We have a brand new year on the horizon. That usually means new year’s resolutions for any and all goals, from eating more healthy foods and saving money to reading more books.

Why can’t it mean setting goals for your workforce too? As a leader, you can help set the tone for your team and help them find ways to be more productive and efficient in the year ahead. After all, when the company succeeds, so do the employees — mainly because the employee’s hard work helps the company succeed!

Here are five tips to help your employees become more productive in 2022.

1. Turn meetings into messages.

It can be tricky to get your whole team together in a room, all in the same place at the same time. It takes time to set up the meeting, conduct it, allow for discussion, and dismiss everyone. Could that meeting be an email? This saves everyone time and provides the opportunity for written instructions that can be referenced again later if needed. It’ll save you time, it’ll save your employees time, and it’ll be greatly appreciated across the board. If you have in-person meetings, stick to a set amount of time and one particular topic to make sure things don’t go off the rails.

2. Empower employees to make decisions for themselves and their day.

If your team needs to come to you before making decisions or taking small actions, it will hold everyone back. It takes up their time waiting for you, and it takes up your time having to be responsive when you could be focusing on larger things. Instead, instill a sense of trust in your team that they can handle their projects and follow-up in weekly conversations to make sure projects are running smoothly.

3. Rethink the workplace.

The pandemic made everyone reconsider work and what the workplace looks like. Are there efficiencies that helped make your employees more productive when they couldn’t come into the office? Is remote work an option? That saves time and money from commuting and, in the winter, means fewer delays to the workday because people can start up their laptops and work from home instead of trudging through snow and slushy roads. Video calls can replace meetings and help bring a team together on short notice instead of waiting for schedules to clear.

4. Encourage personal productivity goals.

People who feel they have ownership over their day, work, and time are more likely to feel responsible for their efforts and will hold themselves more accountable. At the start of the year, talk with your employees about their goals for the year and the company’s overall objectives. Point out, where possible, how the company’s goals tie back directly to their individual work and involvement. When people understand their role in the bigger picture, their work becomes more meaningful. This encourages engagement and ownership, which in turn incentivizes productivity: a single person’s work contributes to the overall success in a much more meaningful way.

5. Promote breaks and discourage multitasking.

The bottom line is everyone has more on their to-do list than can be accomplished in a single day. People will try to multitask and get more done in a short amount of time, but that’s usually at the expense of quality and attention to detail. Instead, encourage people to take breaks to give their minds a rest. Stepping away from a computer or workstation for a few minutes, every few hours, is a nice relief. It can help people come back with fresh ideas or a new insight that can help solve problems and discover new solutions. Focusing on one task at a time means each one will be given full attention and, therefore, completed successfully in a more efficient manner.

Increasing productivity doesn’t have to be rocket science; it can come from common sense measures applied consistently across the board. A more productive workforce means a more successful company.

Prepare for a Successful Year with Davis Staffing

If you’re looking to add to your team, call Davis Staffing. We have excellent clients ready to get to work and looking for opportunities to use their skills. Call Davis Staffing today and let us introduce you to your new employee.