If you’re like any business owner, you constantly look for ways to increase productivity in the workplace. You want to get more done, motivate employees to work faster, and serve more customers.
You can’t simply demand workplace productivity. You need to find ways to promote it.Luckily, there are many simple things you can do to boost productivity. And best of all, increasing productivity in the workplace takes little time or money.
Increase productivity in the workplace
Here are eight things you can do to increase workplace productivity.
1. Take breaks
Taking breaks throughout the day is important. Breaks let you rest and relax. Brief downtime allows your brain to renew its creativity.
Short breaks also give you time to deal with outside-of-work distractions. Taking time to reduce distractions lets you better focus on your work.
Federal laws do not require you to give rest breaks to employees. However, employees might benefit from breaks lasting five to 20 minutes. If you do give rest breaks to employees, you must include that time in the total time employees work. Keep in mind, some states might require you to provide your employees with breaks.
2. Stay organized
You probably already know that organization is key to a successful business. But, how organized are you?
You should organize every part of your business, from your inventory, to your filing cabinet, to your computer files, to your payroll software. While you know where something is now, will you remember where it is next week?
Disarray can cause you to lose time as you search for lost items. It is difficult to complete tasks when you or employees don’t know where the necessary tools are located.
3. Delegate tasks
Do not be afraid to delegate tasks. If you or an employee has a mountain of work to do, ask other employees to lighten the load. When employees help pick up the work of others, more tasks are completed faster.
4. Make goals
You should regularly set goals for your business. Improving productivity in the workplace is easier when you create actionable steps to meet your goals.
Examples of goals you might make include:
- Increase revenue this quarter by X%.
- Reach out to X potential customers this week.
- Get X new social media followers this month.
When making goals, consider your business’s most important KPIs. You should be able to measure your goals so you know if you meet them. Once you create your goals, think of things you can do to meet the goals.
5. Don’t multitask
Doing multiple things at once sounds like a time-saver. But, you actually waste time by multitasking.
Multitasking requires you to refocus your attention between your tasks constantly. Reduced focus on tasks can result in mistakes and longer completion times.
Focusing on one task at a time can help you and employees produce better results. And, better results can lead to happier customers.
6. Set deadlines
Deadlines let people know when they need to do things. Deadlines might motivate people to work faster and to complete their tasks on time.
According to productivity expert Cathy Sexton, “Nothing will hurt your reputation more with your clients and prospective clients than missing a deadline. Missed deadlines demonstrate a lack of professionalism and yes, a lack of organization. Missed deadlines can also seriously hamper cash flow … the life-blood of your business.”
Deadlines are vital. You want to complete tasks for customers on time to keep them happy. And there are other tasks, like administrative tasks, that you need to complete to keep the business running.
7. Create a home-like atmosphere
Consider making your workplace feel like home. You and your employees spend a lot of your lives at work. The goal of making your workplace homey is to create a relaxing atmosphere for employees. Ideally, relaxed and happy employees will do better work.
Ways to make your business feel like home include incorporating:
- Plants
- Pictures
- Natural light or pleasing overhead lighting
Unless you already have home decorating items available to you, this will probably cost some money.
8. Get feedback
If you want to increase employee productivity, ask employees what would help them become more productive. Employees should know what does and doesn’t work for them. Also, employees might have ideas you would never think of to increase productivity in the workplace.
These views are made solely by the author.
