How to Increase Work Efficiency in Your Employees
A business that has employees that do things quickly and correctly will be a successful one. They will be able to fulfill more orders, which will lead to customer satisfaction and more repeat business. That’s why a lot of companies are promoting efficiency. It’s important to do this in a way that will make the people who work there feel like they want to work at a good pace and not like they are parts of a machine that will just be replaced once they can’t do the job. Here are a few ways that you can do that as an employer:
Create an Outdoor Oasis
One way of doing that is to give your employees a place to go to rest and recuperate while they are taking a break. There’s nothing like breathing fresh air and looking at beautiful scenery. Talk with some hardscape installers and landscape designers who will create areas that will amaze the people who are walking around in them each time. People aren’t robots and will need time to let their brains wander. Giving them an outdoor oasis is an excellent way of promoting efficiency. You might even enjoy walking around these areas yourself.
You don’t necessarily have to go too crazy here. It’s not like you need to replicate a forest or a beach like you’re in Dubai. Just give them something that’s more than just a parking lot so that they can go out and just mentally detach from work for a little bit. An employee break room can only go so far — though it’s good to have something like that, too. Put a TV in the break room with a good cable selection, and they can zone out for a bit. But give them the option of the outdoors, too. Even something that’s a bit unusual will be enough for them.
Invest in New Technologies
Have you ever worked for a company that uses old technology that constantly keeps freezing or needs to be repaired? That’s not a terrific way of promoting efficiency, is it? Instead, you’re sidelined while waiting for the system to be rebooted or out of operation. Make an investment in innovative technology, with things like VoIP PBX systems or commercial electrical services. Your employees will be able to get things done at a faster rate with a lot less downtime. There might be a bit of a learning curve at first, but people tend to pick things up quickly. Before you know it, things will be humming along, and your company’s overall productivity should be up.
It’s always worth investigating how technology is improving in the fields that you are working in. Your company might be getting a lot of phone calls. VoIP PBX systems are a great way to handle that load. There might be better ways to have your employees fill out certain documents than how they currently do. One of the main slowdowns is older computers not being able to handle new programs. See about upgrading these machines every several years.
You might be worrying about the costs of those upgrades, though. You need to take a big-picture view, though. Will keeping the older machines be worth the lost productivity? You’ll wind up losing money in that case. The upgrades will pay for themselves very quickly. Also, you will be keeping up with any competitors as well. This is business, after all.
Improve the Commercial Space
This is one solution that will make the people that work there happy as well as the customers or clients that come in. Have remodeling contractors take the space that’s there already and make it something that will be an enjoyable experience for both. By doing this, you can simultaneously promote efficiency and boost your business. Your bottom line is going to improve, which is what you want.
The only downside to this is that you might have to be closed while the contractors do the work, due to safety reasons. Try to do this during a time when business would be slow anyway to minimize any hits or have them do it section by section so that your employees can go to a different area and keep working until they can come back.
Try a Fresh Coat of Paint
There are certain colors that can inspire productivity. For example, if you were all about promoting efficiency in a warehouse, which usually has workers lifting and moving things, then you might want to think about having interior painters make the walls certain shades of red. It’s a color that will get the blood flowing. If you have an office setting, then you might want to have them paint the walls blue, since that can create a sense of calm and let your workers focus and think about their tasks.
This is far more than just psychology at work. Color can have an effect on people’s mood. You might even want to think about painting your own office a certain color to also set a good example for your employees. Who knows? You might even find that your own efficiency goes through the roof, thanks to the new paint color. This is one of the more inexpensive ways to help your company.
Offer Good Benefits
When it comes to a job, besides good pay, employees also want good benefits. That includes access to primary care physicians and dental offices. Having healthy employees with excellent oral health is a great way of promoting efficiency. If your employees are able to go to the doctor regularly for check-ups and see the dentist for routine cleanings, then the chances of them getting a sudden illness go down a lot.
