Productivity is an integral part of success in the workplace. And yet, despite that, a staggering 85% of employees are not engaged or completely disengaged, resulting in billions of dollars in lost productivity every year.
That’s especially frustrating when you consider how many effective strategies companies could implement to help their teams realize their full potential. Today, science and technology have converged to create a variety of tools that are ideal for boosting productivity, employee engagement, and the results that come from it.
With that in mind, let’s look at a few simple but incredibly powerful strategies for boosting productivity and employee morale in the workplace.
Set Up a Lunch and Learn
More and more companies are implementing a lunch and learn program every year. And there’s a reason why that’s the case – these types of programs are a relatively simple but compelling way to keep your employees progressing in their skills, engaged in the workplace, and maximizing their time.
Plus, it can be a fun activity that combines a social gathering and a learning opportunity, allowing your team to learn a new skill or expand their knowledge over the course of a single lunch break.
The focused and in-depth session typically lasts up to an hour, but a well-prepared presenter can typically provide quite a bit of information in that time. Some of the ways you could use a lunch and learn program include:
- Having someone from your team discuss a topic that they are knowledgeable about, sharing insights, walkthroughs, and case studies that help others become better at it as well.
- Teaching various life skills that people can apply at work or in their personal lives. These could even be productivity hacks that help people get through tasks faster and manage their time more effectively.
- Brainstorming sessions that can be used to generate new ideas and create a sense of unity when deciding on the direction the company should take.
These are just a few examples, as there’s a virtually limitless amount of ways you could utilize a lunch and learn event in your office and make it a regular habit to keep your employees engaged and learning.
Teach Your Team Good Habits
Achieving significant increases in office productivity is not something you can expect to do overnight. In fact, the process can often seem very difficult, with no clear path for getting where you want to go as a company.
But an excellent way to make it more manageable is to look at productivity improvements as a collection of small changes that accumulate to produce significant compounding results. Sometimes, even seemingly tiny changes in how your employees work and spend their time can make the biggest difference.
For instance, you could encourage your team to start utilizing time blocking and the Pomodoro technique. There’s a reason why this straightforward technique for getting things done is so popular; by splitting time into actionable chunks, it’s possible to overcome tasks much faster and minimize procrastination by planning work in short bursts of productive activities.
You could also help your team structure their work in a way that makes more sense. For example, superiors and more experienced team members could teach others which tasks to prioritize, how to plan out a typical day, and what to do when something is unclear. You could even put together a lunch and learn event about this specific subject, which could be very interesting to your entire team.
Encourage Collaboration
One of the biggest obstacles on the road to better productivity is isolation between employees. If a person doesn’t know how to do something or is confused, it can take a very long time for them to figure everything out on their own. Meanwhile, with a bit of help, even complex issues can be broken down into manageable chunks that your team can handle much faster.
At the same time, working together can help maintain progress and momentum on long-term projects. Individual members can become unavailable at various points in time, but if the team knows how to effectively communicate and share responsibilities, the work can continue no matter who is available at that moment.
To make sure that your team is collaborating effectively, consider implementing some of the best communication practices for the workplace, such as providing your team with the right tools, making time for people to communicate, and awarding collaborative work instead of individual achievements.
Bottom Line
Productivity in the workplace can be the deciding factor that determines your company’s potential and ability to grow. But unfortunately, many companies struggle with getting their employees to use their time effectively, which can create various bottlenecks that are difficult to overcome.
With the strategies listed above, you can start making gradual improvements in how your team operates, helping them continually learn new skills, get more done in their time, and work together more effectively. All of which are critical parts of what makes employees productive.
