Productive employees are the lifeblood of any company. The more efficient a member of staff is, the greater the impact they have on your business.

Unfortunately, productivity isn’t an infinite resource. It only exists when employees are in the right mindset and feel motivated to work. There are certain things they can do to generate their own productivity, but if you want more out of your staff, it’s up to you to inspire them.

Plenty of business owners don’t realise just how much of an impact they have on employee productivity. By applying these strategies, though, you’ll see a notable difference in how your workers perform.

Find A Work/Play Balance

An employee who spends half of the workday scrolling through social media is one whose presence will only hinder your business. However, that doesn’t mean you should ban these sites or phone use in the office. Instead, you should find ways to strike a balance between working hard and taking breaks. People can only focus for so long, and if you try to enforce strict rules, you risk making employees bored and unmotivated.

Encouraging staff to take 15-minute breaks for every hour of work could do wonders for their productivity, according to one study. You might think that doing this will waste time, but it’s actually the opposite. If you have regular designated breaks, employees are more likely to be engaged outside of that time off. Conversely, if you force them to work continuously throughout the day, they’re bound to spend more time sitting around doing nothing.

Try Positive Reinforcement

No employee can be productive if they don’t know that what they’re doing is right or wrong. Someone could do double the amount of work as the rest of their colleagues, but if it’s not correct, then it’s of no use to you.

The best way to ensure that staff understand their tasks and complete them efficiently is to provide relevant feedback. Get into the habit of praising them regularly or offering constructive feedback where necessary. Always keep it positive, even when you have something negative to say because it will motivate them to do better. You might think that scaring your employees into working harder will be more effective, but this will only help in the short term at best.

Create An Organised Space

For employees to give a job their all, they have to be comfortable. That can be hard to achieve in an office, which is why so many people advocate for remote working. However, there are ways that you can make the workplace more suitable for people’s needs.

As well as providing comfortable seating, efficient technology, and entertainment options for breaks, you can also ensure that the office is clean. This is even more important in light of the pandemic, which has put a lot of employees on edge in regards to workplace cleanliness. They can’t be productive if they’re stressed about getting ill at work. So, it’s your job to put their minds at ease by hiring someone to deal with the office cleaning.

In Perth, you won’t get a more thorough job than with Nexus Kleen. They’ll disinfect your office every week and ensure that no fear of contamination will affect employee productivity. They’ll even do it at a discount because they know that no other service can compare to theirs.

Work With Their Needs

Employee satisfaction often dictates whether or not someone intends on staying with a company for a few months or a few decades. The happier a person is, the likelier they are to stick around and work harder at their job. It’s the best incentive that anyone can ask for.

If you’re unsure how to keep your employees satisfied, that’s probably because no two people necessarily want the same thing. One person might be happier if they can work different hours. Another might prefer to spend more time working from home. Someone else might wish for better pay. It’s essential to identify what each person’s needs are and see how you can meet them.

Obviously, you still need to work within your means. You can’t just give an employee $10,000 because it’s what they want. However, you can suggest an annual pay rise if they meet specific goals.

Delegate Responsibility

When employees feel like they’re trusted at work, they tend to put more effort into what they do. They know they have a reputation to uphold, and they don’t want to disappoint when they’re given extra responsibilities.

That’s something that’s worth keeping in mind when you have a lot on your plate. You can’t handle everything, nor should you have to. Your employees are there to help you make the business thrive, so lean on them when you need to. By delegating tasks to the people that you trust, you not only lessen the burden on yourself, but you also give them a reason to be productive. If you’re uncertain about how to delegate your tasks effectively, these strategies should help.

You can’t expect employees to always be efficient if you never give them a reason to be. These suggestions ought to help nudge them in the right direction so that their productivity increases and your profits rise with it.