{"id":10248,"date":"2017-05-15T06:25:15","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T13:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.com\/blog\/?p=10248"},"modified":"2017-04-16T16:56:50","modified_gmt":"2017-04-16T23:56:50","slug":"7-ways-increase-employee-productivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0<\/strong>This is a guest post by Lucy Benton &#8211; Chief Editor at Admission Service. Her opinions are her own.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The productivity of any company is almost always directly proportional to the performance of its employees. A successful organization will always go through challenging times, and those are the moments when employees matter the most.<\/p>\n<p>Employee productivity is a quite complex concept. It can be gained through various strategies and methods and can be transmitted through efficient means of communication.<\/p>\n<p>Your job as a business leader is to create a suitable environment in which your employees can thrive. This requires a lot of involvement from your side, so never expect it to be easy.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"1-understand-your-employees-stress-levels\">1. Understand your employees\u2019\u00a0stress levels<\/h2>\n<p>When you own or run a company, you need to think differently. An employee is a human being, just like you. He or she will often tend to react emotionally instead of rationally whenever put under\u00a0stress.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some common symptoms that your employees consciously or\u00a0unconsciously might display when under stress:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lack of productivity or sudden decrease in productivity;<\/li>\n<li>Showing up late or leaving early;<\/li>\n<li>Body language demonstrating\u00a0frustration or boredom;<\/li>\n<li>A decline in their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/health-impacts-productivity-infographic\/\" target=\"_blank\">health condition<\/a> \u2013 a big productivity killer;<\/li>\n<li>No enthusiasm or smiles on their faces; or<\/li>\n<li>A tendency to isolate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"2-initiate-private-discussions\">2. Initiate private discussions<\/h2>\n<p>One of the most efficient ways to develop strong connections with your employees and to help them stay productive is to talk to them personally. A private discussion will always be more efficient than a group discussion, as you can directly focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/6-types-of-employees-and-how-to-motivate-them\/\" target=\"_blank\">the person who you\u2019re talking to<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>During these private discussions, you need to focus on their problems and be a good listener. Try to understand what might be\u00a0burning out your employees. Once you know the causes, you can figure out and communicate the solutions in a very tailored manner.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, by taking the time to personally talk to each of your employees, you\u2019re most likely to win more of their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-to-avoid-being-a-trust-buster\/\" target=\"_blank\">trust<\/a>. You\u2019ll be surprised to see how much of an impact a 1-to-1 discussion can make over the productivity levels of your employees.<\/p>\n<p>John Clark, an Executive Manager at Best Essays\u00a0writes,\u00a0\u201cAn employee is often just like a child; he needs to be continuously motivated and inspired. His mindset might lack many positive qualities the moment he joins your team. It lies in your own hands to develop that employee\u2019s mindset, attitude, and motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"3-hold-team-meetings\">3. Hold team meetings<\/h2>\n<p>Staff meetings are not necessarily always a good choice. I say so because it\u2019s very critical to schedule those meetings at a time that is right for everyone. The frequency of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/5-reasons-why-you-should-eliminate-chairs-from-team-meetings\/\" target=\"_blank\">these meetings<\/a> should be bi-weekly, or at least monthly. You should schedule meetings whenever you feel that they\u2019re needed. The scope of these meetings is to enhance the communication between employees and to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/reenergise-your-team-in-2017\/\" target=\"_blank\">reenergize the atmosphere<\/a> in the workplace.<\/p>\n<p>Where possible, you should create a mood and an environment in which your employees can feel free to express their frustrations or concerns. These remarks need to be encouraged, as it\u2019s the only way to figure out the solutions and improve productivity.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"4-give-feedback-and-praise\">4. Give feedback and praise<\/h2>\n<p>Feedback is a critical process that\u2019s productive for every person, and especially for your employees. If no one recognises\u00a0their efforts, they\u2019ll feel like their job has no meaning.\u00a0They first need a purpose, a goal, a scope\u2026 and then, they need <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-give-constructive-feedback-to-employees\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback on their progress<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A good leader always makes sure that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/how-to-avoid-the-feedback-sandwich-when-evaluating-staff\/\" target=\"_blank\">constructive feedback<\/a> is given on a consistent basis. I mentioned constructive because feedback can also damage a person\u2019s confidence and motivation.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"5-clarify-the-job-requirements-and-expectations\">5. Clarify the job requirements and expectations<\/h2>\n<p>If they\u2019re not clear about\u00a0what they have to do, they\u2019ll do it wrong. This is a common mistake that lots and lots of companies make. Leaders don\u2019t do well enough in explaining and clarifying their expectations. The employees must be always aware of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/do-your-employees-suck-check-your-job-descriptions\/\" target=\"_blank\">their responsibilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d suggest holding a special\u00a0one-to-one meeting with each of your employees. Ask them what they believe is expected of them. Then, ask them whether they need any clarification regarding matters that they\u00a0may not have understood.<\/p>\n<p>As previously mentioned, they\u2019ll be happy that you took the time to think of them on a personal level. They matter, and they need to understand that they matter to you a lot.