Do you often see your employees dozing off at their desks and failing to complete their daily tasks before they are due? Do you catch them staring off into space or walking around the office like zombies without doing their work?
If you are one of those employers who are worried that your office is becoming too post-zombie apocalyptic, these tips will help you breathe back some life into your employees and get them super excited to work again!
Be an exemplary employer
It’s not fair to expect your employees to be enthusiastic about working if you yourself are not so. If you want to get your employees excited, you need to show them you are too. And the best way you can encourage them to work efficiently by doing it yourself.
Manage your tasks properly and finish them in time. Don’t keep tasks hanging because they will be your feedback.
And if the company has a flexible attendance policy, make sure to match your attendance too. You may be working hard from home but your employees don’t see that. Seeing you working regular hours and being productive with your work will definitely motivate your employees.
And it’s not just about attendance as well. Positivity and productivity are two traits that tend to rub off on other people. If all you do is criticize or talk about the companies losses then you’re unlikely to find motivated employees.
Help out in any way you can
Don’t be one of those employers who are God-like and unapproachable by employees working under them. You should offer them your help whenever it is required; not only with work but also with their personal lives if it is appropriate.
This will help you build a strong bond with your employees and make sure that they do their work right. If you’re the owner you need to communicate this message to your manager too. The number one reason why employees leave jobs is a troubled relationship with their immediate manager. So educating your managers bodes well for your business.
Be aware of their needs and try to address them as best as possible. If someone needs training to be efficient at work then make sure to arrange them in time. If there’s a dispute between employees make sure to resolve them in a fair manner. If you look for it then there are hundreds of things you can do to help your fellow employees.
Make your employees feel valued
Praise and appreciate your employees when they deserve it. Nothing encourages an employee to embrace their work and be productive at the office more than a warm thankful smile and a thumbs-up from his or her employer.
When they do a good job, you should appreciate them and commend them. In no time, you would find other employees also doing their best, especially because they know that they would get appreciated by you.
However appreciation alone won’t make the employee feel valued. Make sure to compensate him or her according to her work and expertise. It’s a bit tough to be transparent with things like salaries but you should try to make sure that it’s fair for everyone in the company.
Set realistic deadlines
Strict deadlines would only stress your employees out and actually decrease their productivity. How can they concentrate on getting their work done when they are too worried about not being able to finish their work on time?
So it is better to set self-imposed deadlines. This will allow the employees to set their own due dates, which will make them feel obligated to finish their tasks before the deadlines they set themselves. Of course, things need to be monitored so employees don’t take advantage of this, but empowering your employees is usually better than setting them yourselves.
Embrace Visualization
‘A picture is worth a thousand words’; what is more productive than being able to express a complex idea in one single picture? Using visual means such as diagrams, charts, graphs, videos or images will contribute to reducing the tiresome hours you and your employees spend trying to explain, examine or evaluate strategies or ideas to or with each other.
For example, your employees can use mind maps, which are a powerful graphic technique, when they are trying to come up with new strategies, doing research, brainstorming or even as a personal task manager. An organizational chart is better than listing names, designations and departments. Depending on your organization there can be thousands of scenarios which can be improved with visualization and visual collaboration.
Offer flexibility
Research shows that offering flexibility is a surefire way to boost employee productivity as well as their engagement and motivation. Being a little bit lenient or offering flexibility with their schedules will lead to happier and more productive employees.
Moreover, your employees won’t come to work annoyed and frustrated because they were stuck in traffic. On the other hand, with flextime they get to come to the office at a convenient time and they would show their gratefulness by doing their share of work to reach the company’s goals successfully.
However, set ground rules too, because some employees might try to exploit the privileges that are given to them. Even if you completely trust your employees it’s advisable to use time tracking software because it has many other benefits like time saving, automation and transparency.
Create a productive work environment
The work environment plays a major part in maximizing employees’ productivity. While it is important to supply the employees with the correct materials and especially the right technological tools, it is equally necessary to make sure that the physical layout of the office is comfortable and pleasant.
While at that, allow the employees to personalize their workspace too; the more they feel at home and comfortable, the more they will be motivated to work efficiently.
These tips will help you get your employees to wake up from their slumber and get right to work. They will not only be more productive but also motivated, happy and devoted.
Images: ” Business and management concept – Employee Productivity /Shutterstock.com“
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