Fifty Ways You Can Help Your Employees Become More Productive

By Richard G. Ensman, Jr.

Although great initiatives on your part can do much to enhance the quantity and quality of the work your people do, it's often the little things that happen, day in and day out, that influence their bottom line productivity. Here are fifty ways you can help your people do their best work for you and your customers. Want to help a valued employee become more productive? Scan the list and pull out a suggestion or two that you can use right now ...

Take your employee along to a professional meeting or seminar.
Serve as a mentor to your employee.
Let your employee participate in a committee or team, and pick up skills from other people.
Help your employee establish her own visionary goals.
Compliment your employee on work well done.
Invite your employee to share problems and concerns with you.
Ask questions about your employee's work. No, you don't need to know all the details, but by giving your employee the chance to respond to your questions, you help her take pride in her work.
Offer to work alongside your employee periodically.
Let your employee make presentations during staff meetings, or even lead portions of the meetings.
Encourage your employee to visit other workplaces to see how her peers do their jobs.
Periodically, send your employee to a training or educational program to learn skills that will benefit him and your business.
Ask your employee to teach a skill to another employee.
Liberally share operating and financial information with your employee.
Reward your employee when she goes out of her way to do something exceptional.
Give your employee a favorite business book to read.
Encourage your employee to become involved in a trade or professional association.
Let your employee run an orientation program for new employees.
Put your employee in charge of some workplace gathering, such as a social activity or employee holiday party.
Bring a speaker or educator into the workplace to talk about important issues or to teach
Serve as an outstanding role model.
Don't ask your employee to do anything that you wouldn't do yourself.
Provide your employee with reading material about contemporary workplace issues.
Concern yourself with child or senior care issues that might affect your employees' attendance or productivity.
Arrange for fringe benefits that don't cost anything.
Offer to provide informal advice and counsel about your employees' careers.
Promote wellness to your employee.
Arrange for your employee's peers to pick up his work when he's on vacation or ill.
Teach your employee how to brainstorm.
Take your employee on calls to key customers.
Establish a simple library of materials and resources your employee can use to learn about your business.
Alert your employee to key indicators of good performance.
Give your employee a professional "kit" containing resources she can use to build new skills.
Ask your employee to identify helpful training equipment or supplies -- and provide them.
Be sure your employee is trained in the latest technology.
Invite your employee to undertake or lead a project once a year.
Thank your employee for a job well done.
Appoint your employee to a committee within the business sector or community.
Encourage your employee to continue his schooling.
Teach your employee about all phases of your business.
Ask your employee's advice.
Ask your employee to produce a simple monthly report, and spend some time discussing it with her.
Ask your employee to give tours of your business to visitors.
Let your employee develop special expertise in an area crucial to your business.
Understand your employee's workstyle and allow her to practice it most effectively in your workplace.
Teach your employee goal setting and time management techniques.
When you give salary or wage increases, explain how your employee's productivity made them possible.
Invite your employee to sign everything she produces.
Give your employee pins or tokens to recognize important milestones.
Once a month, ask your employee to critique the way things are done in your workplace.
Thank your employee for a job well done.