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"6-find-out-what-motivates-your-employees\">6. Find out what motivates your employees<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-to-motivate-new-employees\/\" target=\"_blank\">Motivation<\/a> is such a complex concept. It varies from person to person, and it has so many variations. Some people\u2019s brains might work in one way, while other\u2019s work in a completely different way. What you need to figure out is what the collective environment needs and wants.<\/p>\n<p>You need to get to know your employees on a personal level. That\u2019s the first thing. Secondly, after you have a better understanding around\u00a0what might motivate them, try to spot the patterns. You might have interviewed 5 employees \u2013 what are the things that you can change that will make an impact on all 5 employees?<\/p>\n<p>This is what you need to figure out. Start testing whether your motivation ways work or not, and optimize as the time goes by. This is a great solution to preventing burnout.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"7-use-the-80-20-rule\">7. Use the 80\/20 rule<\/h2>\n<p>If you notice that your employees are less and less productive, don\u2019t judge directly \u2013 it might not even be their fault! Some bosses forget to analyze their own performance. So, whenever they make\u00a0mistakes, they often believe that it&#8217;s their employees&#8217; fault.<\/p>\n<p>In order to successfully re-assess your company\u2019s roadmap and objectives, take the time to analyze each of the tasks assigned to your employees. Are they truly relevant to the purpose of the company? Are those tasks urgent and irreplaceable?<\/p>\n<p>Use the 80\/20 rule, a principle which proves to be extremely efficient for entrepreneurs, managers, and CEOs. Using the principle\u2019s guidelines, figure out whether your employees are working on the right tasks or not. If they\u2019re not, start to eliminate them and give them less stress and worries.<\/p>\n<p>If you want your company to thrive, you can never neglect the condition of your employees. You\u2019re the person that they count on; you\u2019re the person who puts bread on their table; and you\u2019re the person who helps them get\u00a0through difficult times.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget that these productivity changes don\u2019t happen overnight. You\u2019ll have to be patient, involved, and consistent with your efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Employee productivity is a quite complex concept. Your job as a business leader is to create a suitable environment in which your employees are most productive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":291,"featured_media":10250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,15,30],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Employee productivity is a quite complex concept. Your job is to create a suitable environment in which your employees are most productive.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Employee productivity is a quite complex concept. Your job is to create a suitable environment in which your employees are most productive.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zippia For Employers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-15T13:25:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-16T23:56:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/32854482856_489bab0fb1_b_employees.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lilly Chesser\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lilly Chesser\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/\",\"name\":\"7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-15T13:25:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-16T23:56:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/ec205dc7623c91ff57240f5ed7d86655\"},\"description\":\"Employee productivity is a quite complex concept. Your job is to create a suitable environment in which your employees are most productive.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\",\"name\":\"Zippia For Employers\",\"description\":\"How to find the best employees.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/ec205dc7623c91ff57240f5ed7d86655\",\"name\":\"Lilly Chesser\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2fa06626e10f5900df9a6d3393023107?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2fa06626e10f5900df9a6d3393023107?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lilly Chesser\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/author\/lchesser\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity","description":"Employee productivity is a quite complex concept. Your job is to create a suitable environment in which your employees are most productive.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity","og_description":"Employee productivity is a quite complex concept. Your job is to create a suitable environment in which your employees are most productive.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/","og_site_name":"Zippia For Employers","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/","article_published_time":"2017-05-15T13:25:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-04-16T23:56:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/32854482856_489bab0fb1_b_employees.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lilly Chesser","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ZippiaInc","twitter_site":"@ZippiaInc","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lilly Chesser","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/","name":"7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-05-15T13:25:15+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-16T23:56:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/ec205dc7623c91ff57240f5ed7d86655"},"description":"Employee productivity is a quite complex concept. Your job is to create a suitable environment in which your employees are most productive.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-ways-increase-employee-productivity\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"7 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/","name":"Zippia For Employers","description":"How to find the best employees.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/ec205dc7623c91ff57240f5ed7d86655","name":"Lilly Chesser","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2fa06626e10f5900df9a6d3393023107?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2fa06626e10f5900df9a6d3393023107?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lilly Chesser"},"url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/author\/lchesser\/"}]}},"articleguide":"","showTableContent":"","showFeaturedImage":"","pageCategoryL2":"","authorsExperts":"","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/32854482856_489bab0fb1_b_employees.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10248"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}