All of us have too much to do and not enough time. You may already know how to plan, set priorities, and streamline your work since you’re the boss. Yet how can you help the people on your team do the same thing? Should you tell them exactly how to do things and what tools to use or would that make matters worse? How do you keep employees from taking on too much, getting too tired, or just going around in circles? The truth is, there is a fine balance between managing just enough and doing too much so that your team resents what you’re doing. With that in mind, here are some of the best ways to improve your employees’ productivity and keep them listening to you.
Set Clear And Attainable Goals
First, you need to take a step back and decide what you want your team to work on. Set important goals and think about how your team will be able to reach them. Make sure you have processes in place, and if you want to keep track of your progress, you could use specialist software to ensure everyone is doing what they should be doing, and that the results are what you want.
In the meantime, make sure the goals are still attainable. Even if you give someone a reasonable deadline for a big project, it could be overwhelming. On the other hand, breaking up big projects into smaller steps shows clear progress and keeps team members motivated as they work toward the end goal.
Clarify Roles And Tasks
The next step is to meet with each team member individually to tell them what their roles are and what is most important. First, tell them what the two or three most important tasks are that you want them to work on. Then figure out how much time your employees should spend on each task. At the same time, make sure they know what kind of work you want from them. Then, make sure to explain what you hope to accomplish. Finally, don’t get in their way.
Let your employees work in the best way they can. If you do this, they are more likely to come to you when they need help, and that not only makes them more productive, but it frees up a lot of your time too.
Create A Healthy Work Environment
People don’t usually do their best work when they are under constant stress. If the people on your team are always worried or on the verge of burnout, they won’t work well or be productive.
Make sure everyone on your team knows it’s acceptable to take breaks, and create a culture of balance on your team or in your company. It’s important to check in on projects and make sure they’re still on track, but it’s also important to see how your team members are doing in their personal lives. Set aside time in one-on-ones to talk about your team members’ personal lives. Are they happy? Have they got time for their families? What are their favorite things to do? You can also set up events and social gatherings away from the office where your team can get to know each other. As for the office itself, make it as good as it can possibly be. When someone works in one of the most beautiful offices in the world, they will naturally feel more comfortable and at ease.
When you encourage your team members to have a life outside of work and make sure they have time to enjoy it, they can go back to work refreshed and ready to work hard. If all you do is talk about how important work is and make your team work extra-long hours, you’re making them more likely to get burned out.
Reward Quality (Not Quantity)
When it comes to the workplace, recognition is so important. Any good team leader or manager takes the time to thank their team members for their hard work and effort. This can happen on a team level, during stand-ups or meetings, or on a company level, at all-hands meetings or annual events.
When praising good work and contributions, try to focus on the quality of the work rather than the amount of it. Think about a team member who answers a lot of queries but has a low score for customer satisfaction. You might also have another member of the team who answers fewer queries but whose customers are always happy. In this case, it’s best to give praise to the team member whose work is better. Even though it’s great that the first team member is dealing with a lot of customers, they’re not doing it in a way that puts the customer first. If you praise the second performance more than the first, it will encourage the rest of your team to act in the same way.