Improving employee productivity can be a challenge, especially when most of the employees are newcomers who are also new to the industry. In fact, according to a study by Academia, the employee productivity rate is decreasing day by day, which has created an atmosphere of panic for employers. But you don’t need to worry, as there is a solution to this problem.
There are many tried-and-tested ways to improve productivity that are quite effective. In this blog, we’re going to reveal five such ways that will help you improve employee productivity.
What is Employee Productivity?
Before we begin to learn about ways to improve productivity, we need to know what employee productivity is. It is not just a way to evaluate employee performance but also to know if the employees are working to their full potential. Business leaders want their companies to compete with others in their industry. For them to do so, they need an engaged workforce that will increase productivity.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to find ways for your employees to feel like they’re spending their time working toward something meaningful. This can make employees feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves. In that case, it is likely to have a positive impact on productivity. Encourage a positive work culture and team engagement. Tracking each employee’s performance so that you can share the feedback with them will go a long way toward enhancing their growth and development in the company.
Before you even think about improving workforce productivity, you need to ensure that you can measure your employees’ performance in a meaningful way. There are multiple ways to measure an employee’s productivity; for example, you can track how many files are processed or what percentage of clients have been contacted per day. You need to clearly identify what you want your employees to do and then build a way to measure it. Otherwise, you will never know if they are achieving their targets.
Why Employee Productivity Might Be Low?
In today’s day and age, organizations have to fight common contemporary factors that often hurt employees’ productivity levels. Factors such as long working hours and irregular shifts can cause mental health issues among employees. While these factors might not affect every individual who works within an organization, they do play a pivotal role in lowering the productivity levels of individuals.
It’s essential to understand what caused your low productivity before improving it. Chances are, several factors contributed to the problem. At times, when employees are working remotely, they can feel disconnected from their workplace, and can be challenging to supervise—and that can hamper their performance. It can also be due to a lack of clear objectives or expectations. Time management can also be an issue, for example, some people need more structure than others and may struggle with setting their schedules or meeting deadlines without some guidance from you.
Managers spend a lot of time working on an employee’s growth and development. Still, sometimes they lack concrete tools to help them achieve their goal. If you are having productivity issues, here are five tried-and-tested ways to improve your employees’ productivity:
1. Increase Visibility and Access
You can encourage your employees to be more productive by increasing their visibility and access to resources. It’s pretty easy to get into a rut where employees are frustrated with limited software or equipment access, but it’s just as easy to change that.
Bring in a consultant if you need assistance in helping your staff upskill themselves. Then, work with them on creating a timeline for training. The end result is an engaged workforce aligned with the organization’s vision, with increased motivation and overall productivity.
2. Set Clear Expectations
As a leader, it’s up to you to set clear expectations. Connect with an individual employee or a group to assess their career goals and figure out areas of improvement.
Some companies have structured annual reviews that are handled by managers. If your company handles performance reviews more informally than that, then your first step should be setting clear expectations about where people should focus their attention and how they can improve.
3. Goal-Setting and Tracking
Delegating tasks is a tried and tested way to get employees up to speed. Encourage your employees to take on as much responsibility as they can handle and learn from their mistakes along the way. You could say that managing smart employees is really about managing their development, which requires some investment of time and resources. Ultimately, it will improve employee performance and productivity in leaps and bounds.
The key here is to trust your team. When you do, you’ll see employee engagement and satisfaction increase dramatically, which should translate into increased output over time as well. Don’t try to be everything for everyone—it may seem like a lot of work at first, but it pays off in employee engagement in terms of encouraging your team’s productivity over time.
5. Use Employee Productivity Tools
Learning how to improve employee productivity is all about having access to good tools. This can be in-house software or off-the-shelf applications that are available online. All of these offer ways to get more work done and improve processes, allowing you to spend less time on manual work and more time focusing on activities that help boost your bottom line.
