Solid productivity is important to businesses of all sizes. If your enterprise isn’t making the most of its time, manpower and resources, there’s a good chance you’re failing to reach your full potential. Although fledgling business owners are liable to regard tackling productivity issues as an uphill battle, increasing your team’s productivity is much easier than you may think. Whether your small business is just getting its start or has been operational for years, chances are your team could stand to be more productive in certain areas. In the interest of maximizing productivity and setting the stage for long-term success, put the following pointers to good use.
Allow Employees to Set Their Own Schedules
For some business owners, the very idea of allowing employees to set their own schedules is absurd. To these individuals, reporting to an office at 8:00 or 9:00 AM and remaining there for at least eight hours is an essential part of the work experience. However, just because something is ingrained doesn’t mean it’s right, and provided all deadlines are met, your team members should be given more control over their individual schedules. People with children, family obligations and complicated personal situations often have trouble conforming to the needlessly rigid schedules imposed upon them by employers. Not only do such schedules make living a life outside of the office difficult, they aren’t exactly conducive to productivity, either.
In fairness, some employees require more structure than others. While a fair number of people are more productive when allowed to set their own schedules, others have trouble operating outside the confines of the traditional workday. That being the case, you needn’t force team members who prefer the old ways to adjust, but you should offer increased schedule flexibility to anyone who’s interested. Again, as long as deadlines are being met and work is being completed at an even clip, there’s no harm in allowing employees to break away from the nine-to-five workday.
Be Open to Telecommuting
In addition to allowing your team members to dictate their respective work schedules, you should also offer flexibility with regard to where they do their work. Although many business owners were once vehemently opposed to remote work, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many of them to change their tune. As they quickly discovered in the early days of said pandemic, most desk jobs don’t require a regular physical presence in a formal workplace. As such, any business owners considering doing away with work-from-home permissions when the pandemic finally comes to an end would be wise to think twice.
Research has shown that working from home is linked to an increase in productivity. Furthermore, being able to perform one’s job duties from the comfort and safety of home can take a lot of the stress out of working. As long as quality of work doesn’t suffer, there’s no reason to require employees to report to the office on a daily basis.
Provide Sufficient Incentive
If you expect your staff to regularly go above and beyond the call of duty, you’d do well to provide them with some incentive. For example, if your crew is working against a tight deadline or coming up on the completion of a big project, promising them a reward for their efforts stands to reenergize them and positively impact their output. Additionally, rewards can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Paid time off, small bonuses and fun-filled office get-togethers are all common examples.
Utilize Business Intelligence Solutions
Utilizing high-quality business intelligence solutions can be a great way to accurately assess your team’s current levels of productivity. Such solutions can also help you identify your crew’s core strengths, as well as areas in which they could stand to improve.
A productive workplace is a prosperous workplace. The more productivity your staff displays, the better-equipped they’ll be to tackle new challenges and win over discerning clients. On the flipside, small businesses that are plagued by persistent productivity issues often have a hard time completing jobs on time and on budget and maintaining steady client bases. Fortunately, ensuring that your enterprise doesn’t fall into the latter category doesn’t have to be an arduous undertaking. With the help of the tips discussed above, you’ll be able to heighten productivity, energize your staff and impress both new and existing clients.