Employee productivity is something that every employer and manager is concerned about. Before asking how I can make employees more productive, you should ask how I can make employees want to be more productive? By making employees want to be more productive on the job, you are tapping into a powerful intrinsic motivator that will probably be more effective than anything else in improving productivity on the job. The following are some “guidelines” that can help you make your employees want to be more productive.
Getting to know your employees and co-workers can make them want to be more productive. If you get to know what they care about and what makes them tick, they will be more likely to care about your company and provide extra effort on the job. Learning more about the people, you will spend a significant amount of time with during your life can also reveal skills, talents, and concerns that you may never have realized before. All of this can improve employee motivation and productivity without doing much more than socializing with your employees.
Developing employees is another way to make them want to be more productive. The reasoning here is simple. If employees know that they will be invested in by you and be allowed to grow, then they will be much more likely to put their best foot forward at work. Give your employees plenty of development opportunities such as paying for an MBA program, mentoring, coaching, and skill development, and you might see a dramatic improvement in effort on the job.
Giving feedback is not something you should skimp on. Try and give feedback early and often so that employees can improve upon their work. If employees see that you care about their work and want them to improve, then they will be more likely to put extra effort into their tasks. You also want to celebrate and reward major achievements and accomplishments. This will reinforce good behavior and provide an additional reason for employees to be productive on the job. They will associate high productivity with rewards.
These are just some of the many guidelines you can use to make your employees want to be more productive. You also want to make sure that you take employee concerns seriously and engage in the form of communication called active listening. Clear communication and active listening will help you implement the guidelines described above and are themselves a way to make employees want to be more efficient and motivated at work.