Transforming Your Business’ Productivity Through Employee Well-being And Workflow Management

According to Gallup, employee engagement has been at an all time high of 33% in recent years. This is likely the result of the well-being revolution occurring in businesses across the nation. As a small business owner or manager, understanding the importance of employee well-being and how it relates to productivity is crucial to long term success.

Work Smart

As a small business owner, if you’re leading or managing a team, then get to know them. Understanding what your employees excel at and delegating tasks based on this knowledge will greatly improve your business’ productivity. Many employees lack a clear picture of all the tasks they need to accomplish. Rather than prioritizing tasks based on importance, they spend time switching between them as they come to mind. Focus on employee engagement, having your workforce attend productivity training and giving them the tools to improve their workflow will significantly increase your business’ productivity.

Understand that while multitasking sounds like a good idea, in reality it is entirely counterproductive. Research by John Medina revealed that multitasking can increase the completion time of a task by as much as 50% and even worse, quadruples the likelihood of mistakes. Instead, focus your energy on one task at a time, and work through a list of priorities for the day. Time tracking experts Journyx highlight the importance of cloud-based tools for project management. Enabling employees to access schedules and tools anywhere can simplify your company’s workflow immensely, boosting productivity as a result.

Unlimited Time Off

Over the last few years, large businesses have begun to understand the importance of employee well-being and satisfaction. Research has overwhelmingly demonstrated the benefits of flexible work hour policies and a focus on mental health. Happier, healthier employees produce better quality work. Unlimited vacation time policies are a result of this new approach to employment. While on its face, the concept may sound ridiculous, in practice it makes total sense. Why work harder or faster when it changes nothing? If you can’t leave until 5pm, why expend the extra effort? The traditional nine-to-five removes an employee’s sense of ownership over their time, and puts the focus on running out the clock. As a result, employees might sit at their desk for hours doing the bare minimum until they can leave for home. In contrast, unlimited vacation time produces a results-driven workplace culture where employees understand that as long as they produce satisfactory results, they can leave as late or early as they want. Giving employees power over their time like this is a powerful motivator, increasing morale and the quality of the work done. 

Productivity is as much about psychology as it is business management. Understanding the strengths, needs and wants of your employees is the key to boosting the productivity of your organization. This is especially important for small businesses, where profit margins are often tight and any boost to output will have significant results. Luckily the research is quite clear, providing a multitude of methods and approaches that can transform your business overnight.