9 Ways to Improve Employee Performance

Improving employee performance is the goal of any manager and there are many traditional ways of doing it. While setting goals and financial incentives are tried and trusted methods, there are also unique ways of getting a more productive staff. Here we look at nine options that have been proven to work.

1. Light up your workplace
Dimly-lit workspaces are never going to be productive areas. They can lead people to feel lethargic and slow down their performance. The most ideal solution would be to have a great flow of natural light into the office and having desks next to the windows is a great idea.

If that’s not possible, you need to make sure that all areas have sufficient light. If the ceiling lights aren’t adequate, bring in lamps to supplement them. Also, if any bulbs burn out, you want to make sure they are replaced as soon as possible.

2. Reduce the noise
Noise can be a source of distraction for people in any line of work. In an office space, some workers can struggle to be productive when there is a cacophony of sound. In an open planned office, this can be made even worse with all of the voices, computers, and phones.

Those that need to concentrate should ideally be allowed to do so. If you do have an open planned office, perhaps the best idea would be to partition the office and break up that sound. Allowing people to listen to their earphones can also be a great way for them to get rid of background noise.

3. Add some greenery
Many workplaces can be boring with dull colors used throughout the workplace and air that can be stuffy. You are able to get those same benefits from adding in some plant life.

Greenery has the added impact of looking great and giving your office a unique look. There are many great plants out there that are low maintenance and don’t require much light or water. Their office benefits have long been known and will help to improve office performance.

4. Have some fun
Improving productivity by stopping everyone from being productive? It sounds counter-intuitive, but it works. Work logs can be long and boring where motivation can dip. Perking up an office with some fun can spark everyone back into life.

This would be something as little as a five-minute game of office basketball or simply a bit of quiz trivia. It’ll help to make staff happier and that always leads to improved performance. It will also help with other factors, like employee retention and team bonding.

5. Purify your air
Offices can quickly get stuffy and the air doesn’t have anywhere to go. This is especially a problem in the winter, when you need to keep the windows closed. Even if you have an air conditioner, it is only cooling down the air and not purifying it.

Getting an air purifier will make the air cleaner and easier to breathe. This, in turn, will lead to more alert staff and decrease sickness. It simply makes the working environment nicer and healthier, which always leads to more productivity.

6. Allow desk individuality
There can be a fine line sometimes with something an employee may find distracting or comforting.

Having a stress ball, for example, may seem like something that will distract something from their work but instead, could be a useful thinking tool and help them come up with ideas.

It’s a good idea to promote desk individuality and allow pictures, desk gadgets, and personal stationery. If they break up the day and keep employees happier, you’ll get improved performance. Having a drab and lifeless office can be quite depressing.

7. Give free perks
The term “you have to spend money to make money” wasn’t exactly meant to mean offering free coffee, but it still applies. Offering perks can help to separate your workplace from the competition and make people feel that their place to work is great.

Free coffee is a great example of this and would have the added benefit of perking up your employees. Other ideas, such as free fruit, snacks or extended breaks, can be great too. With perks, an employee is likely to be prepared to work harder than they otherwise would have.

8. Play some music
Humans are not robots. Sometimes, employers forget that. Expecting a worker to go 100 percent all day every day just because you pay them may seem fair to you, but in reality, people get bored, depressed and stressed.

Playing music can be another way of giving people that mental break they need. This is admittedly difficult in a phone-dominated office, but allowing music to be played is a great idea. It also helps to drown out distracting background chat.

9. Give employees attention
Finally, give your employees attention. Simply asking them how their day has been or thanking them for their hard work goes a long way. A lot of employees will feel undervalued and high performance can come from them being happy to work for you and your company.

All these little changes can add up to dramatic increases in performance. While people work for money, they also want their jobs to be enjoyable. Making a nice working environment will be a win for the employee and a big win for productivity.

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