The core of a business is the people. Without employees, your business wouldn’t grow. Together, they will work towards the achievement of your business goals. Ideally, employees should work 8 hours a day in five days. On the other hand, some employees work beyond the expected hours of work.

 

In the United Kingdom, researchers found out that employees are spending more hours for work, but, they are less productive compared than before. According to the Smith Institute, two-thirds of the employees they surveyed believed they worked more hours today than two years ago. But, only 10% of them believe that they are productive.

 

The Office for Budget Responsibility measures productivity through calculating a number of outputs over hours rendered by employees. In 2015, they found out that productivity downgraded which resulted to the delayed UK economic recovery.

 

As a business owner or employer, it is your primary responsibility to watch over your employees. If they are being unproductive, you are increasing your costs which is not contributing to your business productivity. Here are 12 proven strategies which will surely motivate your employees and will increase business productivity:

 

Treat each other as family

Employees are people. Even if they are “under” you, still you are not entitled to treat them as less than human beings. According to a research, two-thirds of the surveyed employees said they quit their job because of their “bad manager”. Treat your employees nicely. It wouldn’t cost you dollars to greet them in the hallway, say nice things about their performance, etc.

 

Know your employees personally

Make a connection with your employees by taking an effort to know them personally. Know their personal background, their likes and dislikes, their strengths and weaknesses, and even simple things like what he or she does during the weekends. Knowing your employees does not just make them comfortable with you, but it will also help you identify some strategic areas which may help you determine the factors that affect the performance of your employee.

 

Perform teambuilding activities

Training is vital for every employee. It refreshes their knowledge and skills about their work. One of the best way to train and re-train your employees is by conducting teambuilding activities. These activities are engaging and interactive which make your employee enjoy the session. Moreover, it is a perfect way to socialize and develop the value of teamwork which is very important in the business landscape.

 

Integrate technology

Do not hesitate to invest in technology. Poor technology or resources is among the reasons why employees leave the company. Make sure that the workplace is equipped with adequate technology that can help employees increase productivity and efficiency in their work. Basically, computers are must in businesses. It is where they can store files, create marketing materials, etc.

 

Set little and big goals

Make your employees realize that your business goals are their goal as well. That is their “big” goal. In order for them to achieve this goal, they have to accomplish little goals. These little goals are their tasks every day. Set little goals for your employees. Make sure that these goals are realistic and achievable. Do not ask them to transcribe a book in a day. That would be harsh. Give them goals that are within their skills and capacity.

 

Offer incentives

Probably the most effective strategy to motivate your employees to work hard, exceed expectations and accomplish goals is to offer them incentives. Based on a study by Genesis Associates, 85% of the employees are fueled to do their best at work when incentives are being offered. Basically, incentives come in various forms. It can be a performance bonus, goal-oriented incentives, or even things like free movie tickets, all-expense paid trip, and free dinner, among others.

 

Listen to their sentiments

Communication is very important in all aspects. It is a key to understanding. It is important that you listen to their problems, their feedbacks, suggestions, opinions, and insights. Their ideas may be helpful in the improvement of your business. Make them feel that their sentiments are always welcome. Be an open-minded leader to all your employees.

 

Recognize good work

Apart from incentives, acknowledgment and recognition are also good methods of motivating your employees. A simple “heads up” to all employees regarding the good performance of an employee will do. But if you are a little bit extra, you can conduct a monthly awards night in which you recognize the top performers who exceeded expectations and achieved little goals throughout the whole month.

 

Regulate use of internet

The internet is vital in business operations – research, analysis, database, etc. On the other hand, there are cons to the internet availability. According to this study, internet lowers employee productivity. Why? People tend to check their notifications, scroll through their social media accounts, watch YouTube videos, tweet their sentiments, etc. Apparently, these things will hinder employee productivity.

Give them appropriate work

Another reason why employees become unproductive because they are given work that is not matched to their skills. You cannot expect a bookkeeper to do content writing tasks or even a plumber to fix a computer. If you give a work that is not matched to the skillset of your employee, the tendency is that he or she will spend too much time learning the skills, thus, decreasing productivity.

 

Always evaluate their performance

Make it a habit to evaluate their performance based on the little goals (tasks) you gave them. Assess the quality of their output, their productivity (number of output over time), their responsiveness to tasks, etc. It is advisable to do an evaluation every week. Moreover, when evaluating, make sure you are personally talking to them.

 

Promote work-life balance

Lastly, be an advocate for work-life balance. It is not healthy for them to prioritize work over their personal life. Of course, they have to spend time with their children or families, hang out with their friends, make time for their other passions, etc. Avoid calling them beyond work hours. Their lives do not just revolve around their work. Give them a break!