Many bosses know the dangers of a disengaged team. But did you know that disengaged teams also have a higher frequency of mistakes or errors, higher absenteeism rates and generally drive less profit?
And what’s more: just one disengaged employee will cost your business about $17,000 annually. That’s a high price tag for boredom.
Working to increase productivity and engagement on your team can help boost your profits while also improving your company culture. More than just driving your business, good managers should also want to encourage productivity and engagement because it will make your office a more friendly and welcoming place to work.
But where should you begin if you notice your employees are starting to look like zombies walking around the office? Let’s examine some ways managers can focus on productivity in their workplaces.
1. Be Flexible
Remote work or flex hours is a sought after benefit, especially among millennial workers. Allowing employees to work on a hybrid schedule will make them feel like you trust them, but also allow them to work when they are able to be most focused and engaged.
Say one of your employees struggles to be in the office by 8 a.m., and therefore spends the first two hours of each workday trying to wake up and get ready for the day. That’s two wasted hours. If you instead allowed your team to arrive to work anytime between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., your employee could arrive right when they’ll be most productive and work throughout the whole day.
2. Set More Goals
Hitting goals can make your team feel good and motivated to keep going. So when you’re goal-setting, you should focus on goals that are both short- and long-term, so employees will hit goals more often and be able to celebrate their wins.
And remember, goals should follow the S.M.A.R.T. framework. This means that goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-sensitive. Creating direct, actionable goals that will actually benefit your organization and are realistic for the given time frame is essential to creating and hitting goals.
3. Assign Tasks According to Team Strengths
Pay attention to where your team is the most successful. When hanging out tasks or breaking down a project, play to your team’s strengths. When someone isn’t sure what they’re doing, they may get frustrated and find themselves unable to complete the tasks they are given in a timely or adequate manner.
By making sure that your team members are assigned tasks that they will complete well, you can not only keep your team happier during the project life cycle but you can also make sure the work handed in is high quality and ready to go.
4. Practice Gratitude
A simple “thank you” goes a long way — especially at work. 81% of employees said they’re more willing to work hard when they receive thanks for their work. That’s no insignificant number.
There are many ways to practice gratitude in your office. You can stop by your employee’s desk and give them a personal thanks, send an email to the company highlighting your employee’s good work or create a Slack channel where your team can discuss big wins and shout out employees for doing good work.
The goal with gratitude is to make employees feel recognized for a specific task or action. So instead of a general thanks, be specific about the good thing the employee did and make them feel appreciated for it.
For more information on how to up team productivity in the workplace, check out the following infographic from globalization partner Velocity Global.
