Lagging employee productivity is one of the many issues that businesses face. Whether the dreary winter weather has your team down or the prospect of summer vacations are just too much, decreases in productivity can cost you more than just money. It may damage the company’s reputation if deadlines are not met and create a stressful working environment.
Six Ways To Increase Employee Productivity
Employee productivity can be boosted in several ways, many of which may provide a much-needed dose of fun and community building. Here are six engaging ways to increase employee productivity with rewards, team building activities, and more.
Reward Programs
Rewarding employees for good work provides motivation for them to do their best work. Not only will they be able to easily identify what qualifies as top notch work, they will also have goals that they can work towards daily. These rewards can take many forms. Your company may be able to offer bonuses or yearly raises to employees who produce a certain amount of high-quality work, or offer educational reimbursement for employees who would like to take additional classes. If larger financial incentives are not an option for your business, you can consider rewards programs offering catered lunches and gift cards to local shops or restaurants.
Friendly Competition
Competition in the workplace can be an excellent way to improve employee productivity, if done correctly. Ask employees to compete against themselves and beat a personal benchmark for a reward, or divide into teams and collaborate to reach certain goals before the others. It’s important to set reasonable goals within the competition and ensure that the rules are fair for everyone participating. This type of competition remains civil while also promoting productivity and pushing employees to do their best work.
Team Building Activities
It sounds counterintuitive, but getting out of the office for an afternoon of escape rooms, ropes courses, or go-kart racing gives teams a productivity boost. Many corporate events like these are designed to place your employees in a competitive setting that asks them to use their teamwork, creativity, and communication skills to successfully complete the activity. By connecting these skills to the workplace, you may be be able to increase employee productivity as employees learn to use their new interpersonal skills at the office.
The Right Tools
Investing in the right software tools can help your employees manage their time and priorities better. Consider introducing time tracking apps, collaboration tools like Google Drive or Basecamp, communication software like Slack, and other digital tools to keep communication clear and projects on track. Provide your employees with the training they need to use these tools effectively, and help them understand how each one should be used to their fullest advantage. These tools can give employees streamlined and centralized ways to manage their time, priorities, and communication, making it easier to get things done on time and helping them spend less time searching for information about their projects.
Flexible Scheduling
Employees’ lives outside of work are busy and unpredictable. Flexible scheduling allows them to work from home in the event of an appointment, childcare emergency, or other unexpected event. Many companies also offer work from home days once per week or whenever possible, as well. Employees who work from home are sometimes more productive than those working in an office, and the flexibility to choose their workspace can help some employees turn in high quality work more quickly. If your company is unable to offer work from home days, consider allowing employees to begin and end their workdays earlier, or come in and stay a bit later, depending on their needs.
Avoid Micromanaging
It may be helpful to examine your own managing habits in order to increase employee productivity. It can be easy to accidentally micromanage your employees, or be too involved in their projects despite good intentions. However, micromanaging can cause employees to feel that their managers do not trust them. This can impact morale, creativity, and employees’ drive to succeed, in addition to productivity. Encourage managers to take a step back, allow employees to work in their own way, and schedule regular check-in meetings instead of constant supervision.
Increase Employee Productivity With Team Building Activities at Bond’s
Speak to Bond’s Team Building for more information about scheduling a team building event. The Bond’s franchise operates the largest escape room venue on the east coast, with 13 themed rooms available for your private event. Teams will have just one hour to escape each room by using their teamwork, communication, and creative thinking skills to solve puzzles and find the key. Each room is designed with theater-grade special effects and props for a truly immersive experience. They can even be customized with your company’s logo or other details for a personal touch. Bond’s offers the use of its VIP Room to all private groups, allowing organizers to discuss goals or debrief after the event with their teams.