For hotels and restaurants, having engaged and friendly employees is crucial. Your staff members are the face of your brand, so it’s important to find a way to motivate them to perform at their highest level.
While money can be an incentive to do great work, for most people it only goes so far. This is especially true for millennials, who tend to value the benefits offered by their job as much — or even more than — the salary.
Fortunately, there are several small shifts you can make to help your employees become more productive at work. Let’s look at five ways to improve staff productivity:
1. Encourage autonomy
No one enjoys being micromanaged, and very few people like micromanaging their employees. One of the best ways to increase workplace productivity is by giving your employees more autonomy.
Science backs up this theory. Research shows that employees who are free to make their own choices at work are not only more productive, they enjoy their job more.
2. Offer feedback
How do your employees know they are doing a good job if you don’t give them feedback? According to a recent study, 8 out of 10 millennials want regular feedback on their workplace performance.
By giving employees regular feedback, you acknowledge the effort they are putting in and give them an incentive to work harder.
3. Allow remote work
Allowing your employees to work from home so they’ll be more productive sounds counter-intuitive. How do you know they are getting their work done if no one is holding them accountable?
Remote work is on the rise, and for good reason. Studies have shown that employees who work from home are 13% more productive than employees who work in an office.
There are many reasons for this. First, it saves your employees time that they would have otherwise spent commuting. It also saves them from having to miss a day of work entirely if one of their kids are sick, if they have an appointment, or if they are just feeling under the weather.
4. Don’t block social media sites
Many employers now block their employees from accessing social media sites. According to this study, 1 out of 5 employers don’t let their employees access Facebook at work.
This is understandable, but it can seriously hurt workplace morale. By blocking all social media sites, you show your employees that you don’t trust them.
Often, employees check social media while they are on a break as a way to relieve stress. Yes, sometimes they are just wasting time, but no one can concentrate on work for eight hours straight. So let your employees indulge in an occasional SnapChat diversion.
5. Play engaging music
Scientists have been studying how music affects the brain since the 1950’s. Research shows that music can relieve stress and anxiety. And this study showed that software developers are more efficient when they listened to music while they worked.
There is a growing body of research that shows how playing the right music without constant repeats makes employees more happy and engaged.
A great way to provide a unique playlist of music for your employees is by partnering with a provider like Ambie. We design bespoke music soundtracks that are updated regularly so that they never get stale. Contact us to get your free music sampler and to learn more about our services.
