To say that your employees are the reason for your company’s success is an understatement. They are the backbone of your business. That is why any business must ensure that they are working effectively without any disturbances. Most companies don’t have a good idea of how to make that happen. A lot of the time, employees suffer from low morale. Sometimes they may not follow the best practices, and it could lead to a high turnover. Let’s get the ball rolling and see what the hindrances are and ways to improve workplace efficiency.
Why Employees Underperform
Before we discuss how to improve employee efficiency in the workplace, let us see why they underperform in the first place. You have to understand your employees. Only then can you find the solution. You also must ensure that you don’t jump to conclusions. You have to keep an open mind.
Suppose one of your employees arrives late for work, instead of making up your mind about it, make sure that you sit them down and talk to them. Maybe they have a valid reason for it. If the employee is not submitting their work on time, it could be due to distractions, or it could be due to some ongoing issue at home. Maybe you are not assigning the right tasks to them, or perhaps you have to lower your standards for that employee. There are a million other things that you have to keep in mind.
One way to ensure employee efficiency is by becoming the type of leader everyone wants to work for. You can easily do that by listening to podcasts by Tony Robbins or other industry leaders, or you can do your online Masters in Management and Leadership. It will allow you to develop yourself and your company’s culture and ensure that employees are giving you their best.
1. Map Processes
One of the things that almost always result in low employee efficiency is inefficient processes in the company. These can lead your employees towards frustration, unproductiveness, and delay. You have to map your processes and see if you can remove anything unnecessary from the entire equation. Mapping your strategies before you commit to any program ensures that your employees will follow the optimum procedure and not fall into the abyss of frustration.
One way you can do that is by writing a business case for that specific problem. You can ask yourself million-dollar questions like how to utilize your resources and more. A business case is an important document that outlines the problem and provides you with the various options you can take.
2. Allow Flexible Work Hours
In the old days, companies had to follow the same schedule. Now, businesses are more flexible, and so are the timings. Different employees are productive and efficient at flexible times. It could be early in the morning or late at night. Allowing flexible hours enables you to harness that productivity. Employees can choose their own hours. It will make them happier as they will be making their own decisions, and it will keep them focused on their work when they are on the job.
Another option is to consider a completely remote team. If not that, you can offer work from home days. According to statistics, a remote team increases your productivity by around 13 percent. Companies around the world are opting for remote working teams nowadays. Consider businesses like Zapier and Groove that have fully remote teams. It saves employees the commute time as well as cost and allows them to work in comfort.
3. Update Your Technology
Do your research about the technology that you can use in your industry. It will help you increase employee efficiency in the workplace. You can use a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy in the workplace or buy your employees’ equipment. It will enable them to work on the go. It will also help if they are working remotely.
Instead of calling your employees for a meeting, use Zoom or Google Hangout. Employees can log into the meeting from wherever they are. Use project management tools like Trello and Asana to keep everyone on the same page and up to date. Use a messenger to update your employees in real-time. For more detailed information, you can use email to correspond.
4. Encourage Team Building
One of the best ways to increase employee efficiency and productivity is to teach them how to work as a team. Try enabling them to communicate better. You can help them become a unit and improve the workflow. You can do team building activities or take them offsite for some fun and learning. An ideal way for you is to combine team building activities with physical and mental simulations. Healthy employees are more efficient and less prone to bouts of depression, frustration, and lethargy.
5. Foster a Happy Work Environment
The type of environment at work directly affects employee morale. It could either bring them down or boost them up. Happier employees are more efficient employees. They tend to give their 100 percent to the company and focus on their tasks more. They are less prone to things like checking their social media accounts after every 10 minutes and more. Check everything about your work environments, like the space, the lighting, the ambiance, and everything in between. One way could be to ask your employees what they think of their workspace and how you can enhance it for them.
6. Stop with the Meeting Madness
Like we said earlier, meetings have to go virtual. According to studies, U.S. companies alone lose over $35 billion on meetings annually. Employees in those companies spend around 37 percent of their time in meetings. Think about your company and whether you need to cut down on the discussions. It could not only enhance your employees’ efficiency; it could also save you a lot of money and time. Only go for a face-to-face meeting when you have exhausted all the other options.
7. Find Ways to Automate
Did you know that multitasking damages an employee’s productivity? They tend to lose around 40 percent of their productivity when they try to switch between various tasks. It is again a problem that technology can help you with effectively. All you need to do is automate your repetitive and mundane tasks. You will enable your employees to focus on fewer assignments at a time and increase their efficiency. Some of the things that you can automate are social media campaigns, email campaigns, and lead generation, among others.
Conclusion
There’s a lot to enhance your employees’ efficiency in the workplace. It includes creating a safe and happy environment for them, using technology, and decreasing any distractions that can hamper their work. The points mentioned above will help you deal with the workplace problems and ensure that all your employees are giving you their one hundred percent.
