It’s quite worrying to hear that the average UK labour output is now around 18% below the current European average. Recent ONS[1] data tells us that it takes the average British employee five days to produce what our counterparts in France and Germany can do in just four. Contributor Nicola Britovsek, Director of Human Resources – Sodexo Engage
Part of the problem is that lots of businesses aren’t able to see the bigger picture when it comes to productivity, meaning they end up forgetting to think about all the things that could help a business run more smoothly. Most companies still tend to spend all their energy into looking at labour output per hour, when actually there are three more important areas they should be focusing on: people, technology and customer service.
Treat people as individuals
It’s no secret that happy workers are going to be more productive, so employee engagement needs to be a top priority for companies looking to get the most out of their team. To make this goal a reality, it’s vital that businesses see their employees as individuals and make time to work out what keeps them happy and motivated.
Managers have a lot to gain by just getting to know the people in their team and finding out their different strengths and weaknesses. It’s also important to look at how different employees cope with new projects, as this will allow managers to see what extra training and support they may need to help them perform at their best.
Introducing incentives and rewards to say thank you for good work can also go a long way in keeping team members motivated. All employees want to feel valued and showing them you recognise their hard work can often do wonders to boosting performance.
Technology – a blessing and a curse
It’s no surprise that technology can have a big impact on a company’s productivity – if the right tools are used. However, to make sure that technology does what it’s meant to do, management will need to invest some time to work out exactly what the team needs to be able to do their job well.
Involving employees along the way is the key to success, as they need to understand how to the use the company’s IT tools, so they can do a good job. Getting feedback will be really important and should include details of what technology they like to use and how they used it. After all, they are only going to accept it and use it if it’s something they feel comfortable with.
Keeping customers engaged
With so much focus on measuring output, it’s easy to overlook the importance of understanding the value that customers place on a product or service. There is actually strong evidence to support the link between customer engagement and a company’s financial success. For a business to flourish it has to keep its loyal customers happy whilst attracting new ones at the same time. That means understanding how things like product returns and customer complaints can damage productivity.
It’s for all these reasons that productivity absolutely needs to be about more than just one thing. It’s about bringing together all of the key components of an organisation and making sure they work hand in hand. If workers are happy that they are doing a good job, using the right tools, and customers are happy, then increased output will be a natural product of this.
