Productive employees are the lifeblood of an organization and determine whether an organization prospers or fails. However, it can be easy for employees to fall into the busyness trap wherein hard work ultimately ends up being unproductive due to a lack of focus.

Thus, productivity improvement should be on the priority list of any manager, but that may be easier said than done. After all, only 15% of employees worldwide are actually engaged with their work. Leaders need to be proactive in dealing with an unengaged and underperforming workforce to keep the organization thriving.

Also read: Managing your energy (not time) is the key to productivity

Here are 4 steps you need to take in order to make your workforce more productive:

1. Learn to delegate tasks

One of the most vital and difficult tasks to learn for any manager is to know how to delegate properly. Good delegation means utilizing your employees’ strengths. Assign tasks to employees whose skill set compliment the nature of the task. Not only will managers be able to better focus on other matters, but these tasks will be less time consuming if the employee possesses the skills needed to work on them.

2. Communicate goals clearly

Define your expectations and employee priorities as clearly as possible. Be specific when assigning a task so that the employee knows the entire scope of what they need to do. Knowing exactly what is expected of them will make it easier for them to focus and plan their schedule accordingly.

Effective communication may not be easy at first, but it is a skill that can be learned. Managers that know how to communicate will save time by preventing misunderstandings and employees prioritizing the wrong tasks.

3. Give constructive feedback

Every organization is only as strong as its weakest member; therefore, organizations need to guide their employees to continually improve themselves. Getting feedback from managers and team leaders is a good way to pinpoint rooms for growth for their respective teams. However, purely negative feedback will only discourage employees.

Managers that know how to communicate will save time by preventing misunderstandings and employees prioritizing the wrong tasks.

When giving negative feedback, highlight how these weaknesses can be improved on, so that your employees have a clear goal to work towards. Give positive feedback whenever and wherever it is due as well.

4. Invest in employee training and development

Another way to continually develop your employees is to enhance their skills, to allow them to become more effective at their roles.

A paper published by the University of Maryland shows that as technology rapidly transforms various industries, the skills needed to succeed in those sectors become increasingly complex. Thus, organizations need to constantly grow and keep up with the demands of their industries through good management practice and employee skill development.

Also read: Have you tried these tips to boost your productivity

Statistics show that 40% of employees leave their jobs within the first year due to inadequate training and seeing no opportunities for career growth in the job. Organizations that invest in training programs will not only retain their employees, but also have the opportunities to appoint these employees to managerial positions if they possess the right skills.

With experienced speakers who are established in their fields, TeamAsia Training is a top training provider in the Philippines that provides workshops that enhance and teach skills, efficient work behavior and leadership training. Through TeamAsia Training’s varied workshops, employees can learn how to maximize their time to get all their tasks done as efficiently as possible, while organizational leaders can grow a productive team by learning how to better manage and delegate to their employees. 

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