If productivity is lagging among your employees, it’s often a sign of a bigger problem: an unhealthy company culture. Disengaged employees drag the company down, while engaged employees are more productive and show up to work more often too. Yet, according to a Gallup poll, only about one-third of employees in the U.S. workforce feel engaged.
You can help change that by implementing all sorts of employee engagement activities. It’s likely to make workers feel more valued and ultimately, more productive.
Stop Micromanaging
If you’re a micromanager, or if you have a micromanager working for you, you should know that one of the most effective ways to increase productivity is to halt that habit. Instead, encourage employees to take ownership of how they manage their own time.
The best workers are self-starters who can operate independently. When you give the freedom over where, when and how they work, such as offering flexible hours and the opportunity to work remotely at least part of the time, it’s proof of their good work ethic. When you micromanage, oftentimes it results in resentment and limited productivity.
Foster a Positive Company Culture
A positive company culture is a company that listens to its employees, offers constructive feedback, provides workers with challenges and opportunities for growth, and establishes clear parameters for success.
Recognize and Reward Employee Contributions
If employees aren’t being recognized or rewarded for their hard work, eventually, their productivity will decline, and they’ll probably start looking for a job elsewhere. Companies that have a rich-recognition culture tend to have reduced turnover, with organizations that scored in the top 20% of this category, according to Forbes.com, experiencing 31% lower voluntary turnover rates.
Rewarding achievements by giving those hard workers with online gift cards, tickets to a game, an extra vacation day or some other type of incentive is a great way to improve productivity. Additionally, you can give your most outstanding employees special gifts, such as the watches you can find on https://www.thewatchcompany.com/, during employee gatherings as a way to celebrate their hard work and motivate others as well.
Offer Perks to Boost Morale
You don’t have to go as far as Google with its nap pods and massage rooms when it comes to office perks for boosting morale. Even small things can make a difference, such as discounts on movie tickets or ski passes, subsidized gym memberships and the like.
Don’t Forget to Have Fun
While employees are obviously there to do a job, it doesn’t have to be all serious all the time. Don’t forget to have fun occasionally as happy employees are more productive employees. Host theme days once a week like Hawaiian shirt day, have potlucks, take stretch breaks together, or even bring a dog to the office. Research has shown that it can actually increase productivity and reduce stress as well as encourage more communication between employees.
