Are your employees disengaged? According to statistics, only 34% of American workers find themselves engaged at work. Disengaged workers can have a negative impact on the productivity of your office. They lack the motivation to do their job and struggle to fit into the workplace culture.
If you have disengaged employees, it is time to start implementing some simple strategies to help boost their productivity. Generally, the happier your employees are, the more productive they’ll be.
The following small changes within your workplace can help keep your employees happy.
Set realistic goals
If your employees don’t have a clear sense of direction, they might not know what they need to do to succeed. While having a larger office mission is great, your employees still need smaller, realistic goals that they can achieve. Start by taking your large goals and breaking them up into smaller goals. Provide your employees with a clear focus and clear expectations.
And once they have those goals, make sure to provide them with the autonomy to complete those goals. This allows them to have ownership over their own projects. Offer support along the way, but avoid micromanaging the project. When you tell employees exactly how to complete a project, you kill their creativity and motivation.
Encourage self-care
Employees that are unhealthy and stressed will struggle with productivity. Encourage your employees to have a good work-life balance and to take time off to relax. Some employers also find success in offering an employee wellness program, which encourages employees to eat well and exercise.
You can also encourage self-care within the workplace. For example, consider the fact that sedentary desk jobs often lead to obesity and other weight-related health problems. Many employers are starting to switch to standing desks, such as the ones featured on the HADO website, to help encourage their employees to stand more. Another way to encourage self-care within the workplace is providing healthy snacks to your employees, such as fresh fruit.
Offer positive reinforcement
There is nothing wrong with constructive feedback. Providing constructive feedback can help challenge employees and allow them to improve. But in addition to constructive feedback, make sure that you take the time to offer positive reinforcement as well.
Don’t wait until an official review to provide positive feedback. Positive reinforcement is as simple as verbally letting an employee know they’re doing well. Other ways to offer positive reinforcement is to take an employee out for a coffee, provide them with a thank you card, or buy them a small gift. You don’t have to do anything overly extravagant to let employees know that they’re doing a good job and that you care about them. Employees that filled valued are more likely to produce high-quality work.
Provide the right tools
If employees don’t have the right tools to perform their job, they can easily get frustrated and discouraged. For example, if they’re supposed to be writing a report, but their computer is taking forever to load, they’re not able to get the job done. Offering the right equipment and technology can make a world of difference.
Start by asking your employees what they need to be successful at their job. Common requests include better technology, an organized office space, and streamlined communication. Once you know what tools they want, find ways to make them possible. An organized office space could just be a matter of getting rid of unnecessary clutter. For streamlined communication, you could invest in an app that lists out all of the tasks that need to be completed that day.
Provide perks
Finally, provide your employees with some form of benefits. Health insurance and bonus programs are both great ways to incentivize your employees. There are also smaller ways you can provide perks. Some employees may want additional time off or a membership to the gym. Figure out what would motivate your employees to want to come to work.
Offering peaks can help employees view work as a more positive place. People want to feel a sense of enrichment, so when you as an employer invest time in bettering their lives, they’re more likely to have increased morale. And that increased morale is exactly what will allow them to be more productive.
Final thoughts
Want engaged employees who are efficient at their job? Start by making your employees happy! All of the above strategies can help improve the overall morale in your office. You don’t need to implement every strategy at once. Pick one or two to focus on at a time.