If you can find tools that can better connect employees and empower them at every level, you’ll notice a real increase in their productivity. Invest in those tools that have proven value for your specific business needs and goals.
6. Measure Performance Periodically
It’s not always easy to find that one sure thing that makes employees more productive; there are usually a number of factors involved. However, if you take a look at any employee review website and search for tips on improving employee performance, you’ll notice that most revolve around giving employees room for improvement.
Make sure you share feedback with them on a regular basis and try to avoid looking at mistakes as signs of failure. Pay attention to each little detail. Just remember—don’t rush things! It takes time for new hires to become familiar with your company culture and standards.
Scaling Up Productivity
Businesses frequently look for strategies to motivate staff to work harder in an effort to increase productivity. The use of bonuses and commissions is one of these strategies. You’ve probably dealt with performance-based incentives if you’ve worked in sales or customer service. Although these techniques may be useful in some situations, they aren’t always reliable. In fact, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is, as with many other things.
According to a recent Stanford University study, offering a small wage raise has a greater impact on productivity and job satisfaction than introducing commission-based compensation systems. In the end, commission-based pay is less effective than simply paying people what they earn based on their time spent at work because it may appear like an easy method to inspire employees—especially those who don’t feel personally motivated by their professions. Naturally, employing wage raises doesn’t imply you should stop using any other employee motivation strategies; instead, think about how each strategy fits into your overarching strategy for enhancing employee satisfaction and productivity.
Conclusion
There is no universal way to boost employee productivity. But if you use these five tried and tested ways that we have shortlisted, you will be able to help your employees enhance their productivity and boost their career growth.
While no one can say for sure which method is best for you and your team, we believe in practicing what we preach. We’ve seen first-hand how rewarding it is to invest in individual development of our employees.
Everyone comes to work excited and ready to take on new challenges, because they know their manager believes in them and their growth potential. When people feel appreciated and valued by those around them, they want to keep those relationships strong. So invest in employee development!
In such a scenario, how can leaders and managers help their employees amp up their productivity?
From small-scale setups to global companies, every organization is struggling to find a way to turn the odds of hybrid work in their favor. But only a handful of organizations are reaping its benefits.
This guide will explore the intricacies of employee productivity in a hybrid workplace and will discuss the following:
Employee productivity is defined in multiple ways. Some leaders call it an assessment of the amount of work produced by an employee during a specific time period. And some define it as the assessment of the efficiency and value of output generated by their employees. Depending upon the industry, employee productivity can be classified into different types.
Wendy Makinson from Joloda Hydraroll is of the view that employee productivity in the new era of work employee productivity can no longer be judged by the number of hours worked or completed tasks. Instead, it must be measured by the employee’s ability to achieve results aligned with the company’s goals.
In the words of Claudia Gancayco, Chief Marketing Officer at Leg Master, employee productivity In this new era of work is defined by how well employees are able to adapt to their work surroundings and produce quality output at the expected time. With tools and processes constantly evolving today, it is also defined by how well they are able to assess their tasks and find the most efficient way to go about them.
Whatever definition you choose, employee productivity has a direct impact on the success of a business. It leads to the achievement of both short-term and long-term organizational goals.
A highly productive workforce is the goal of every organization. It helps companies innovate and produce distinguished results. Furthermore, organizations with an effective and efficient workforce are able to create a stronghold in a market.
The recent transition of businesses towards a hybrid setup has led global HR leaders to redefine and reassess their employee productivity practices and metrics. They are now heavily relying on employee productivity tools to evaluate, measure, and align the efforts of their hybrid workforce toward the achievement of goals.
The below image highlights the change in the use of digital workplace technology since the onset of the pandemic. 80% of workers now use some sort of digital technology to enhance their efficiency and productivity.
Before we jump into details regarding employee productivity, let’s debunk some myths about it.
Myths About Employee Productivity
Employee productivity is generally considered an economic indicator of an organization. The more productive the workforce, the more successful the organization will be.
