The higher the productivity in the workplace, the more likely your business is to be successful. Fortunately, if you feel that your company’s productivity could do with a boost, there are some simple changes that can be made which will have an almost immediate positive effect.
Working Environment
It cannot be overstressed how important the working environment is to productivity. The working space needs to be clean, organized, and have all the necessary resources easily accessible. The temperature also needs to be well modulated so that it is at a comfortable level, summer and winter. MacNair offers a variety of office case studies on their website and these demonstrate how important heating and air conditioning are kept a workplace running comfortably, and therefore efficiently, year-round.
Business Travel
When employees are traveling for business it is important that they feel valued as they are then much more likely to do a better job. It is understandable that companies need to make savings on flights and therefore employees may have to travel early in the morning, late at night or at weekends. However, if this is the case always give them adequate time off to recover before they return to work.
Hotels are not always the easiest places to stay when you are traveling on business as they are often cramped and don’t have the necessary resources, such as high-speed broadband. A more comfortable, spacious option is to book your employees into serviced apartments whilst they are away. The apartments offered by Signet are a good example as they offer many home comforts, including high definition TVs, broadband, and free parking. Serviced apartments also offer additional space for client meetings, in a much more welcoming environment.
Resources
All employees require easy access to the equipment they need to carry out their role. One key area which needs updating regularly is computer technology, particularly if your staff have to run memory heavy applications. It is surprising how much time can be wasted while employees wait for programs to load or wait for equipment to be fixed by the IT department. Keeping current with technology means less time is lost to downtime.
Recognition and Reward
Staff will be more highly engaged and therefore more productive if they feel that they are valued. It is important therefore to reward them adequately in terms of their remuneration and benefits. However, salary is not the only driving force. Everyone feels motivated by being recognized for the quality of their work whether that is through a simple thank you or via a company awards scheme. If the company goes a step further and finds a balance between publicly recognizing both individuals and teams, it will go a long way towards increasing staff morale.
Culture
Naturally, if people enjoy coming to work they are going to perform better. Research by the Harvard Business Review found that employees reported higher levels of satisfaction if they felt they worked in a caring culture. When employees feel supported, they work better within teams and they are likely to be more engaged with the core aims of the business.
The bottom line is that if employees are engaged with the brand they are employed by, they will work more productively. High levels of productivity lead to pride on the part of the employee, a pride both in their own workplace achievements and in the achievements of the company as a whole.
Increasing productivity in the workplace entails some very simple steps. Above all else, employees need to feel valued. Companies can demonstrate the value they place upon their staff by the environment they provide, the resources they supply, and how they publicly and privately recognize the triumphs of their staff. Increased productivity leads to increased success for the company and it is hugely motivating if the employees reap some of the rewards of this.
