Culture has been a buzzword in the corporate world for sometime now. A company’s culture is defined as a set of values and beliefs that companies develop over time. In other words, culture is the personality of the organization from the perspective of the employee and includes the company’s mission, expectations and work atmosphere. In fact, growth in the business can be directly attributed to the company’s productive culture. To be productive it requires active participation of both employer and employee on a regular basis for working effectively on set targets. This article here tries to identify actions that will culminate in a productive culture in a small business:

Trusting employees –

• It is important that employees are trusted by the management in carrying out the tasks set forth. The employees should not merely be puppets at the hands of the management but should rather have the liberty of taking productive measures into consideration as per their abilities to execute tasks.
• The company should trust the employee after giving general guidelines to perform a specific task as per their own discretion. This will make the employees to be feeling genuinely part of the company and improve productivity levels.

Having realistic targets –

• To improve productivity in the business, it is necessary that the organization sets realistic targets and goals. Any organization that is overly ambitious and sets forth ambitious goals is surely setting up its employees for failure as the results from over ambitious goals is bound to be counter productive.
• It is important that the organization keeps its goals and objectives clear to keep the productivity and the employee morale high.
• Keep projects at manageable scale, is to break them into smaller steps, this will help show clear progress and keep employees motivated as they advance towards the final results. Simply assigning a project for 2 months can be overwhelming, by breaking it up keeps the productivity levels high to complete the project.  

Following Up on Targets –

• For a small business, it is not enough to set the goals and lay back and think the employees will take care of the rest. As a business, it becomes essential that employers follow up on the targets and deadlines.
• With follow up, employees will become aware of the loopholes and the tools required to improvise on efficiency. Keeping track of the goals being pursued will help measure individual performance of the employee and the measures taken to improve in-efficient performance. Proper follow-up will help measure individual productivity.

Acknowledging Performances –

• To keep a tab on productivity, it is essential that good performances are noted and rewarded. This will keep the motivation of the performing employees high and make him eager to perform better the next time around.

• It is important to ensure the bad performer is made aware of his/ her performance and made known about the inadequacies in performance on a one-to-one basis without harming the employee’s dignity in the organization.
• Studies have shown that employees are most productive when their interests including incentive based pay are aligned.

Training for employees –

• Every employer needs to keep track of the latest developments in his domain and also arrange for training sessions regarding the same. The training will help the employee to stay abreast with the latest workflow procedures and adopt them on requirement.
• Training is meant for employees for gaining knowledge regarding their profession and for improving productivity.
• Studies have shown that employees are motivated by a sense of responsibility when it comes to their work and maintaining high productivity levels. Training should be imparted into employees as an incentive, this way more people will be attuned to receiving training with serious motivation at organizations. By maintaining high motivation levels, employees are able to improve business productivity.
• Training employees on new skills can give them a new sense of purpose. It lets them know that the organization is willing and able to evolve. When employees are trained on new methods it is a win-win situation.    

Enhanced communication between employer and employee –

• It is important that employees are given the privilege to report matters directly to the management. By being able to report directly to the management, the employee will be convinced about his voice being heard in the company. This will ensure new vigor and vitality in his/her work performance in the company.
• Two and fro communication between employee and employer is essential because if adequate information is not conveyed, it can lead to delay and at times non-completion of the task at hand. So clear communication between employer and employee is essential for keeping productivity scales high.

Flexible working hours –

• By following relaxed working hours option, it will become easy on the employee to perform well, without getting constrained to limited working hours.
• The 9 to 5 schedule is under attack with the availability of internet connectivity and laptops, which makes it easier for employees to complete their tasks beyond the working hours.
• Efficient managers ensure the best use of resources with flexible work patterns address workplace pressures by optimizing the available labor.  
• Flexible working hours can lead to increased job satisfaction, improved staff morale, engagement and motivation leading to good productivity.

Management’s responsibility –

• It is the responsibility of the management to ask the right questions to when the productivity levels are not high.
• There is a need to put in efforts to avoid micro-management; it hinders the sense of accomplishment on the part of the employee. It can feel great from a manager’s point of view of holding the reigns tightly, however, it is always advisable to believe in your team and allow them to make judgment calls for the projects they own.
• Management can help employees prioritize their work. An employee should not be overwhelmed by the long to-do lists but should be concentrating on one task at a time. The management should communicate the top team priorities, so everyone knows where to focus their energy.

Conclusion – Although enough has been said about bringing in a culture of productivity in a small business. The onus is on the management to chart a path of productivity. If the management is serious about productivity, the above-mentioned steps will surely help shape up the productivity in a small business setup.  

A notable way to improve your productivity is through delegating your set of tasks. If you are short on time and want immediate results outsourcing is a good avenue. By outsourcing, you will able to assign your set of tasks to virtual administrative assistant, who will take care of the tasks on immediate basis. For hiring a virtual assistant you can approach GetFriday, where VAs can help you in providing solutions to assigned tasks.