Employees are the backbone of any good business. They are the ones who make it possible for your business to run on a day-to-day basis. Productive employees mean a more efficient and profitable business. Unproductive employees, on the other hand, can drive a business into the ground. So what can you do to improve employee productivity and give your business that boost you’re hoping for this year?
You may think that the answer is to buckle down and drive your employees to work harder, but in fact, many studies have shown just the opposite to be true. Creating a more relaxed environment can boost your employees’ morale, and happier employees make for more productive employees. Now that you understand why it should be your New Year’s resolution to improve employee morale, let’s talk about a few ways you can actually accomplish this.
Company Culture
Put in the effort to develop a strong company culture. Seek the input of your employees when deciding what type of culture you want your company to have. Keep in mind that an approachable company culture not only helps to boost employee morale, but can help you to connect more easily with potential customers. Once you decide what type of culture you want to have in the workplace, make efforts to implement it right away. Have a kickoff party or something similar to get your employees engaged and excited about the company’s future.
Incentive Programs
Rather than encouraging improved performance by setting requirements and passing out disciplinary action for not meeting those requirements, set up an incentive program for top performers. Using this positive reinforcement instead of punishment as a motivator will do wonders for improving company morale. First, your employees won’t be living in fear of punishment for not meeting minimums. Second, rather than only doing enough work to avoid discipline, employees will strive for the top prize in your incentive program, pushing them to do more every month. Plus, they’ll feel like their work is truly appreciated, rather than feeling like they only get noticed when they are in some kind of trouble.
Proper Tools
Few things are more frustrating to employees than feeling like they don’t have the right tools to do the job required of them. If you were going to ask them to build a skyscraper, you wouldn’t give them popsicle sticks and Elmer’s glue, would you? Likewise, no matter what task you ask your employees to complete in the office, ensure that you are giving them the right tools to get the job done in an easy and efficient manner.
Not only does this prevent them from becoming frustrated with manual and redundant processes, or inefficient workflows, but it will also help them to work more effectively. The tasks you want completed will be done more accurately, more quickly, and with a better overall attitude when you give employees the tools they need.
What tools do you need to give them? Well, that depends on the type of business you’re running, but one tool that works across many industries is document management software. It will eliminate manual processes, redundancies in documents, and unreliable workflows. All of these things make work a little easier for your employees and can help boost their morale. Fill out the form on this page, and we’ll tell you more about how this tool can improve your business.
January may already be half over, but it’s still not too late to set some New Year’s resolutions for your business. Make it your goal this year to improve employee morale and see how much your company will benefit from the change.