Keys to Developing More Productive Employees

The world is constantly changing and so is our need to adapt and respond to new thoughts and ways of doing business  In our recent past, increased productivity relied primarily on investment in tangible assets such as new plants and equipment. Workers were compensated only for their labor because the real business value came from a company’s equipment. But as we move more into a service-based society, it is important to recognize that the real growth and assets of a company rely on the effectiveness and development of its employees.

There are three basic keys to increasing productivity and effectiveness in today’s workplace  expand your thinking, expect more and equip employees at all levels of your organization. 

For a company to perform at its highest possible standard, it is important that management begin to expand their thinking beyond simply training top level executives and managers and the traditional training opportunities we have provided in the past.  It is important to recognize that support staff, front line staff and customer service employees can make or break a business with their ability, or inability, to delivery quality service and to support the overall corporate mission. By investing in the development of all our employees we are investing in our company’s greatest asset.

It’s also important to expand our thinking recognizing that 21^st century employees are multidimensional people. They are more than just a body showing up to work. Our employees’ attitudes can be improved and their performance increased if we invest in developing core skills important to human development. In order to increase retention, decrease absenteeism and develop an environment in which people can do their best work, we need to have a total life perspective.  We need to view our employees as a whole person and ask ourselves how we can encourage and support their ability to be 100% available to their work. 

Think about your industry 100 years ago and the changes that have taken place since then:

• Working with our hands to working with our minds. 
• Local competition to global possibilities.
• Like-minded communities to diverse cultures.
• Expectations of work to support life moved to life is my work.

Workers today are asked to perform a greater variety of higher level thinking skills, process more information, be adaptable to constant change, make more key decisions and to respond at a faster pace.

We can expect that your employees can respond to the needs of the 21^st century workplace and that they have the ability to bring their whole selves to the tasks before them. We can expect them to be fully - with their body, mind and spirit - engaged in what they do. Not only can we expect them to show up physically to do their work, we can also expect them to bring their training, experience, mental abilities and enthusiasm to the task at hand.  We can expect them to bring their energy, creativity, passions and desire to do a good job into play in order to achieve greater results. 

But we must also be prepared to equip our employees by providing tools and training that can help them maximum their whole self.  A person who brings their body, mind and spirit to work is fully engaged in the work they do. We can provide an environment where people are appreciated and honored for who they are and the unique gifts they bring.  We can accept that at our core, everyone - whether it be the CEO or the person sweeping floors - desires to do their best work and look for ways to support that process.  We can also accept that at our core, everyone wants to feel valued for what they contribute to the workplace.

By providing opportunities for all your employees, including support staff, front line staff and customer service representatives to develop qualitative skills such as adaptability to change, a sense of competency, creativity, increased decision-making skills, and interpersonal/human relations skills, you will soon find an increase in your employees’ dependability, sense of responsibility, professionalism, teamwork, personal maturity, and character - which in turn will create a better bottom line and more productive workplace for everyone.

© Jan Cloninger, The More Productive Workplace.  Jan uses meditation training and more to help people enhance their performance! She can be reached at (314)965-0143 or jan@themoreproductiveworkplace.com.

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