As a business owner, watching your team run in circles, or rather, snail-pace through a project is nothing short of frustrating. Your team have the potential and a fantastic skill set, but you can sense a severe case of unproductivity happening in the office.

Being the savvy, problem-solving business owner you are- you want to rectify this and get your staff back on track. There are some simple but effective ways to give your staff direction in their duties and attitude towards their workload.

Without further ado, here are some key ways to boost your team’s productivity…

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES

Hear me out; you don’t need to be channelling your inner yogi to appreciate and respond to a powerful quote. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being motivated and inspired, especially from other business owners.
Sending a daily motivational quote can be an epic way to rally up your team and empower them to start the day with a bang.

A powerful reminder of motivation, inspiration and empowerment can never go amiss. With over a billion videos views on TED Talks clocked up, motivational speakers are certainly doing something right!

GOAL SETTING

It’s vital that you help your team set weekly goals. There’s nothing like a looming deadline to charge productivity rates. Setting a date for completion and a reward for their achievements will give them the extra spark to reach their targets.

Your team should all be aware of personal and business goals. Each week everyone in the office should be spending a few minutes to track SMART goals.

  • S – Specific
  • M – Measurable
  • A – Achievable
  • R – Realistic
  • T – Time-based

KNOWLEDGE BUILDING

Sending your staff expert advice and articles on topics like productivity hacks, organisation tips and public speaking is an excellent way for them to build their knowledge and enhance their skill set.

Taking on a specific skill every fortnight for a monthly lunch and learn is a brilliant exercise to engage your team. A productive team is one that is passionate about their trade, encourage this, it’s in your best interest to dedicate time to improve their knowledge. Why not create a quarterly calendar and assign each topic to an individual staff member to lead?

RECOGNITION

Recognising your team’s triumphs is an excellent way to encourage them to keep working hard. Celebrating every success will maintain a high level of morale in the office. If staff are aware that their business is being closely monitored and observed, they’ll have an incentive to be recognised for their efforts and show their value to the company. Running a quarterly or end of year event will keep your staff interested in their work, look after them, and they will look after you!

Competition has always been a good motivator, keep an eye on not just your results, but your competitors. Using their triumphs to alight a motivational lead through your office can lead to tremendous results. Awaken the sense of friendly competition by staying close to companies in your industry.

ENCOURAGE A COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT

Depending on your line of work, switching your office environment to be collaborative is an important factor in upping your team’s productivity. A sterile environment is likely to lead your staff in searching for ways to entertain themselves, usually by procrastinating.

A lively, enthusiastic office will reflect a similar attitude, let your team be excited about their tasks and work together to come up with creative ideas and concepts. It’s likely they’ll be inspired by one another and motivated to create a sense of teamwork.

A lack of productivity can often come down to a team feeling uninspired and directionless. To turbocharge your team’s productivity rate, you should be leading the way. Ensure they all have a direction, a deadline to work to and personal achievements to secure along the way. A good leader should be one that does just that, leads by example and encourages all members of the team to fulfil their potential.

The steps above are easy to achieve and ultimately come down to you and your management team being able to look after your staff and keep them interested and excited about being in the office.