When running a business, one of your main goals should be to create a comfortable environment for your employees. Why? Well, because it is one of the best ways to increase their productivity, and therefore, grow your company.
If your employees are happy, meaning that they don’t dread going into the office every day, they will be motivated to put in their best work and complete all the tasks quickly and efficiently. A great working environment is one of the best incentives you can give them, and in the following text, we will tell you how to achieve that.
1. Eliminate distractions
When it comes to completely omitting distractions from a workplace, it can prove to be challenging. You can try numerous methods, but still, people will check their phones or chat among themselves. Naturally, having a no-phone policy isn’t an option, but you should still encourage people not to use them very often. You can offer them frequent breaks during which they can check in with their family or scroll through news and social media platforms.
One more thing – phones and chatty colleagues aren’t the only challenges. If you schedule meetings every day, you are seriously endangering employees’ productivity. Let us put it this way. If they have to attend a meeting or two every day, they will use the time before it to get prepared for it. It means that they won’t focus on other tasks, and therefore, they won’t complete many of them.
Instead, you should try a different strategy. Choose a day of the week when you will hold most of these appointments. Make a schedule, and stick to it. This way, people will have more than enough time to organize their work, prepare for each of these meetings, and at the same time, they will be able to focus on their core job entirely.
2. Encourage face-to-face collaboration
When trying to improve the conditions people work in, you cannot forget about the relationships they establish with others. It is crucial they feel comfortable with one another, and the only way to achieve this is to encourage them to get to know each other. Obviously, we are not saying that they have to be friends, but instead, you should try to get them to work together, in person.
Due to advancing technology, nowadays, people mostly rely on phone calls, virtual meetings, chat messages, and so on. In some cases, this is okay, but when dealing with some issues and trying to solve them, nothing can beat face-to-face contact. We aren’t even going to discuss in detail that oftentimes, it is easier to resolve a problem and come up with a solution when talking with colleagues for five minutes instead of texting for an hour.
3. Equip them with the best tools…
It goes without saying – if you want to increase the employees’ productivity, you have to provide them with the best tools available. We understand you have been using certain pieces of equipment for years, if not decades, so why should you change them when they can get the job done?
Well, the thing is that today, these tools aren’t just of higher quality, but they also include numerous additional features. It means that not only will you facilitate each task that has to be completed, but your employees will be able to do it in a shorter period of time. If they ordinarily need an hour to do something, with these tools, they would be able to do it in thirty minutes, which simultaneously means that you would boost the manufacturing process.
4. … and the knowledge
Every time you employ new people, it is your job to introduce them to work, everyday tasks, and projects they will be working on. The importance of the training program can greatly vary between industries and the fact if you are hiring people with or without previous experience.
Still, you have to provide them with some basic guidelines. Obviously, you can organize seminars and workshops where they will learn from your best managers and their future bosses. On the other hand, why not make this learning process interactive and fun. Nowadays, this is exactly what the latest pieces of technology enable you to do. You can implement digital signage, connect all the participants, and enable them to upload and share content easily. There are many benefits to this technology, and if you want to learn more about them, check this guide.
5. Set reachable goals
Surely, you have major goals in front of you, and so does every single one of your employees. Regardless of the fact how crucial these are, you have to ask yourself, are they reasonable? No, we are not saying that you should eliminate them, but instead try to understand whether they can be achieved in a certain period of time.
You may be putting too much on their plate. Of course, these achievements are important, but you have to remember that every time a person fails, it has a direct effect on their motivation, and at the same time, their productivity.
6. Delegate the job
If you want to get every task done quickly and efficiently, you have to learn how to delegate them smartly. Have a discussion with your managers or most experienced employees, and find a way how to assign each aspect of the work. You will not only increase workers’ motivation, but also their efficiency.
Doing this successfully may take some time. After all, people are always eager to learn and acquire new skills, but once they learn everything, they will understand the best way to get everything done. We are not even going to mention the sense of achievement they will get every time they manage to meet the deadline.
7. Boost overall conditions
Finally, you have to make sure that your office building meets all the requirements. However trivial these may seem, they are still crucial. For example, the room temperature has to be optimal because no one can focus on their work if they are too hot or cold. Also, you need to have a break room, where employees can eat their lunch or grab a cup of coffee. Yes, these conditions should go without saying, but still, you would be surprised to learn how many companies do not provide them to their workers.