While the concept holds true to its roots, the lure of success has led organizations and leaders to believe some myths about productivity that do not hold true in the light of organizational psychology and research.
Some of these myths have been around for quite a while and are now being frowned upon by employees and employers alike.
Associating Long Hours of Work with Higher Productivity and Better Outcomes
Research conducted by John Pencavel, a professor at Stanford University, has shown that an employee clocking in more than 50 hours a week will show a sharp decline in productivity with every added hour.
Furthermore, employees who manage to put in up to 70 hours are producing the same amount of work as done by a person working for 55 hours.
Clearly, putting more hours into your work is a no brainer. In fact, research shows the optimum number of hours to be 48, after which productivity will fall. Further to that, the trialing of 4-day workweeks is proving successful in some regions.
Anthony Martin, Founder and CEO, Choice Mutual has a better strategy. As per him, using a shorter work week can help employees feel refreshed and more productive. Mandatory breaks are also essential to enable employees for work challenges. You will get much more out of your employees if you recognize that people only have so much brainpower to use every day, and by making sure they are well rested, you will see higher motivation and productivity.
Multitaskers Are More Productive
While juggling between multiple projects and tasks might sound interesting, research shows that it is counterproductive. Multitasking leads to marginal results and even reduces the efficiency of employees.
Research conducted by psychologists has shown that the human brain is not wired for multitasking. Additionally, constantly switching tasks can lead to mental fatigue and less productivity over time.
With such research in perspective, we definitely need to strike off the multitasking requirements from the job descriptions.
Big Incentives Make Employees More Productive
The psychology that employee motivation and productivity can be altered with big incentives does not seem to hold true in today’s business environment. While there is a sudden increase in productivity with incentives, it generally falls back to the same level after some time.
In some cases, incentives have even backfired, leading employees to follow unethical practices to grab the extra money.
On the other hand, regular, structured, and well-managed incentive programs have shown promising results.
As Abe Breuer, CEO, VIP To Go puts it. It’s a myth to say that large incentives boost employee productivity. While raising salaries can drive people to accomplish much work over a particular period, it’s not sustainable. After some time, they might feel exhausted, pressured, or worse, burned out. What rather works are small, more frequent rewards. You can regularly offer extra time off when reaching milestones, a “thank you” note, or a public acknowledgment of their successful endeavors. Doing so provides validation which results in healthier employee productivity.
Remote or Hybrid Work Makes Employees Less Productive
Remote workers’ productivity was a major concern for employers when the whole world instantly switched from an onsite to a remote work setup.
Many leaders and managers have resorted to micromanagement because of their concerns over employees’ productivity in the hybrid model. While the intent behind it can be good, the results can be devastating for both employees and organizations.
In the current setup, employees need a decentralized and trustworthy environment to prosper and do well in their jobs. Keeping micromanagement out of the office can actually harbinger better results for organizations.
Important Facts About Employee Productivity
Employee productivity is a result of multiple organizational factors. When the cumulative effort of these factors results in a positive, productive, and employee-centered environment, employee productivity increases.
Along with these factors, there are some hard facts that are important to understand while looking into employee productivity.
Unproductive meetings kill your employees’ productivity along with $37 billion annually
Long commutes to work hamper innovation, decision-making, and productivity at work. It affects the physical and mental health of employees, leading to frustration and lower performance
Employee mental health has a direct correlation with productivity at work. Unresolved mental issues can lead to a 35% reduction in production and a loss of $210.5 billion annually
Employee Productivity Monitoring: How to Measure Employee Productivity in a Hybrid Setup
The way of working has significantly changed in the last two years. Employees now prefer hybrid setups over full-time onsite work. They want a balance between having the flexibility to work from the place of their convenience and also having in-office social interactions and mentoring sessions with peers and leaders.
