If you’re someone who wants to get things done, you know the power of workplace efficiency. Unfortunately, most companies struggle with keeping things moving forward.
Some of the things that you think help actually hurt, like open offices. You might think that being able to collaborate quickly and easily would improve performance, but an open office layout creates a 15% reduction in productivity and makes workers miserable.
What can you do to improve workplace efficiency? Here are a few tips to try.
Improve Employee Engagement
Having employees that are indifferent to your organization hurts productivity. 85% of employees are not engaged at work, costing companies $7 trillion.
Boosting employee engagement is not as simple as buying everyone pizza for lunch or coming up with corny bonding activities. It’s a matter of listening to your employees and finding out what really matters to them.
Often, they are aching for process improvements, not pizza. They want their opinions to matter, not to share their favourite colours.
Find out what your employees truly want and make it happen. Show that your employees are important and that their work has a purpose, and you’ll be amazed at how much efficiency improves.
Help Employees Develop Their Careers
Another way to boost employee engagement and effectiveness is to help them move forward in their careers. Provide a variety of training that gives employees confidence in their work and helps prepare them for the next position.
Many companies provide training to new hires, including workplace behavior training, but after that, there’s not much to choose from. Be different.
As a company, invest in your employees and their ability to grow and move forward. When you do, productivity and efficiency will skyrocket.
Communicate Well
Sometimes the problem with efficiency isn’t the employees; it’s the bosses! If you aren’t a great communicator, it’s time to work on this key leadership skill.
Being able to be clear and concise, as well as compassionate and motivating, is essential for any business leader. Maybe you need to work on your written communication — which is especially vital in this time of increased remote work. Or, maybe your speaking skills need polishing.
Either way, being a better communicator will help you be clear about your expectations. You’ll make fewer assumptions, which will help everyone understand you better. Best of all, great communication helps build rapport with your staff.
Being a great communicator is an essential part of leadership, and the better you communicate, the more efficient your team will be.
Improve Workplace Efficiency Today!
Getting the most out of your employees is complex — after all, their people, not robots. But it comes down to paying attention to what employees are truly looking for, helping them grow, and making expectations clear.
When you can communicate with compassion and clarity, you’ll build strong relationships with your employees. This will help everyone work together better and do great things.
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