How to Improve Productivity in the Workplace: 7 Ideas

Productivity is vital to your organization’s success. Fostering a productive environment at work allows you to hit your goals and remain competitive in your industry. Employee productivity has positive effects across the workplace, from 41% reduction in absenteeism to 59% less turnover. Maximizing productivity should be on every organization’s agenda, but where do you start? 

Secchi is an hourly performance management software, and we know how challenging it can be to help your frontline teams work better, faster. In this article, we’re going to unpack the unique challenges that frontline organizations face when it comes to improving team productivity and offer seven tips for better engagement. 

→ Improve productivity and reduce errors with a simple habit: checklists! Download Secchi’s Performance Checklist for an immediate productivity boost. 

Frontline Productivity Challenges

Frontline workers are the backbone of your organization and their productivity sets the tone for essential business operations, such as face-to-face interactions with customers and the quality of manufactured products. 

However, working in the fast-paced and often physically demanding environment of the frontline can be demoralizing. Some studies show that as many as 74% of frontline workers struggle with burnout, and productivity levels can suffer as a result. 

On top of that, frontline employees can often feel disconnected from their organization and feel thrown-off by last-minute changes and ineffective communication with their supervisor and team. 

That said, there are things that frontline leaders can do to support hourly employees and increase team productivity. Here are Secchi’s best practices & tips ⏬

1. Streamline Processes 

The environment of the frontline is fast-paced, but it doesn’t mean that it’s always efficient. In fact, cumbersome paperwork, ineffective communication, and long-winded work processes are all major time drains that contribute to lower productivity across the workplace. 

To reduce waste, frontline managers should identify different types of steps and/or actions that don’t add value to the work processes. Your goal is to optimize and streamline your operations until all of the steps are truly efficient and necessary for success. 

Certain inefficiencies, such as bad communication, directly impact productivity levels and stagger performance. However, some inefficiencies have a more indirect effect on productivity. 

For example, waiting to address disruptive employee behavior can lower productivity levels. 87% of workers have reported that bad company culture has an impact on work performance. Yet, supervisors sometimes wait for days or even weeks to address an incident because they don’t have the right processes and tools in place. 

Secchi reduces time from incident to corrective action by more than 50%, which results in better morale and increased productivity. 

2. Create Employee Recognition Programs

Employee recognition can improve productivity levels by 14% and motivate your workers to put more effort into their responsibilities. Why? It’s simple human psychology. When employees receive recognition or an award for a certain behavior, they’re more likely to repeat it. 

The positive impact of well-executed employee recognition programs is well documented. In addition to boosting productivity, they can also lower turnover rates and help you make 50% more sales. 

For your employee recognition programs to have the desired effect, it’s important for them to be meaningful. Quick solutions like gift cards can be effective in the short-term, but it’s crucial to foster a continuous culture of recognition at your organization. Modern approaches like gamification can help. 

3. Track Employee Performance

Your employees can become more productive if they know that they’re being monitored. Effective performance management can help you hold your team accountable on a daily basis and make your employees feel more motivated to show up for their shifts on time and work more efficiently. 

In fact, employee monitoring software can increase productivity by a whopping 46%. The key to employee performance tracking is doing it on a regular, continuous basis instead of in the form of quarterly or annual performance reviews. Focus on monitoring employee attendance & time tracking every day to quickly address issues and improve performance. 

You might also like: 

→ Employee Performance Management Process: Best Practices

→ Why Performance Reviews Are Important for Hourly Workers

4. Offer Professional Development Opportunities

At the frontline, there’s a widespread myth that hourly workers are only there to collect a paycheck. However, a McKinsey survey of 2,100 frontline employees found that over 70% of frontline employees have applied for career advancement opportunities and want to grow in their role. 

Offering professional development opportunities to your frontline employees can help them feel less stagnant and like they’re progressing in their careers. In turn, feeling inspired by their professional growth can motivate them to work harder and be more productive. 

Even though some traditional professional development opportunities may not be relevant to frontline workers, you should still make the effort to offer meaningful career advancement options to them. Upskill, mentorship, and manager-in-training programs are all good examples of frontline professional development opportunities. 

5.  Promote a Good Work/Life Balance

Frontline workers cite burnout as one of the top reasons for leaving their job. Deteriorating mental health of the hourly workforce contributes to lower productivity levels and less engagement. Investing in health and wellness programs can help improve well-being and make your frontline employees feel more supported at work, reviving productivity.

Encouraging your employees to take regular breaks, offering health screenings, and providing mental health resources are all great ways to reduce burnout and build stronger teams. 

6. Provide Necessary Equipment and Tools

Your work environment matters, and building a supportive workplace is not only about making positive mental shifts, such as providing meaningful recognition and reducing burnout. The physical aspects of your employees’ work matter, too. It’s crucial to provide them with the right equipment and tools that they need to effectively do their job. 

If your employees are wasting time dealing with faulty equipment or tools that don’t function properly, their productivity levels will inevitably suffer. What’s even more important is that their morale will likely drop as well, driving unwanted behaviors like absenteeism and chronic tardiness. Equipping your hourly employees with functional tools sets them — and your organization — up for success. 

7. Invest in Frontline Leadership Development

Effective leadership plays a critical role in team productivity. If supervisors, project managers, and other frontline leaders can’t effectively motivate and support their team members, productivity is bound to suffer. 

To be good at their job, frontline leaders need support, too. Many frontline managers are entry-level or first time managers, which means that they’re still learning the ropes of leadership. Combined with the fact that they’re also navigating the challenges of the post-pandemic economy, it becomes increasingly evident that frontline leaders need more support than ever before. 

Providing frontline supervisors and managers with professional development resources is the first step. However, it’s also important to equip them with the right tools that make it easier to effectively track employee performance and make better decisions in less time. 

Secchi is a robust performance management tool that’s specifically designed for frontline and hourly teams. It removes barriers, eliminates waste, and helps frontline supervisors become better leaders. 

Download Secchi’s Performance Checklist to Boost Team Productivity

Sometimes the best way to remove overwhelm is to go back to the basics. Secchi created a FREE Performance Checklist that can help your team build better daily habits, improve communication, and increase productivity. Download yours now!