What is employee productivity?
Employee productivity is all about being effective and efficient. The overall idea is for employees to use their work hours wisely producing better results in less time. Productive employees focus on the right things at the right times.
We may often assume that productivity means getting more tasks done each day but in fact it is getting important tasks completed consistently. Measuring employee productivity will show how efficient the employees are for a task or project. This metric is usually used to determine if a project requires fewer or additional hands. Productivity is the main driver for progress.
The importance of productivity
Much of the success of any organization relies upon the productivity of its employees hence employee productivity is a significant consideration for businesses.
Productivity helps to improve customer relationships. When productivity is elevated, companies will likely see their customers much happier with the turnaround time and overall efficiency. Customer satisfaction is a key component in a successful organisation.
If employees are not productive, they usually become unmotivated and disconnected which will lead to a negative impact on the culture of the organisation and staff. Improved engagement is one of the most important aspects of productivity in a workplace. When employees are more productive, they will be more willing to be involved in organizational activities and build positive engagement with their co-workers. They are less likely to feel burned out and frustrated. This will create a positive feedback loop for both the employee and business.
Productivity also impacts business costs. If employee’s complete tasks timeously, they will have more time to spend on other projects or tasks. This therefore increases productivity and in turn saves money. Time is money after all.
There is no doubt that the quality and quantity of work will improve if employees are productive and dedicated to their work. A greater output and more goals will be achieved by the organization.
How to increase productivity in the workplace
Employees are among your company’s greatest resources. So, it is crucial that you invest in them and the environment they are in. Here are a few ways that you can achieve increased productivity in your workplace:
- Train and Develop Employees
Take the time to teach your employees the necessary skills. There are number of ways to support employee development. Offer them training material/ courses/ exams/ mentoring and shadowing. This will be a huge benefit to the company in the long run. These training opportunities will also give employees additional skills and improve efficiency and productivity.
- Match Tasks to Skills
Knowing your employee’s skills is critical in increasing productivity. By better understanding their skills, you can assign the right tasks to them and know that they can complete it in an effective and efficient way, as opposed to an employee who is not as skilled and will take longer to complete this task.
- Improve Communication
When the communication in the workplace is inadequate, employees will not understand the company’s goals and how they can deliver these goals. Quick meetings or calls with employees on a project can improve communication and in turn productivity. Usually, a quick phone call can fix a matter that might have taken hours to troubleshoot.
About Me:
I am Kaleen Padayachee, a Digital Workplace Consultant at First Technology Digital, a First Technology company. I help clients plan and adopt productivity tools including Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams and Power Platform. I focus on effective governance, security, and adoption of these technologies, including migration projects from legacy document management systems like OpenText, Oracle and Lotus Notes. We automate HR and financial processes using the low-code Microsoft Power Platform technology namely Power Apps, Power Automate and Power Virtual Agent.
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