Tips for Entrepreneurs: Things You Should Know About Employees’ Productivity

Starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur for the very first time is harder than most people think. There are lots of things to take care of and a number of responsibilities to handle, but, once you complete them all, you can be sure you’re on the road to success. However, what if you do everything right, but your employees are uninspired, unproductive and ineffective? If you think there’s nothing to be done, you’re wrong – here are a few things you should know about your staff’s productivity and how to increase it.

Why Unproductivity Occurs and How to Measure It?

There are many reasons why employees may be unproductive and there’s no way to pinpoint it to just one or two factors. It’s usually a combination of physical and mental issues that your workers experience daily. Some of them – such as stress, bad atmosphere, poor communication, etc. – may seem insignificant when observed individually, but, together, they cause a major productivity decline, affecting your staff, your company and, ultimately, you.

The best way to measure productivity is by setting a baseline and determining whether your employees meet your expectations on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, as well as annually. Also, try to find out where their unproductiveness is shown the most and work on that, but be sure to track your workers individually in order to single out the least productive ones. The decline in productiveness can partially be your fault, so do your part right.

Physical Factors

Having a proper atmosphere is paramount for achieving high productivity, but what are some of the things that prevent your employees from working hard? First of all, if your offices are dark and your workers experience no sunlight for eight or nine hours a day, you can’t expect them to bring their A-game. They won’t be motivated nor excited to go to work, and thus will be far from productive. Moreover, if your offices have poor air quality, unproductivity is even higher – that’s why more and more businesses equip their office space with high-quality HEPA air purifiers that eliminate stale air and reduce tiredness and fatigue among workers.

Additionally, think about the level of noise in your office – too much outside noise will distract your staff and make them lose concentration. The same goes for inside noise as well, although not many people know how damaging sounds coming from your electrical devices can be. Finally, take room temperature into consideration and try to find the right balance between too high and too low temperatures that will ensure the right atmosphere for maximum productivity.

Mental Factors

Stress and pressure take quite a toll on everyone these days, and your employees are no exception. If you pressure them too much, you can easily drive them too hard and they’ll simply start getting ill or quitting their jobs. Furthermore, if they’re under lots of stress, their work performance will decline and their productivity plummet.

Another thing to remember is motivation – if your staff is unmotivated, it’s up to you to do something. Establish open and face-to-face communication with them, set a good example, give them motivational speeches from time to time, raise their salaries and offer promotions, and they’ll surely be more motivated every single day. These are just some of the things you can do, but don’t forget that personal approach is the key – if you really get to know your employees, it’ll be easier for you to understand their needs and figure out how to motivate them.

How to Maintain Productivity?

Once you reach the level of productivity that satisfies your needs, do everything you can to maintain it. If your workers need pampering, pamper them – and if they need a strong leader, become one at once! As long as they are happy and productive, you’ll be happy, too. Motivating them is not your only job, of course, but it’s quite an important one and your company’s success or failure depends on it.