Workplace productivity is that elusive, magical set of practices and circumstances that get us the best results in the shortest time possible. With a strategic, considered approach, this can become less a matter of the stars aligning and more of an intended outcome, positively affecting both management and employees. Here are eight things that will boost workplace productivity in any office setting.
1. Get employee feedback
Your employees are the lifeblood of your company and their satisfaction with their work environment is directly correlated with the success of your business. A simple way to keep track of employee engagement is through a feedback app. Surveys, polling satisfaction, interest and engagement, gathering improvement suggestions can be set up on an automated monthly basis making the process as easy and seamless as possible. Once data is gathered, it will reveal areas in need of improvement, while hopefully reaffirming the usefulness of already made changes.
2. Communicate
Communication is essential to any successfully completed group task. This is why facilitating it among teams and team members will improve productivity. With remote work on the rise, tools such as Slack, Zoom, and Skype make it possible for workers to talk, track, plan and coordinate tasks. The feedback from these apps is immediate, unlike missed or ignored emails. While email still has a valued spot in professional communication, to get things done quickly, a less cumbersome method is found through chat and call programs.
3. Connect with your workers
As the need for occupying the same physical space is reduced, workers may feel disconnected from the company and their co-workers. Without a sense of community and belonging, some may become less motivated, less efficient, losing direction and motivation to work. Keeping your team engaged is still possible, even when abiding by current safety restrictions. Events such as virtual happy hour will bridge the emotional distance created through remote work and bring your employees closer together through short, fun activities anyone can enjoy.
4. Make remote work easy
With the previous two points sorted, there is no reason why your employees shouldn’t be able to work from home. Harvard Business Review states that lockdown helped people focus on the tasks that matter. Employees have more flexibility and are, in turn, happier, more relaxed, and engaged. The trust shown in this way by the employer will be returned by the employee in increased productivity and business growth – all you need to do is make work accessible.
5. Use project management apps
To get things done, people need to know who’s working on what. A transparent system, which allows employees to see the tasks they need to tackle and how they interconnect with the big picture will remove any confusion and possibility of doubled work. Project management tools such as Trello, Asana, Jira, and quite a few others help companies organize and distribute their workload. Adding task importance, deadlines, and progress tracking contribute to accountability and improved time management.
6. Use time tracking apps
Automated time tracking apps are a lifesaver for your HR department, which will no longer need to manually audit entries, possibly making mistakes along the way. Apart from this already significant benefit, you will be able to see how your employees allocate their time, which tasks eat up more time, and which can be whittled down or removed completely, streamlining their process. The goal here is not only to keep an eye on your employees’ productivity but to guide them and help them maximize their output.
7. Share everything
Waiting around for someone to send a file you need is not a good use of anyone’s time. Access to shared files will cut out the middleman and shorten information processing time as well as workflow interruptions. Added benefits of tools such as Dropbox or SharePoint are the possibility of collaborative working on the same documents as well as file versioning – showing which changes were made and when. Management benefits, too, as they can access any project documentation and have an instant overview of where it currently stands.
8. Secure everything
Even though file sharing is a productivity booster, it is also a cybersecurity weak point. Investing in security now will save you a lot of headaches later. Making software secure is, however, not the only preventive measure – employees should also be taught best practices for keeping information safe. No security breaches means you can go about your workday without wasting valuable time plugging information leaks.
Conclusion
Increasing workplace productivity is made simpler through the ever-evolving use of technology. To that end, new tools are developed every day and their implementation makes life easier for workers and management alike. Keeping up with the latest technological innovations will ensure that workplace productivity remains high, regardless of external circumstances.
