Seven New Year’s Resolutions That Will Boost Your Company’s Productivity

It’s that time of year once again when New Year’s resolutions abound.

Traditionally, the New Year is seen as an opportunity to make a fresh start and improve our lifestyles in some fashion. Since you spend a good portion of your waking hours every week at work, it’s the perfect time to reflect on your business’ successes, as well as looking ahead to where your company is going. Why not get your entire staff involved in the resolution-making process? Working together towards shared goals can create stronger social bonds, promote team building, improve productivity and ultimately achieve a happier, healthier and safer work environment. Plus, there’s strength in numbers—the more people who are invested in the outcome, the better the chance of success.

To get your wheels in motion, here are seven inspiring New Year’s resolutions that can help boost your company’s productivity and make it a really great place to work:

1. Focus on transparency. In 2019, make the commitment to share information at a level you never have before. Smart business owners and leaders understand that your best employees want to know what’s really going on with the company, so clue them in to its direction and finances. There’s no need to turn on a firehose of sensitive business intelligence. Get everyone focused on one or two essential figures, such as the numbers that will make the difference between a winning year and a losing one.
2. Create a healthier workplace. A healthy workplace breeds efficiency, loyalty and increased productivity. This year, strive to build an active, connected company culture. Offer fresh fruit snacks and organize healthy outings after hours that involve local charities instead of booze-filled happy hours. Instead of stuffy meetings in a conference room, hold walking meetings outdoors. Getting fresh air and moving to an entirely different space can do wonders for maximizing creativity. You may be pleasantly surprised by how your team members embrace these ideas.
3. Demonstrate compassion. Ruling by fear is unproductive and childish. Like transparency, showing compassion breeds loyalty and trust with your team members. In 2019, strive to create the kind of work environment you would want for yourself and encourage compassion at all levels of the organization. Be empathetic when a team member has a personal issue. Remember that life happens for all of us. In most cases, that compassion will be rewarded with extra effort down the road.
4. Give your staff the proper tools. Few things are more frustrating to employees than feeling like they don’t have the right tools or information to do the job required of them. Whatever project you assign to your team, ensure that you are giving them what they need to get the job done in an easy and efficient manner. The tasks you want completed will be done more accurately, more quickly, and with a better attitude. What tools do you need to give them? That depends on the type of business you’re running, but a good place to start is by asking your staff what would make them more productive at work.
5. Create an acknowledgement board. Sharing the workplace love boosts employee morale and health. Create a decorative space in a common area to feature recognition for team members, client accolades, and gratitude for team successes and efforts.
6. Encourage learning. Whether it’s a new technology or different skills, help your team members continue to meet their career goals by fostering learning. Offer opportunities to take classes and study new languages, for example. Or schedule a ‘skills swap’: allowing colleagues to teach each other something new is great way to encourage learning and enhance collaboration.
7. Have fun! Work doesn’t have to be all about keeping noses to the grindstone and meeting deadlines. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Employee morale—and productivity—soar when work is interwoven with fun. Why not throw a party for your employees? Or you might start a new workplace tradition, such as monthly potlucks or pizza socials. (Keep in mind that some folks may want to do their work and go home, and that’s OK, too.)

The heart of productivity lies in people and relationships. Paying market wages, empowering your staff, recognizing their efforts, and displaying genuine concern for their welfare should be standard practice. There will always be goals to meet, but those efforts become much easier when employee engagement is strong and personal satisfaction at work is the rule, not the exception. For more ways you can make 2019 your company’s most successful year yet, please contact our knowledgeable team.

 

About The HR Team: Founded in 1996, The HR Team is a Maryland-based human resources outsourcing firm committed to developing  strategic, customized  solutions that respond to the unique needs and cultures of organizations of all types and sizes. Available as a one-source alternative to an in-house HR department or on an à la carte project basis, the company’s flexible service models address the full spectrum of HR needs that many organizations struggle to address. The HR Team helps clients achieve their highest level of success by providing value-driven human resources services that leave them time to focus on what they do best: directing business growth and profitability. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, the firm serves all of Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. To learn more about The HR Team, call 410.381.9700 or visit https://www.thehrteam.com/.