Is Your Company Maximizing Employee Productivity?

By: Victoria Kuebler, PHR, CCP, CBP

Word count: 525 words
Time to Read: 1-2 minutes

More than 70 percent of HR professionals in the Northeast believe their employees are too distracted and overloaded at work, according to a recent survey by the Northeast Human Resources Association.

Perform this survey nationwide and the results would likely be the same. And when you think 70 percent of your employees are not working at full potential, that’s a staggering amount of productivity loss and drain on your bottom line.

So how can your company minimize employee distraction and overload to maximize productivity in the workplace? One approach is to use three basic leadership tools.

1. Clarity of Purpose
   
   To have followers you must tell a compelling story. And you must show in word and deed that you are clearly aligned with this future direction. In today’s tough business environment, keeping and communicating the company’s vision is more important than ever before. Your company’s vision guides your employees’ actions and gives reason to their continued efforts.
   
   Make clear the connections between the actions your company takes to achieve its vision and the outcomes you expect from every employee. Include these outcomes and expectations in employee performance agreements. Make sure each job description describes how the position will help in reaching the vision. This clarity of purpose reduces confusion so everyone knows directly how they impact the company’s productivity and bottom line.
   
   
2. Disciplined Communication
   
   Research shows that when communication is a disciplined process, employees are more focused and connected. In the absence of regular communication, employees fill in the blanks with their own fears and assumptions. Whether ultimately true or false, this distracted communication consumes vast amounts of time and resources.
   
   Establish regular channels for the free flow of information. Set expectations around how and when communications will take place. Become part of this information flow to ensure the messages are heard and understood. Be available to answer employees’ questions, note concerns and clarify uncertainties. The productivity gains realized from focused and connected employees is worth your time and effort.
   
   
3. Appropriate Delegation
   
   Most companies would agree they are doing more with less and that translates into one thing. Employees feel overworked and under-resourced. In order to maximize productivity, you must sustain your human capital without depleting or exploiting it.
   
   To help ease potential overload, make sure you have the right person in the right job. Before delegating, take stock of your whole team. Select the employee who has the appropriate expertise for the project. Or think to the future and pick the employee would benefit most by the opportunity.
   
   Make sure employees have the correct skills and tools they need to get the job done. Take into account your team’s entire work load. Assess if tasks and routine transactions can be redistributed. Better yet, find out if those tasks need to be done at all. Considered workload delegation is a solid investment in your human capital and will ultimately grow your company’s bottom line.

Employees are regularly faced with distraction and overload at work. Your challenge is to reduce the ultimate impact. Using these three tools, your company will reap the rewards of more engaged, focused, and productive employees.