Strategies for Increasing Productivity (Without Increasing Compensation)
Simple recognition of outstanding productivity is an excellent motivator. That's why so many companies have an employee-of-the-month program to recognize outstanding staff members. It may cost you a plaque and a nameplate, but such a program motivates the recognized employees and their co-workers, who also want to receive the award.
A good employee-suggestion program can additionally improve productivity. It is important that suggestions have the option to be submitted anonymously or with employee attribution. Some people will have ideas they are unsure about and would prefer not to be identified with them. But when a good idea comes with a name, it pays to recognize the person who submitted it. Rewards for good suggestions can take many forms, from gift cards to a percentage of the savings realized.
Simply setting higher standards of productivity can also motivate employees to meet them. It does not need to involve more pay but can remind staff that the company is in a competitive environment and needs to operate as efficiently as possible.
An excellent training program about how to use HR software also increases productivity. New hires are not the only ones who need training. Veteran employees may need refresher courses or advanced training to realize their full potential.
Another idea to consider is employee competition. Competitions between teams of employees can boost everyone's productivity, at least in the short term. Again, rewards such as an afternoon off for the winners can be inexpensive or even free. But competitions may inspire friction between teams, and their influence on productivity may last only as long as the competitions.
Sometimes employees' privileges need to be limited in order to increase productivity. Personal use of corporate IT resources, for instance, is a great time-waster in almost every organization. Studies have found that employees will spend up to a third of their days just surfing the Web, checking personal stock portfolios, playing games, and otherwise goofing off - if they are allowed to do so. Managers need to implement acceptable IT-use policies and software-filtering systems to block access to unauthorized Websites.
Desktop PCs should be audited to ensure that only work-related applications are installed. Users can also be prevented from installing their software through group-policy access-control restrictions. Internet access should be restricted to those who truly need it to do their jobs. Others may only need access to internal network email and the corporate intranet.
Change Starts at the Top
Management is responsible for rooting out wasted effort, too. Please review all of the business processes under your command to see where they can be streamlined. Brainstorming sessions with other managers can help you find ways in which productivity can be increased.
Sometimes an outsider's perspective can identify productivity enhancers overlooked by those who deal with the company daily. There are consultants for almost every industry and niche market out there. They can review your operations and recommend how to improve productivity.
Improve the Work Environment
Healthy employees are more productive employees. It may be necessary to review and upgrade your sick-leave policy to encourage employees to seek medical attention when they need it. An ill employee not only suffers lower productivity individually, but the illness may also affect others in the organization. Of course, a good health-benefits plan is essential. In-house wellness programs can help employees learn how to live healthier lifestyles. Recognition of employees who have gone several months without taking sick leave is another way to motivate staying healthy.
A flexible work environment is another key to enhancing productivity. Studies have shown that employees work harder when they perceive control over when and where they work.
Implement flextime to give employees more control over their working hours when possible. It is better to have someone come in late and work late than to arrive on time and worry about a sick child.
Telecommuting can additionally be a great productivity enhancer. Employees work without the stress of the daily commute and have the opportunity to take care of issues at home. The key to a successful telecommuting program is focusing on the results produced and resisting the urge to monitor how an employee spends every minute. A little investment in telecommuting technology may be necessary, but the payoff in productivity is well worth it.
Of course, fun should be an integral part of work. Schedule the occasional office party and use humor with employees to help boost productivity.
Finally, set a good example. Show the kind of dedication you expect from your employees to your job. When they see the boss working late, they are more inclined to do so themselves.
Human Resource Management System
Another way to improve employee productivity is by installing HR systems software. HR software offers many advantages, among them features that can help workers and HR staff. Human resources software can provide the tools required to measure productivity so that you can notice the positive effects of any modification you make.
- It measures employee satisfaction – HR system software helps you explore lower levels of productivity and its causes. Your human resource management system helps you survey the employee to find their satisfaction with the company, job, salary, and more. It can help to unwrap patterns that may point out problems within your company that is making employees less productive.
- Layoffs and high turnover are the major reasons for low productivity amongst employees. Some businesses try to reduce costs by laying off workers and redistributing their tasks to the existing team. But if your company has none of these problems with overwork and turnover, with HR management software, you can still boost productivity. It removes automated tasks from your employees’ workload; you can let them concentrate on the bigger picture tasks and put effort and energy into the tasks that need their expertise.
- Self-management – With human resource management software, a company can manage itself. With the right tools, it can track time; managers can save time by not supervising their employees, allowing themselves to focus on management tasks, while employees can be responsible for their tasks and workload. HR software solutions also help your company ignore micromanaging managers, reducing employee productivity, wasted management time, and increasing turnover.
- Improved employee expertise – Human resource management system tracks employee skills and training. Employees who are educated and trained by your company and given the opportunities to improve their skill sets can apply that knowledge and new skills to work more efficiently and productively. HR software programs have numerous capabilities that can help a business and assist the employee in improving efficiency and productivity.
The Bottom Line
Increasing compensation is simply not an efficient way of boosting productivity among your employees. As illustrated above, however, several strategies can help you motivate and boost output among your staff.
Ensure that your organization can support these methods before implementing them; for instance, have VPN support available before offering telecommuting as an option for staff. That way, you can avoid unnecessary roadblocks in improving your employees' productivity.
For more information on HR issues, consult our HR Resource Center, where you can find in-depth research and community-contributed content.