Indeed, the dual benefits of workplace flexibility and in-office interactions have led to a rise in demand for hybrid work, but employers need to ensure that their workforce remains as productive as it was before the pandemic.
Measuring employee productivity has become much more difficult in a hybrid or remote workplace than it was in the pre-pandemic world. Factors such as disengagement, burnout, employee mental and physical wellness, and isolation have to be looked into while creating business strategies.
The employee productivity metrics used in the pre-pandemic phase have to be tweaked to align them with the hybrid setup. That’s why using hybrid productivity metrics is the need of the hour. These metrics take virtual and in-office collaboration, feedback, check-ins, and employee engagement into consideration while providing insights.
Before you start measuring employee productivity, it is important to understand the following:
What do you want to measure?
Understanding what to measure is the first step in calculating employee productivity. Is it the number of goods created, leads generated, sales closed, tickets resolved, or tasks completed? Keeping specific items in focus will help zero in on the metrics to use for measurement.
How to measure?
Once you have decided on the tasks or activities to be looked into, the next step is to understand the metrics that will help measure productivity.
The following list of hybrid productivity tools can be used based on your requirements.
360-Degree Feedback Survey
A multi-rater feedback is a highly effective and efficient way to determine the productivity of an employee.
Taking feedback from multiple reviewers, such as managers, direct reports, peers, prospects, clients, and vendors, ensures that the feedback is free from any bias and provides a holistic view of an employee’s performance.
Furthermore, it helps identify an employee’s strengths, skills, and areas of development and provides a direct comparison between the employee self-evaluation and the reviewers’ insights.
Using this qualitative technique can help leaders identify any blindspots in the hybrid setup and analyze the overall workforce productivity.
Objectives and Key Results
OKRs are one of the best methods of measuring employee productivity against the achievement of set objectives. By offering an actionable and time-bound goal-setting and measuring framework, OKRs help in aligning employees’ goals and efforts towards organizational objectives.
Additionally, it increases employee accountability and helps them stay focused on their tasks. The method is equally effective for in-office, remote, or hybrid employees.
Planned-to-Done Ratio
Planned-to-done ratio measures the number of tasks delivered by team members against the planned activities.
In an agile framework, it is important to gauge the capabilities and capacity of every team member. It helps in understanding the delivery output of a team on a particular project. That’s where the planned-to-done ratio becomes instrumental.
Using this method helps managers evaluate their hybrid or remote team’s overall output along with individual productivity.
Engagement Surveys
It is a fact that engaged employees are more productive and generate better outcomes than their disengaged counterparts.
Measuring employee engagement is thus an important step in gauging workforce productivity. Use engagement surveys to get the pulse of your workforce and identify the specific areas that are leading to disengagement and lower productivity.
Cycle Time
Breaking down a project into bite-size tasks with a two weeks process cycle can help measure and even boost the productivity of employees.
The reiterative cycles provide an opportunity to optimize the processes and push team members to complete their tasks on time. Additionally, cycle time helps in identifying employees who deliver quality work on a short deadline and those who need guidance and support.
How to Boost Employee Productivity in a Changing Global Workplace
The global workplace is evolving. The new working models pose both opportunities and challenges to leaders.
While most organizations favor hybrid work to provide the best of both worlds to their employees—workplace flexibility and in-office collaboration—they are also worried about maintaining workforce productivity in these unprecedented times.
With improvements in employee productivity levels as per the PwC report, employers are anticipating the trend to continue. But for that to happen, they need to understand the dynamics of employee productivity in a hybrid work environment.
As 7 in every 10 employees prefer to work either remotely or hybrid, it is important to understand the fundamentals of productivity when developing the framework of a hybrid workplace.
Factors That Affect Employee Productivity in a Hybrid Workplace
The following factors need to be considered while building a dynamic and productive workforce.
The transition to a hybrid environment comes with a slew of challenges, and leaders have to be prepared to cultivate them into opportunities.
