You can’t find two business organizations with the same sets of goals. However, the chances are that all companies share one aim in common – increasing productivity. Productivity has been a subject of many studies in the past. Many have tried to find the secret and provide general advice on how to boost productivity.
The thing is that enemies of productivity change as the times change. The workforce today is exposed to different enemies than the one from just a couple of decades ago. How can you stay on top of all your tasks regardless of the sea of distractions haunting you?
Why care about productivity?
Productivity is important to both employees and employers. The latter want to achieve their business goals, which directly relates to their teams’ achievements. For employees, productivity can be a struggle. After all, they want to aim for their goals and complete them with flying colors. However, there are many reasons why employees can feel less than prepared to do their tasks. Let’s try to discuss some of the biggest triggers and ways to resolve them. Of course, many of them require the assistance of employers.
Too many time-consuming meetings
Distractions, in general, continue to be the number one enemy of productivity. Distractions are present across industries, and they come in various forms. The most common one is a business meeting, especially if it is somewhat a regular activity in your organization.
Meetings disrupt all participants’ workflows. Getting back to work is hard, especially if you have another meeting scheduled in less than an hour. Fortunately, defeating this enemy is easy. Try to make meetings as meaningful and concise as possible. Avoid scheduling them every day. Instead, you can schedule weekly or bi-weekly sessions. The biggest goal should be to avoid meetings that could have been an email.
No or poor performance management
Performance management is paramount for the success of an organization despite its size and the industry it’s in. Yet, many employees don’t know what goals they need to achieve nor how they contribute to achieving company-wide goals. It is one of those enemies that lurk in the shadows. You know that something is affecting productivity company-wide, but you are unable to tell what.
You can defeat it without directly facing it by meticulously planning and executing your performance management strategy. Your team leaders and department managers play vital roles here. They need to work individually with all employees to outline goals and time periods in which they must be achieved.
Performance management should not serve as grounds for punishments but as a supportive structure that enables employees to grow professionally and develop in a safe environment.
Seeing your employees only as workers
Many organizations with poor productivity levels see their employees only as workers. It is another enemy that only a few brands defeated once and for all. If you see your employees only as some names on a payroll, you will risk putting too much pressure on them, stressing them out, and eventually burning some of them out.
You must acknowledge them as people as well. They have their private lives and often bring non-work-related stress. Combine this stress with work-related stress, and you have a recipe for poor performance and low productivity levels.
Give your employees room to breathe. Work with your HR department to create meaningful support programs your employees can use to blow off some steam. Well-planned get-togethers and team-building events are also good for meeting your employees outside of their work roles and spending some time together.
Fear of cybersecurity and privacy issues
Yes, we live in the digital era, and most business data is vulnerable to cyberattacks. But you should not use this threat to paralyze your workers or keep them constantly monitored as they might feel stress and anxiety and become less productive.
Employees should be allowed to use the internet how they see fit during breaks. Yes, you should educate them about common threats such as insecure websites, phishing links in emails, and other scams. Since you are more responsible for safeguarding business data than them, you should implement some solutions.
Another issue might be the opposite: employees do not get enough information on cybersecurity. Without proper training and guidelines, they might struggle to understand which activities are harmless and which are not.
For instance, you can start using a firewall and antivirus software. Educate your employees about things like password managers that can greatly help them access necessary accounts.
Additionally, recommend that your employees use Virtual Private Networks for their work-related tasks. It is important to protect all interactions that your employees have. After all, unsecured networks could lead to someone accidentally leaking confidential information. Also, emphasize the necessity to use a personal VPN to secure your IP, especially if employees tackle work tasks on their own devices.
No company culture
As the last enemy of productivity, we have no company culture. Company culture is important in terms of productivity because it helps organizations engage their employees. Employee engagement can drive productivity. Plus, it improves the quality of work and health, helps companies overcome challenges easily, and lowers turnover rates.
Building a company culture is not an easy task. It takes time and effort. The best place to start is to ensure that everyone understands the company values and in what way their work impacts the company and pushes it forward.
These are the five enemies of productivity. As you can see, some of them you can easily defeat while combating others requires elaborate planning. If you want to boost productivity in your company, it’s worth keeping an eye out for these enemies and tackling them as soon as they are identified.
Final words
Being productive all the time might be the goal. However, you should try to understand your employees. People cannot always do 110%; sometimes, 70% should be an adequate result. There are many variables that can influence how your employee is performing. Mental issues have received special attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, attention to your employees’ mental state should not be a one-time deal. You should always ensure that people feel safe and appreciated in their position.
