5 Things That Impact Employee Productivity
Research suggests that less than 60% of the workday is spent being productive — and that 31% of workers waste at least one hour per workday.
In today’s difficult labor market, employee productivity remains a top challenge for companies. In fact, research suggests that less than 60% of the workday is spent being productive — and that 31% of workers waste at least one hour per workday.
Unfortunately, business leaders often miss the boat when trying to enhance productivity by resorting to inconvenient tracking tools, excessive meetings, and other outdated tactics. These mechanisms usually fail to address why workers lose motivation in the first place, often pushing them even further away.
Keep reading to learn the top factors that impact employee productivity and some ways you can avoid them.
The top productivity barriers to avoid in your company
1. Lengthy project start times
Companies often hire or add employees to projects prematurely causing them to idle for days or weeks before doing any work. When this happens, workers, including designers, developers, and copywriters, may end up sitting in meetings and planning sessions without any real purpose.
To avoid this, managers should always make sure the team or project is ready before bringing new workers into the fold.
2. Excessive meetings
Companies are using messaging platforms like Slack and Teams more than ever yet continue to have meetings and check-ins that waste hours each week.
To boost productivity, teams should ask managers to replace in-person and video meetings whenever possible. Believe it or not, research shows that reducing meetings boosts productivity by up to 74%!
3. Manual labor
A growing number of businesses are using automation to eliminate tasks like manual data entry, which take time and require rework due to errors.
There are many software services available today that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to eliminate repetitive tasks and free workers to focus on other priorities. Incorporating these tools can directly boost productivity by taking repeatable tasks off employees’ plates.
4. Working too hard
Many business leaders are waking up to the idea that it’s not about working harder — it’s about working smarter. Far too often, employees go too hard at their jobs, which leads to burnout, stress, and turnover.
The 70% rule suggests that employees are most productive when they work at a less intense and more enjoyable pace. It also provides extra capacity for workers to give a deeper effort when necessary — like during tight deadlines and busy crunch times.
5. Knowledge gaps
Workers often have questions that require immediate answers. This is particularly true with sales and marketing teams that need to respond to customer questions about product updates, regulatory frameworks, and security mechanisms.
To close knowledge gaps and empower workers, companies should consider using self-service tools that put knowledge at their fingertips. This lets employees learn as they go along and gives them the insights to do their jobs effectively.
Want to learn how FLX Systems can help boost productivity in your organization? Set up a consultation today.
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