When a small business is able to take on employees, it shows that there is growth happening. It shows that the business owner is no longer able to do everything by themselves, and that there is enough work for a full-time member of staff to do, rather than outsourcing to a freelancer on an ad hoc basis.
However, although it is a momentous event when you start to hire people to work for you, it also comes with some important points to remember, one of the most important being that you must ensure your employees are productive. Non-productive employees can do your business more harm than if you had none at all, and you will be paying them for effectively doing very little, or even nothing at all.
Just how can an employee keep their staff productive at all times? It’s not as hard as it may seem, and although it can be a challenge at times, there are some useful tips that will help you get it done.
- Set Goals
If your employees have no structure and no goals to work towards, then they will find it much harder to be productive. They will spend a lot of time wondering what they are meant to be doing, and even if they do take the initiative to move forward and do something on their own merit, they will wonder whether it is the right thing to do. More than this, though, not being given goals and targets will make them wonder just how interested their employer really is in the business. They may feel that if the boss isn’t interested then they shouldn’t be either; and this, again, will make them less productive.
It’s important not to micro-manage your staff because this will make them uneasy and they may be too concerned with you checking on everything they do to do it well. However, giving them goals to meet and ensuring that these goals are met (but letting your employees work in whichever way they need to get there) will keep them working hard and make them more productive in the long term.
- Delegate
As a boss it is essential that you delegate tasks to employees. If you try to do everything yourself, you will become exhausted, and your staff will believe that you don’t trust them to do the work that you are essentially paying them for. This will mean that they don’t feel valued in the company, and they won’t work as hard as you would want them to when they are given tasks to do.
Make sure that you delegate tasks when you can, and productivity will go up. Firstly, you will be giving your employees work to do, and if they are working, they are being productive to a certain degree. Secondly, you are showing that you have faith that they can carry out certain tasks, and this will make them want to show you that your faith is well founded. They will work harder and do more because they want you to know they can do the job at hand. Even if they don’t know how to do the work initially, delegation will give them the skills they need to learn all about it, and be more proficient and productive in the future.
- Reduce Distractions
Distractions within the workplace will always make things a lot more difficult for employees and will reduce their productivity levels. Social media, for example, can be a huge distraction, yet it would be impractical to ban phones within the office because they might be needed for the work. Plus, even if they are not, banning someone from using their phones all day can reduce productivity because the employee will not necessarily be happy about the rule. This is where you can implement rules that offer a compromise; phones should be switched off when working, but give employees more breaks so that they can check their messages and social media on a regular basis, for example. This means that if they are at their desk, they are going to be working, rather than constantly becoming distracted by their phones.
- Have the Right Tools
If you have not provided the correct tools and equipment it is going to be impossible for an employee to be as productive as they need to be; they simply won’t be able to get the job done. There is nothing more counterproductive than an employee who has to wait to obtain the right equipment, or who has equipment that is just not up to the job. Everything takes a lot longer, and frustration will set in.
As an employer, it is essential that you look at your employees’ needs and ensure that everything is in place to allow them to do their job. Without the right tools, workers will certainly be looking for a job in a company that helps them rather than hinders them.
- Look at Predictive Analytics
If you can successfully use predictive analytics within your company, you will be able to provide your employees with much more information so that they can do their job in the right way. The more information they have, they better they will be able to work. This kind of analysis looks at current trends as well as historical data to predict what is going to happen in a variety of different areas in the future. This can mean that you can provide the right goals, equipment, and training to ensure that your employees are ready for what is about to happen. If they are ready, they will immediately be able to be more productive. Predictive analytics are already being used widely in a number of sectors including the energy and utilities areas and you can read more here about how well that is working.
- Provide Good Conditions
Finally, no matter how well you pay someone or what you offer them in terms of the most up to date equipment and tools, if their workplace is uncomfortable to work in, they will be less productive than they otherwise could be. Simply by ensuring that all desks and chairs are ergonomic, that there is a separate kitchen or break room, that there is access to natural light, and that there are personal possessions (to an extent) allowed on desks, you can create a more comfortable, productive workplace for everyone.
