A lot of us believe that the company is only as good as its employees. Although this statement may be true, it isn’t the whole story. As a business owner and employer, you should always strive to create a work culture that cultivates productivity and collaboration. Make your employees feel appreciated and valued for their strengths and talents.
With the working world transitioning towards remote work due to this ongoing pandemic, everyone in the management team knows the relevance of this ‘new normal. We need to create better ways to enhance employee productivity from home policy.
But not even months into this transition, a lot of us are still figuring it out. Businesses are struggling to keep their staff undistracted and productive while working at home. Here are some tips on how to boost your staff productivity while working from home.
Dedicated workspace
Your business managers must encourage your employees to designate a dedicated workstation in their homes for better productivity. Specified workstations at home keep the employees away from home distractions which result in better employee productivity.
It is just like having a separate room for studies to concentrate better and deliver results. Some companies shared that their employee productivity increased by encouraging their employees to have an appropriate workspace in their homes. Their dedicated workspace can be any free area of their home where they can comfortably work better and free from distractions.
Equip your right tools
The management should ensure that the staff have their support by providing them with the tools that they need to stay connected and work efficiently. It is your managers’ responsibility to analyse and prepare for work hassles and inefficiencies before they hurt your staff’s productivity.
Providing your staff with the latest technologies will allow them to stay on the same page with your managers while working from home.
These includes:
- Project management tracking apps (Asana, Airtable, etc.)
- Instant messaging apps (Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.)
- Video conferencing apps (Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, etc.)
- Make sure that all of the office computers are working in top condition when employees plan on bringing them home.
- Keep all software updated to ensure no equipment crashes unexpectedly.
- Ensure that all the employees have a good speed internet connection at home and they aren’t surrounded by distractions.
- Make sure that their homes have a functional environment to work productively.
Utilise video conferencing apps
When your staff are physically apart from each other, misunderstandings can happen. We’re all unique with different personalities, preferences and skill levels. Others might not understand or see things the way that you do. Long emails won’t do any good either. It’s going to take up a lot of time for everyone involved yet not everyone will understand the message. Encourage your staff to utilise video meetings instead of emails and chats.
Provide them opportunities to grow
When your staff doesn’t feel an opportunity to grow in your business, they will seek it somewhere else.
Despite working from home, employees still look for the same things in a job to keep them motivated, one of which is the opportunity to grow their careers. If you are not providing your employees with upgrades on their current skill sets you’re missing out on what they can offer when they reach their full potential.
We shouldn’t let the lockdown stop us from providing good management for our staff. Focus on your business development by employee growth as well as employee retention by providing them opportunities to learn and harness their skills from time to time.
Let your staff focus on their main role
Financial services belong to the industry with diverse and wide-ranging tasks and jobs that are subdivided into several categories. From data gathering, follow ups, implementation, research, calls etc. these tasks alone can take up time away from your staff’s high-value tasks. With the latest technology, you can successfully and efficiently outsource these tedious and repetitive tasks remotely to experts.
Let your onshore staff focus on what they do best and bring more revenue to the business by delegating low-value tasks to an outsourced team.
Set goals
Achieve your work target and boost staff productivity by setting goals with your team. Have a meeting with them and fix long-term and short-term goals and check in with them on their progress.
Let your managers frequently touch base with their team to know their work progress and any roadblocks in achieving their goals. As a business owner, you have to encourage your staff by giving them the support they need to resolve all issues quickly and efficiently.