Even though the studies show a net positive effect of hybrid setup on overall employee experience, it is imperative to contemplate on individual factors that cultivate into a productive and progressive work environment.
Working on these items can gradually lead to creating a resilient, determined, engaged, and productive workforce.
Employee Well-being
The Deloitte Human Capital Trends Survey 2020 reported that 80% of global leaders identify employee well-being as their top business priority. Yet only 12% of them are working to address it.
Not just that, healthy employees are happier and are willing to go the extra mile for organizational success.
Burgeoning workplace mental and physical health issues cost around $1 trillion to the global economy. And the fact is, it is surging.
It is high time that organizations commit to employee well-being, not just for higher productivity and ROI, but for a happy and healthy workforce.
Inclusivity
Inclusivity is a prime determinant of higher productivity in a hybrid workplace. The more included your employees feel, the more engaged they are and the better they perform.
But creating an inclusive hybrid workplace isn’t an easy job. Even though hybrid work offers a great opportunity to hire diverse talent, offering accessibility and inclusivity is a big challenge. Especially for leaders who have never worked in an inclusive environment, it is difficult to address the problems of a diverse workforce.
Leaders can take the following steps to make inclusivity the core foundation of their organization.
Don’t be rigid in your definition of flexibility. What works for you might not work for others
Meet your remote employees frequently and recognize them for their contributions
Conduct surveys to understand the concerns of your hybrid teams
Train managers to be fair, unbiased, honest, empathetic, and inclusive
Use collaborative tools for better communication among hybrid and remote teams
A survey by Catalyst found that empathetic leadership drives innovation, engagement, and productivity in the organization. Furthermore, the study revealed that empathy helps organizations sail through crises more effectively.
Image Source: catalyst.org
Employees are now more interested in working with leaders that understand their feelings and support them in their professional and personal lives. Empathetic leaders are more receptive to their employees’ concerns and try to establish strong bonds with them.
Empathetic leaders and managers are able to foster deep connections in the organization by showing genuine concern and curiosity in their employees’ lives.
How Does Technology Support Hybrid Workplace Productivity?
It was technology that helped organizations suddenly transition to remote setups in 2020. In fact, it reshaped itself to turn the pandemic-led challenges into opportunities. Organizations that leveraged technology through innovative solutions and tools stayed afloat and churned the best out of their employees.
In a hybrid model, technology is the lifeline of an organization. It aids in knowledge sharing, communication, and collaboration and supports teams by maintaining high levels of productivity even while working from different geographical locations.
Furthermore, technology provides access to employees by reducing the gap between employees working from home and the office. It gives managers real-time insights into their team’s performance and helps leaders make data-driven decisions.
Conclusion
Human capital is the most crucial, versatile, and dynamic organizational resource. It has the potential to make or break an organization. That’s why maintaining high levels of productivity is important for organizations to prosper. Understanding the needs and expectations of employees and aligning the business strategies towards them can help you leverage the full potential of your workforce and successfully steer through changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What does employee productivity mean?
Ans. Employee productivity, also known as workforce productivity, is usually defined as the efficiency of workers or a group of workers in producing a specific outcome or result. Based on the type of industry and work, employee productivity definitions may vary.
Q2. How do you determine employee productivity?
Ans. Determining employee productivity in a hybrid workplace is quite important to businesses. You can use the following methods to determine workforce productivity:
360-Degree Feedback Survey
Objectives and Key Results
Planned-to-Done Ratio
Engagement Surveys
Cycle Time
Every method has its own pros and cons and it is best to understand these concepts in detail before implementing them in the organization.
Q3. How to increase employee productivity in a workplace.
Ans. The following methods have been found to be useful in boosting employee productivity in the workplace:
Image Source: 
OKRs are one of the best methods of measuring 
Planned-to-done ratio measures the number of tasks delivered by team members against the planned activities. 
Image Source: McKinsey.com
