Thanks to the current economic climate, it’s harder for businesses to generate a profit now than at any other time for generations. To put it simply, everybody is feeling the squeeze – credit providers, customers, and suppliers. This means that your income levels may be declining at a time when it’s harder than ever to obtain a loan to carry you over or to gain better prices from your wholesale providers. The only solution is to make your company, and everyone within it, work either harder or smarter. Read on for our 3 top tips that should help you to gain the most from your employees.
Create a ‘Work From Home’ Day
One of the benefits which is most wanted by workers is the ability to work from home on a regular basis. At first glance, some would assume that you are going to get less work from your staff if they aren’t in the office for you to monitor, but there are a few reasons why this might not be the case. Firstly, allowing an employee to work from home can make them more productive on that day because they are relaxed and better rested for the lack of commute. Secondly, you are engaging positively with the staff member by showing them that they are trusted and perceived to be responsible enough to get the job done without supervision. Lastly, you are boosting morale and job satisfaction, which will have an effect on productivity throughout the working week. Giving employees a day at home allows them to better integrate their home and work lives – for example, they might be able to put their young children to bed due to the lack of an evening commute – and will make them grateful.
Schedule a Weekly Productivity Meeting
Each week, set aside 15 minutes and invite all of your employees to speak fully and frankly about their work environment. The division of labor on a particular task or outside conditions may demand a change in the way a team is working. You can also ask them to let you know, in a more general sense, how they could do their job in a simpler and more efficient manner. Sometimes, processes and systems which can seem to make sense from a management position are seen as unnecessary bureaucracy by those who are made to work within them. You could gain a new perspective, so don’t hesitate to invite suggestions for improvements to your business’s working model.
Encourage Collaboration
Most businesses will already incorporate some sort of teamwork structure, because it’s often the most efficient way to do things – dividing tasks from the same project to different staff members makes use of their individual skills and experience. However, there are ways in which this collaboration might be aided. For example, any team which works from any kind of document (be that spreadsheets, presentations, simple Word files etc.) could benefit from a Cloud-based IT solution, which enables users to view and edit documents simultaneously and in real time. No more emailing edits back and forth or printing hard copies to show a colleague. Similarly, you might do something as simple as holding brainstorming sessions where all are encouraged to participate and no idea is dismissed out of hand.
Thomas Jones is a freelance blogger who writes on rel=”nofollow”creativity in business and a wide range of tech topics.
Image courtesy imglighting
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