In the majority of workplaces, one of the biggest challenges for any business owner is employee productivity. Yet, despite this it still remains that large numbers of employers failing to acknowledge the simple ways in which they can boost productivity and engagement among their workforce.
With this in mind, it comes as no surprise to discover productivity levels across the UK workforce are surprisingly low, with a survey from HR Magazine of more than 7,000 employees across 20 countries suggesting UK employees have some of the lowest engagement levels across the globe.
But why is employee engagement so important? Of course engaged employees are often happier and more satisfied in their job, but beyond this, employee engagement also leads to real business results, including increased productivity, reduced turnover and even increased revenue. So what can employers do to ensure their workforce are really engaged? And what benefits does this increase in productivity bring to your business?
Utilise mobile technology
The use of technology, especially mobile technology is vital to keep your workforce engaged and productive. Increasingly, workforces are becoming more mobile, with more and more people out in the field; the days of being tied a desk are becoming less of the norm. With remote working now commonplace, it’s important that employees are still able to carry out their role while away from the office. Providing employees with tools such as smart phones and tablets can allow them to remain productive, accessing and updating files and records in real-time, even when they are out of the office. Bring your own device (BYOD) policies are also increasing in popularity as a result, which can of course bring security issues into the mix. With Equator HR, employees have the ability to access system via enhanced security functions, making it is possible to allow employees to connect to systems away from the office, without the need for employers to be concerned that data could be compromised.
Working collaboratively
Workforces that work together are far more effective than the individual efforts of even the most productive individual members of staff. It therefore makes good business sense to share ideas and utilise individual strengths and expertise, which can yield far better overall results across your entire organisation. But it’s not just members of your team who will need to be working collaboratively, it’s also important they work alongside machines on the shop floor too. With this in mind, Equator’s shop floor data collection module provides a number of innovative machine-to-human collaborative functionalities including, the ability to provide real-time work to lists, providing staff with the tools to work effectively as a team.
Empower your workforce
When it comes to employee productivity business transparency is essential. The greatest benefit of business transparency is that it creates a happier workforce, with staff feeling engaged and valued, helping to motivate staff to continue to work hard, but also go that extra mile.
Equator HR’s employee portal has a number of employee self-serve functionalities, giving staff greater control and responsibility in regards to personal information and work tasks, including holiday requests, absence reporting and overtime. Through Equator HR, staff can update information and monitor the progress of such requests right through to approval. From a business perspective, this is of course beneficial, reducing a number tasks for HR departments, allowing more time to dedicate more time to HR specific tasks.
For more information on Equator, and how it can help ensure your workforce further increase productivity, click here.