Another benefit you might think about adding is a gym membership, whether it’s a full one or a deeply discounted one. Exercise can help your employees in many different ways. They can blow off steam after a rough day of work, they can develop better stamina to focus on their job. Their immune systems will work better since the exercise will bolster that. As a result, they will be able to work faster for longer. You’ll recoup your investment in no time.
This suggestion comes at a time when companies are slashing benefits in an attempt to save as much money as possible. It results in a lot of unhappy employees who are upset that they are going to have to foot their own medical and dental care. As a result, they might get sick much faster and miss a lot more work. Those companies might make some money in the short term, but they will also be churning money having to replace people who have to leave because they get sick, or worse. Offering good benefits is more than just being a good human, it’s just smart business.
Invest in Company Culture Events
Don’t fall into the trap of having these company culture events be the substitute for better benefits. Promoting efficiency isn’t about putting some food in your employees’ bellies occasionally with something like a pizza party. It’s about acknowledging the different people who work there with parties that are run by a corporate catering company. This way, the individual can feel valued, which will make them want to work harder for the company. Treat them like the human beings that they are, not like they are only an employee number.
This also means that the people who work for your company should feel like they are part of a team that also recognizes the individual. Show that you see their diversity by having these events. Maybe have one event be about the different Spanish cultures, for example. It would also be a fantastic way for those who are not familiar with those cultures to learn a bit more about the people that they work alongside. As a result, team cohesion can get even stronger.
Provide Daycare for Parents
One thing that can slow down work is employees who are parents having to find someone to watch their young children during the day. The cost of childcare can be prohibitive, which means that they are stressed and hoping that their own relatives won’t leave them waiting. Take care of that problem by having daycare at the office. This way, those parents will be able to know that their child is nearby and being cared for, which will allow them to focus on their job, while also being nearby in case something happens. That’s a great way of promoting efficiency.
This will also shave time off their commute since they won’t have to worry about taking them to a relative’s house or another daycare center. It’s also a way to bridge the gap between their being toddlers and starting pre-k. Your employees will also be happy that you see them as the parents that they are and not just someone who might have to come in late due to childcare issues.
It’s important that you vet the daycare staff. You don’t want to lose efficiency by having your employees worry about whether their child is being treated right. A little bit of extra research will go a long way.
It can be tricky to think of ways of promoting efficiency and not view your employees as abstract problems that need to be solved rather than human beings who have unique situations. Do you try to have a system that caters to a lot of those needs and risk having the overall workforce upset at what could look like favoritism to some or do you have blanket policies that could foster disgruntled individuals? It’s a balancing act, for sure.
By doing the above things, you’re taking important steps to having a productive company. Nothing’s going to work perfectly, though. You’re going to have to constantly be monitoring how things are going and then adjust along the way. There might be some things that work well at first and then efficiency will hit a wall. It’s never a good idea to stand pat.
You need to be doing constant inventories of how your business is running. See how you can improve certain areas without putting your employees in situations that will make them feel less than valued as human beings. Thinking about short-term gains is not going to lead to long-term success. There may be so-called experts who value cost-cutting. You’ll find that those experts offer advice that’s of limited value.
While you may have your own vision of how things should be going, it’s also a good idea to listen to the people that you have working for you. Regularly solicit their advice and see if they have suggestions about what they could use to be able to do their job at peak efficiency every day without feeling close to burning out. Not all of these things may be practical or able to be implemented on a large scale. But it’s still important to get their input. Otherwise, they may think that they aren’t being heard and valued.
Promoting efficiency can be a tricky thing. There can be certain parts of a day’s workflow that have to be done. There’s no getting around them and trying to cut corners can lead to the opposite results or even dangerous scenarios. Your employees may have some tedious tasks to do. It’s all about carving out space around those things that can make things much more tolerable. When you do that, your employees will find that they are able to get things done and even find work somewhat enjoyable in the long run.
Of course, your budget might not allow for doing all of the above suggestions at once. You can prioritize one or two of them every few business quarters as you make more profits. Then, as your company gets more successful, you can focus on making it a great place to work and get many people wanting to apply. Then it will all be worth it.
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