your employees aren’t working to their full ability, that could translate into a loss of revenue. For a small business every dollar counts. Take measures to motivate your workers and boost employee productivity to resolve this potential issue.

Step 1

Implement an employee recognition program to boost productivity at your small business. A recognition program is simply a way of saying thank you to the employee for his hard work and it shows each worker that you notice his positive actions, appreciate his work, and want that behavior to continue. For instance, you can post an Employee of the Month billboard or give one exceptional employee a gift card to a local restaurant each month. This may also encourage other employees to become more productive to achieve that reward.

Step 2

Offer monetary incentives (bonuses) to employees who reach certain productivity levels. For instance, if you have a sales team, offer a payment bonus when they achieve a certain amount of sales conversions each month.

Step 3

Involve your employees in the decision-making process of the business as a way to boost productivity. If the employee is responsible for implementing his own suggestions, he may be more motivated to work to the best of his abilities during the project.

Step 4

Update the tools and software that your company uses to boost employee productivity. Sometimes it’s something as simple as a browser upgrade, as the City of Miami found out in 2010. The city’s upgrade to a later version of Internet Explorer helped employees complete work more quickly and efficiently.

Step 5

Get anonymous feedback from employees--use an online survey or anonymous written survey form--to learn what might be holding the team back from achieving higher productivity. Encourage employees to be completely honest for instance, it could be one employee whose negatively affected productivity or even something as simple as a problem with the air conditioning system that’s demotivating employees.

This article was written by by Louise Balle, Demand Media