Every business owner wants to be successful. As an entrepreneur, you need to see to it that your employees are working at the right speed. There are instances when you will need things done faster, and your employees might have challenges adapting to the new pace.
What will you do to increase your team’s speed? If one member of your team works slowly, they can lower the team’s morale and decrease productivity. As an employer, there are few things you need to do for your team to fasten up. Below are some.
1. Talk with Your Employees
To start with, listen to the employees first. Let them tell you their thoughts on their speed and their contribution to the company. Aim to listen to what your employees will say before talking about the problem and how it affects you and your company.
Ask the employees why they work slowly without sounding judgmental. Most reasons employees work slowly are due to interruptions causing a lack of focus, being a perfectionist, or feeling overwhelmed. Try coming up with a solution to the problem then let them understand how you want work done.
2. Teach Project Management Skills
On most occasions, employees do not know after how long you expect them to be done with tasks. Most employees become productive when a large task is broken down, not smaller tasks. This way, they get satisfied after completing one small milestone. If the tasks are broken into smaller pieces, tracking their progress also becomes more manageable.
Create a tracking system and due dates for tasks together with your employees. You can use specific work-execution tools like Smartsheet, which can help you trace and track due dates and scheduled tasks. In the Smartsheet, remember to set reminders, updates, and alerts for your employees. You can also use a business tool that uses an automated calling system so you can get updates from your employees without an email, call, or visit.
3. Make and Amend Changes
Engage with your employees on which environment they need to focus on most. If you have an open floor plan in your office, add a closed-door office for use if an employee needs to concentrate on their work. Another strategy is letting your employees work from home at least one day in a week to avoid distractions in the office. For some workers, listening to music while working improves concentration. So, allow them to be flexible enough for comfortability as they work.
To avoid destruction, employees can use apps like Focus and Freedom to block websites that distract them. Ask your employees what distracts them and how often they get distracted by phone calls and text messages. Remind them to set their IM to ‘Do Not Disturb’ and send the phone to voicemail when they need to be focused.
4. Make Time-Saving Tools Available
Give room for your employees to tell you what they think would help them save time or complete their tasks faster. Your company might be lacking the right technology for your employees’ use leading to slower productivity. Avail all necessary equipment needed by your workers.
You could also help your workers by giving them simple ideas like using the notes app or voice recorder to save ideas during a commute. The Smartsheet could also be used to automate repetitive tasks. On occasions when employees waste time waiting for your approval, come up with approval rules to get rid of bottlenecks.
5. Come up with a Feedback Loop
Most employees use feedback in one way, telling the employees whether the performance speed has improved. Instead of doing this, you should also let your employees give their feedback on how efficient the strategies placed are working. You can then provide a vantage point from there.
Make a schedule of how often you will exchange feedback with your employees and stick to the plan. To motivate your employees, reward, and celebrate with them even for accomplishing small milestones. Also, alert them once you realize a specific project is in danger. Mostly, an employee will do very little on their own to increase their productivity.
Trying to handle slow workers is among the most challenging problems you will come across as an employer. Having goals and standards to compare actual performance against helps you determine whether you are achieving your company’s goals. The tips above will help you increase productivity by helping your employees increase their working speed.
