Did you know that employees who exercise their strengths daily are 8 percent more productive and 6 times more likely to be engaged than those who don’t? Or that work overload can reduce productivity by 68 percent when employees feel they don’t have enough time in the day to complete their tasks?
Productivity is the driving force of high performance. However, although it has strong ties with employee engagement, it is in fact its own entity. Focusing on one and ignoring the other will not usually warrant effective results. Let’s look at some employee productivity strategies so your employees’ productivity and engagement are in sync and complimenting each other.
- Get rid of motivation killers—abrasive personalities, uncomfortable work environments, absence of growth opportunities, etc.
- Try a gamification approach to motivation—leaderboards, friendly competition, rewards for top performers, etc.
- Set goals and provide feedback
- Take advantage of technology and encourage those comfortable with it to do the same
- Provide skills development opportunities
- Communicate effectively and efficiently
And finally, this last tip may seem a little counter-intuitive, but hear us out: take time off. You’re probably thinking, how can you get any work done if you aren’t in the office? Think back to the statistic we mentioned earlier about the dangers of work overload. A couple hours out of office followed by productive work is more effective in the long run than being in-office, weighed down by an excessive workload.
Actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. job market $450 to $550 billion a year in lost productivity. Don’t let your company add to that total—get that productivity up for the sake of your employees and your company.
