Learning how to improve employee productivity is more important than ever. According to a recent Gallup poll, employee engagement dropped to just 21% in 2024, costing organizations over $420 billion in work.
Like the structural components of a skyscraper, productive workers are vital to building a successful, long-lasting company. Motivated employees provide better customer service, support team objectives, deliver more value, and even contribute to stronger cybersecurity. How can your organization increase worker productivity?
HOW TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY WITH TECHNOLOGY
Some companies are hesitant to invest in software or digital tools because of the price tag. But in the long run, many of these tools cost less than the cost of paying employees by the hour to do things the hard way. Here are a few ways they can help.
1. Upgrade Order Tracking and Fulfillment Technology
Manufacturers that still use traditional inventory management, order planning, and routing are missing out on major productivity benefits. Modern logistics/transportation solutions can improve order picking, streamline driver routes, and reduce errors.
2. Make Your Operations More Mobile
Pairing apps with tablets can speed up worker tasks significantly. Instead of needing to return to a desk constantly, employees and managers can stay active. Going mobile is good for home inspectors, commercial contractors, IT technicians, and industrial maintenance teams.
3. Standardize Your Operations
Confusion is the enemy of productivity. Red tape and conflicting instructions slow employees down. To avoid this problem, standardize everything:
- Policies
- Definitions
- Processes and controls
- Rules and consequences
- Metrics
- Objectives
Eliminate chaos. When workers understand clearly what you want from them, they can focus on accomplishing tasks instead of waiting for answers.
4. Centralize Work Resources
How much time do your employees waste looking for documents? Data silos are an obstacle to productivity for law firms, hospital billing departments, software developers, and manufacturing companies alike.
By taking the time to centralize key resources — procedures, product data, inventory levels, etc. — you ensure workers can find accurate information quickly. Not only do employees stay productive, but having the right document version also means they make fewer mistakes.
COST-EFFECTIVE WAYS TO INCREASE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY
Not all productivity solutions require high-tech tools. Sometimes, all you need are smart decisions and forward-thinking employees.
5. Prioritize Preventive Actions
Whether your organization depends on heavy machinery or data center infrastructure for its operations, proactive maintenance is one of the best ways to improve employee productivity while lowering costs. In the case of IT hardware, it’s always less expensive to replace minor components instead of allowing major parts to fail.
6. Have a Dedicated IT Support Solution
No matter your industry, unscheduled network downtime leads to lost production, wasted work, and significant costs. Employees depend on cloud connectivity for most parts of the job, so resolving network issues promptly is critical.
You can’t afford to wait days for repair technicians. With on-call or onsite IT professional services, your team can quickly return to work.
7. Encourage Proper Comfort and Rest for Workers
When employees are comfortable, they accomplish more. Buying high-quality, comfy chairs for $300, instead of the bargain-basement $49.99 models, can be an excellent investment.
If you’re trying to increase employee productivity, pushing them too hard can have the opposite effect. Getting enough rest reduces stress, improves concentration, and restores energy levels, not to mention encouraging a positive attitude.
8. Set Clear, Productive, and Realistic Goals
Good leadership goes a long way to keeping workers happy, making them feel valued, and giving their work purpose. Here are a few secrets to a well-managed IT team:
- Provide regular, honest communication with team members
- Give instructions that are clear and uncomplicated, with specific examples
- Whenever possible, explain your reasons for decisions so workers feel like part of the conversation
- Respond kindly when someone has a follow-up question or concern
- When a worker does something that impresses you, take the time to let them know
If you want productive workers, you need to make sure the tasks you set are productive. Don’t assign meaningless busy work. Accomplish important things as a team.
9. Don’t Be in a Hurry To Nix Hybrid Work Schedules
Far from destroying your company’s productivity, hybrid work can improve it. One of the largest studies to date found that hybrid employees (who worked at least two days from home) had the same level of productivity as office-only staff, along with lower quit rates and improved satisfaction.
THE BENEFITS OF OUTSOURCING FOR EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY
Outsourcing employee management, network security, IT maintenance, and similar roles can lower overall costs and enhance productivity.
10. Simplify Employee Management
A contract-to-hire model for high-demand positions can reduce the workload for your HR department. When you partner with an IT agency, you don’t have to worry about interviews, training, or performance reviews. You get productive workers who are ready to hit the ground running.
11. Pair the Right Candidates With Important Roles
Another benefit of outsourcing some tasks to professional hiring agencies is that these firms have a large pool of talent to draw from. They can find a close fit between your job specs and a candidate’s qualifications and qualities.
How does this help productivity? When a position lines up closely with an employee’s abilities and professional goals, the worker is more likely to feel happy and engaged. Job satisfaction is a key part of productivity.
12. Fill Job Openings With Qualified Professionals
Employee productivity is also related to work experience. Put simply, a worker who lacks the proper training won’t accomplish as much, even if they have a great attitude.
Outsourcing hiring to talent agencies means you don’t have to “settle” for less-than-optimal workers just because your local job market is small. Your business gets the expertise of professionals who already have the qualifications you want.
When it comes to IT, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and other specialized roles, trying to manage hiring in-house is difficult and risky. Even experienced HR managers have trouble telling if network techs have the right background.
DISCOVER EXPERT SOLUTIONS FOR WORKER PRODUCTIVITY AND IT SERVICES
Maximizing employee productivity and minimizing cyber risks depends on finding professionals who have real-world experience and follow industry best practices. At TSP, we provide tailored IT solutions for your organization, from remote support and network maintenance to personnel management for software development and cybersecurity. Contact us to get started.
