Six Ways Management Can Increase Team Member Productivity
According to research by Atlassian, the average employee has over 31 hours of meetings each month. In that study, most employees felt these work meetings were wasted time. Meetings are great if they are a catalyst toward actually accomplishing work. If employees are no longer engaged in efficiently working each day, consider adding these six systematic management steps into your company culture.
1. Value Every Team Member
This seems like a simple idea, but it can easily be overlooked by management who may begin to see team members as workers only and not valuable people. Recognize each team member as an individual who has opinions, thoughts, and feelings — and you can motivate them toward increased collaboration and productivity. Be kind and courteous to them and don’t treat them disrespectfully. When employees feel valued, they will be inspired to create work that has value.
2. Use the Sandwich Technique
No employee is perfect and there will come a time when they need to be criticized. However, management can inspire them toward greater productivity with the sandwich technique. With the sandwich technique, you start with a positive comment to remind both you and the employee about a good quality or behavior. Then, you deliver the constructive criticism. Finally, you end the discussion on a positive note.
3. Be Available to Team Members
When management is unavailable to answer team member questions or to help a worker with a task, that can become very debilitating to the individual employee and eventually to the entire team. An available team leader can inspire excitement in team members and lead them forward toward successful project completion. Be available for more than simply team meetings. Make an effort to get to know each individual and cultivate a company culture that is inclusionary, rather than exclusionary.
4. Earn Their Respect Daily
Your employees want to have leaders that they can admire and respect. Team members need to see the management team modeling the same type of behavior that is expected from them. It is important to keep your promises to employees. When they see you daily living out professional and respectful behavior, that will motivate them to follow suit and become more positive in their own daily outlook. As you earn their respect each day, you create fertile ground for increased productivity.
5. Implement an Incentivized Culture
Nothing can increase productivity more among team members than implementing an incentivized company culture. Management can create an incentive plan to stimulate enhanced collaboration and increased sales. The incentive program can include bonuses for good behavior and monthly sales achievements. Management can implement an employee of the month program, which is another great way to spur team members on to greater productivity.
6. Reorganize Operational Structure
Reorganizing the operational structure of various processes in the workplace will pay off in improved team performance. Consider whether you are utilizing antiquated equipment, operating systems, and company policies. Step into the future and see how you can implement more smart technology into daily operations and whether it’s time to move in to an intelligent office building.
Implementing any of these practical management techniques into your company culture can become the catalyst toward cultivating a more productive team.
