Many employees strive for productivity. It is rewarding to complete work efficiently and effectively. Productivity lends the way to a sense of accomplishment and understanding that the employee’s quality work is helping the organization reach its goals.

As managers, our responsibility is to inform and assist employees in maximizing their productivity. Without effectively measuring these efforts, we are unable to provide them with the insights and tips needed to improve. Organizations without systems in place to measure productivity can see negative effects on operations and overhead costs. To assist team members in achieving productivity, management can utilize workforce analytics to determine an employee’s efficiency, speed, competitive standing and customer satisfaction. But, when measuring productivity, there are a few ways managers can maximize these efforts. In this blog post, we will share tips to effectively measure productivity in the workplace.

Measure Productivity from the Beginning
To effectively measure productivity and garner positive results, employees need to see their improvements over time. With that, managers should begin tracking and analyzing this from the start of their journey: training. Many organizations use training programs or modules to prepare employees for professional success. These processes can provide insight into how well the team member initially understands and comprehends the information given to them. Additionally, measuring productivity throughout training can show how quickly the training process progresses and any training concepts that cause the employee difficulty or an unnecessary amount of downtime. This insight can provide employees with achievable goals to improve their productivity while also exposing potential improvements management can make to their training process and material in order to better inform and engage new team members.

Steer Clear of Micromanaging
There is a fine line between monitoring productivity to streamline workflow and micromanaging team members. As managers, a big challenge in productivity management is understanding where and when to step in without deterring employees from making improvements. Productivity management software and workforce analytics assist in this issue by showing employers which issues most frequently occur and why. With this, managers can have the ability to identify what issues require immediate attention and provide solutions, instead of micromanaging employees and attempting to solve every minor issue that they notice. When managers spend too much time working to streamline employee productivity and workload, their productivity, in turn, begins to decrease, as their time is better utilized to address more important and pressing issues.

Measure Productivity of Every Employee
In the workplace, there are a plethora of job roles, all with varying schedules and different objectives. This is especially true for remote workers, as this work style is rapidly increasing. When managers analyze productivity, it is crucial to monitor the productivity behaviors of every employee and job role. Although the roles may be vastly different, productivity techniques can be replicated and utilized to assist other employees. With the right productivity tools and data, management can identify top-performing team members, analyze their workflow and behaviors that are leading to productivity success. These tips that are identified can be shared with other employees that need assistance in maximizing their productivity.

Efficiently monitoring and measuring productivity can provide employees with insights and information to set achievable goals for themselves and in turn, positively impact your organization. Improving productivity is a journey the employees begin the day they walk into your organization. Managers need to set team members up for success and professional development and it can start with measuring productivity.

To learn more about improving productivity, check out our blog on 6 Ways to Boost Employee Productivity!