Many employers worry about the productivity of their remote staff, but it’s just as important to concentrate on the productivity of your staff who are based in the office. Even in the office, it can be easy for distractions and other issues to get in the way and slow down the pace of work.
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Make Sure Staff Have All The Right Tools
You can’t expect staff to be productive if they don’t they have the equipment that they need to be productive. Make sure they have whatever they might need and that the equipment they have is reliable.
Make sure your IT infrastructure is stable and that your internet is fast. Slow internet or an unstable network can really slow work down, and cause staff to become frustrated. Managed IT services from a company like https://www.xitx.com/our-it-services/managed-it-services/ is a great way to keep things working smoothly.
Consider offering your staff productivity tools like time management apps. Be careful not to accidentally make your staff feel spied on with these tools and make it clear that these apps are for their own use. Tracking the time spent on different projects can be useful for billing and working out where time could be better used.
Make sure you have plenty of communication tools in place too, so staff can collaborate when they need to. This could include tools like Google Drive or Slack.
Build Employee Skills With Training
Keeping training on-going is a great way to maintain productivity. Don’t just train new staff, and offer regular training to existing staff too. Being given the chance to top up existing skills and new ones can help staff to stay engaged, productive and effective in their work.
Don’t Micromanage
It might seem counterintuitive, but if you want staff to work effectively, you need to give them some independence. If your recruitment process is working, then you should already know that your staff are great at what they do, so you don’t need to manage them too closely. Five your team control over their own time and resources.
Over-managing is off-putting, and frustrated staff who feel too controlled won’t be as effective in their work. Try and view your role as supportive rather than controlling. Trust your team and don’t hover.
Keep Communication Open
If your company is going to work effectively, you need to keep open lines of communication between all your teams.
As a manager, communicate your expectations clearly to your staff so they know exactly what is expected of them and what they need to do. Encourage your team to communicate with you too. If they are able to talk to you, they can let you know about any problems before they grow into larger issues.
Keep communication positive. A lot of workplace conversations can turn to talking about past problems. Instead, concentrate on talking about past wins, and when problems do arise, look to problem solve and not assign blame. Look ahead, instead of rehashing past problems.
