4 sure-fire ways to fix slow labour productivity

15 Dec 2020

Creating and maintaining a productive labour force is a crucial element of success for most businesses. Currently many companies feel the impact of the pandemic on their revenue. Addressing anywhere that costs can slip through the cracks is paramount for continued success.

Unfortunately, a productive labour force isn’t as simple as a well thought out and productive rota, despite its importantance. There are many moving pieces which must be planned well to make sure your team are happy and working to the best productivity standards.

So, what can be done to ensure your business is employing a productive workforce?

  1. Overtime should be on a ‘strictly necessary’ basis

It’s easy for your staff to put in a significant slog of extra hours in without it ever really going noticed- especially if it becomes the norm. But improperly managed overtime can have a real impact on the productivity of your team.

Firstly, it’s expensive. When projects become so demanding that your team have to work overtime to fulfil them, your costs can easily clock up and eat into your profit at the end of a project. Secondly, although extra hours might be a helpful cash-boost for some employees, overdo it and your team will quickly become worn down and less motivated to perform their best at work.

  1. Keep your teams happy

Keeping a happy team is helped in part by managing overtime carefully, but it’s also a much wider issue which requires its own focus.

Your productivity will quickly dip if your team are unhappy, which can be caused by many issues, not least too much overtime, but also a poor workplace culture, or improper working conditions.

Address these issues first to ensure your team feel fulfilled and happy at work, which will reward you with a more productive workforce.

  1. Provide your team with the tools they need

This might sound obvious, but too many businesses lose out on an effective workforce because they have poor quality tools available to their staff. This can be a drain on time, making tasks take that much longer due to poor materials. If you’re not sure whether what you have is doing the job, speak to your team to determine what they need to get the job done effectively and make sure they’re well equipped.

  1. Keep an eye on your stock levels

Poor productivity can’t be pinned on your workforce if they don’t have the right components or their warehouse isn’t properly stocked. This can be disruptive to a job and cause knock-on delays that means overall productivity suffers.

A good order & inventory management system which keeps you in the loop on your stock levels will help you to make sure your team won’t be disturbed by stock-outs.

Great labour productivity isn’t the result of one quick-fix, but rather an amalgamation of carefully thought through elements all geared up to give your team the best chance they can have at productivity.

To learn more about how an effective order & inventory management system can boost your teams’ productivity, get in touch with our experts today.

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