Encouraging Workplace Productivity From the Top-Down

Workplace and employee productivity are vital components in keeping any company afloat and thriving, but how can managers encourage this from the top-down? There are many different methods business owners and department leaders can utilize to help inspire and encourage employees to continue performing optimally, from providing job-relevant tools like daily planners and encouraging goal-setting to creating a positive company culture and incorporating positive reinforcement. Your employees play a vital role in your company’s day-to-day success, meaning their happiness and work setting should be considered regularly.

What Is Top-Down Management?

Top-down management is one of the most common forms of management in businesses today, regardless of size. Usually, the management process is driven by a company’s upper executives, who set the course for the entire company. These upper executives make decisions and identify tasks that are then passed down to lower departments. Companies that utilize top-down management design an organized chain of command, so communications, tasks, and changes can travel effectively from department to department. The top-down management style has proven to be successful in many industries as it offers numerous benefits, such as:

• Minimized risk: Lower-level employees are removed from the decision-making process, which reduces the risk of uninformed decisions being made. Instead, leadership and high-ranking individuals within the company finalize decisions, no matter how big or small.
• Strong leaders: Many companies that utilize top-down management have successful, strong leaders in place to help the business and employees reach goals, determine best practices, and offer reinforcement if an issue arises.
• Top-notch organization: Tasks, project flow, and other pertinent topics within a company are all taken care of and organized by upper management, which allows for effective organization and minimal confusion.
• Low costs: Lower-level employees only focus on their specific tasks rather than being required to meet company-wide goals. Top-down management is a cost-effective approach, as clocked overtime can be avoided with effective project management.

Efficiency Leads to Success

Identifying ways you can help increase proficiency and productivity in your workplace will lead to your company and employees’ success. It’s recommended that business owners assess how the company is currently operating and consider making changes to the way work is being completed. Your employees are likely to flourish if their schedules are structured around meeting daily goals. Regardless of your company’s size, short and long-term lists can be provided to each employee as a method to help prioritize tasks and stay on schedule with essential projects. Catering to the efficiency and work style of each of your employees will likely improve company-wide performance.

Minimize Distractions

Identifying the various distractions that can impact your employee’s productivity helps increase focus and daily engagement. Whether it’s spending time on mobile devices, social media, or talking among one another, finding ways to minimize distractions will encourage workplace productivity and further develop time management. Incorporating breaks into each employee’s daily schedule will allow them time to check their phones or social media and spend time with coworkers. Minimizing distractions and offering mandatory downtime will help ensure that time spent at their desks is productive and further improve collaboration and project flow company-wide.

Provide Job-Relevant Tools

Every employee’s skillset plays a substantial role in your business’s performance, meaning you must set them up for success for productivity to skyrocket. There are many resources for business executives to incorporate into their companies, so employees have access to and can use all necessary job-relevant tools.

• Time productivity tracking apps: Setting your workspace up with a time tracking app can help increase productivity as it gives employees a resource to know what’s on their schedules for each day. Time tracking apps like Asana allow you to assign specific projects and tasks to each team member. There are only so many hours each day and most in today’s workforce are more productive if each day is organized and laid out before them.
• Collaboration tools: With new generations entering the workforce, collaboration is continuing to grow in popularity. Many industries benefit from working together as a team for not only project completion but producing new ideas. There are many online collaboration tools available such as Google Drive, Trello, and more.
• Communication apps: Establishing healthy and regular communication with all your employees is the key to company-wide success. Whether your team is in the office every day, has an allotted number of remote days, or is fully remote, utilizing communication apps like Slack will allow for open communication, file sharing, and easy conversation.

Encourage Goal Setting

Each employee at a company has a different work style and time where they’re most creative. Business owners need to account for these attributes and set goals around them. Employees are likely to be more productive if they are working toward a specified objective and underlying expectations. Taking the time to set both short and long-term goals relatable to the individual’s work style and creativity will help ensure company objectives are met on time. Supporting personal and professional growth is also a way to encourage workplace productivity because employees won’t feel limited in career or position progression.

Incorporate Positive Reinforcement

Many in today’s workforce thrive off encouragement, motivation, and rewards. Not only should your employees be told that they’re doing a good job, but constructive criticism and personal incentives are also necessary. Employees in every industry are more productive if their hard work is recognized. Any time an employee is successful, their actions should be utilized as an example for others to help motivate and encourage hard work. Monotonous routines can get tiring, but an effective way for business owners to eliminate the monotony is through incorporating gamification techniques. Gamification techniques can consist of leader boards or rankings, challenges, rewards, point systems, and more. Adding these incentives to tasks and projects has proven to be motivating and engaging for many companies as it gives employees a goal to work toward.

Build a Company Culture

As new generations continue to be introduced into today’s workforce, appealing company culture is a priority. The culture at a company has many layers, from team outings and group coaching opportunities to flexible schedules and encouraging self-care. Likely, many perks and environmental requirements that you’re attracted to are also appealing to your employees. Positive and inspiring company culture will make your employees excited to be a part of your business, thus enhancing overall workplace productivity. The employees at your company deserve to be happy, and in a place they enjoy as today’s jobs take up a substantial amount of our time. Encouraging a healthy work-life balance and building your company’s culture around this idea will likely help productivity skyrocket.

It’s Not Too Late

Whether your company just opened or has been around for a while, it’s never too late to fine-tune your processes to help enhance workplace productivity. There are many ways business owners can inspire and motivate employees to complete daily tasks to the best of their ability. Learning effective management skills and techniques will help set your business up for success and ensure project deadlines are met with minimal obstacles year after year.