How to boost productivity within your team

Businesses deliver better results when people work together as a team. Anything that upsets motivation or productivity can have a massive impact on organisational performance and so, as managers, it’s important to make sure that each member of your team is positive and productive.

Often, the constant pressure to focus on results and the bottom line can mean that it’s easy to forget about the people behind delivering these results, so we’ve developed a few simple ways of keeping your team motivated so that they can give their best at work.

To do, or done?

As a manager chances are you have a ‘to do’ list as long as your arm. It’s easy to concentrate on what needs to be done, when in reality employees really need to focus on what they’ve done well, in order to keep on delivering. Giving – and receiving – recognition and praise for work already completed provides a great confidence boost which motivates us to go above and beyond what is expected of us. So, if you feel your team’s motivation is waning, spend some time to focus on their achievements, rather than the tasks that remain ahead.

Work matters

Most people like to feel as though they're working towards a greater good, it’s a great motivation boost to know that your actions are having a positive impact on society and this leads to greater productivity – you only have to look at big businesses like Unilever or P&G to see how they’re linking brands to a wider community benefit. If your business or organisation doesn’t have a community benefit that's easily identifiable, consider creating a volunteering or fundraising initiative for your team to get involved in and see how their positivity translates into greater productivity in their day to day work.

Flexibility pays

In today’s digital age it’s easier than ever to provide more flexibility to your team – and often the more flexible working environments are, the more productive the employees - as it enables everyone to have a better work/life balance. Advances in technology mean that employees can access the files and tools they need from anywhere, so if you're looking to boost productivity, look for ways to offer your team more flexibility in how they work. You can read our previous blog post on flexible working for ideas and inspiration: https://firstpsychologyassistance.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/flexible-working-making-it-work.html


Spending some extra time looking for ways to better support your team, might mean that you need to establish some working practices that maximise your own productivity – besides, leading by example is often the most effective way of coaching others.

This blog post - https://firstpsychologyassistance.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/how-to-motivate-yourself-and-others.html - covers the basics of how to keep yourself motivated. Some simple tips that you can start straight away include:

• Set blocks of time aside to tackle basic admin tasks – or emails - rather than spreading them through the day/week.
• Set aside certain periods (a day,  an afternoon a week, etc) for meetings, leaving the rest of the week clear to get on with tasks.
• Give yourself ten minutes each morning to steam through small tasks that would otherwise sit on your to-do list for days or more.

Remember, positivity and productivity go hand in hand, so lead with the enthusiasm and energy that allows your team to shine.