Low Employee Productivity: Causes & Solutions

Whether you like it or not, you can’t always blame the workers for low employee productivity rate. Yes, you heard it right!

Most of the employees around the world go through a tough screening process in order to land the job. And in midst of all this competition, the best of the bests get hired. So, why the owners or managers are always complaining about the low productivity rate?

Has the employee suddenly lose interest in the job that he/she worked hard to get?

Well, we are not saying that is not a possibility. But it is a rare possibility. Because no person wants to throw away something that he/she worked hard to achieve.

No, the problem lies elsewhere. After researching, we found that most of the problems are actually in the workplace.

It’s not that the owners or admins are bad or treating the workers unfairly, but certain things that the owners or admins are unaware of. But it’s those elements that are creating the issue of low employee productivity rate.

Organizations with higher employee engagement see 17 percent greater productivity.

 Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report

So, today we are going to address these issues and you can give a check to our list to see if anything matches. Don’t worry, we will provide the solutions as well.

7 Most Common Reasons Why Your Employees Are Suffering from Low Productivity Rate

If we get into details, there maybe hundreds, thousands reasons behind the low employee productivity rate. Because, every organization is different based on their work culture, structure and size.

That’s why we are going to focus on the common reasons that we found that may exists in every organization around the world.

1- Flawed Organizational Structure

It is one of the major reasons behind the low employee productivity rate. An efficient organizational structure is very important for a company’s success.

However, if that structure is flawed, it can easily be the reason for the downfall of a company. Especially in bigger organizations. There are many forms of this situation, but the most usual one is when you fail to optimize your workflow in the best possible way.

All the departments must work together in order to achieve the same goal. If there is any slightest confusion, it will increase having low productivity in the workplace.

Also, a flawed organizational structure will hinder to maximize the skill and talents of any employee.

2- Toxic/Irritating Workplace Behaviour

Teamwork is key in any kind of organization if you are looking to achieve desired results. And teamwork comes from a group of employees working together.

Sadly, often toxic behavior of some employees ruins employee productivity by hampering the teamwork. Toxic behavior happens when an employee tries to sabotage and manipulate the work environment.

Also, in bigger organizations, some employee tries to be sneaky and uses other employees to climb the corporate ladder. This easily increases the low employee productivity rate.

Moreover, this type of behavior will force employees to think about their position in the company and may end up leaving their job for another company.

3- Lack of Proper Employee Training

Adequate workers are assets to any organization. But for them to become capable, they need proper training after joining the company.

Lack of proper training can lead to an increase in the low productivity rate. Because untrained workers will take their time and use more resources of the company and bring about a decrease in your productivity rates.

Moreover, you will need supervisors to oversee their work. They need time to mark their mistakes and also tell them where they went wrong.

4- Ineffective Management and Supervision

Although teamwork is important for success, a strong team leader and management is as necessary.

Low productivity at the workplace can result from team leaders who are lacking leadership quality and also fails to motivate his/her employees, fails to keep them from performing at their peak standard.

And when communications become inconsistent, improper to such an extent that employees need to think about taking permission before making even a small decision then that is poor management.

This also results in employees not getting the rewards for their performances.

5- Stress

Workplace stress is not a small thing anymore. When there is a project due, or the need to achieve a certain result, employees feel stress. But that’s normal. Happens in every office, every organization.

However, nowadays it seems that it has gone out of control. And it is one of the main reasons for the low employee productivity rate.

83% of the US workers are stressed.

opensourcedworkplace

A study shows that there are about one million employees who are suffering from low productivity due to stress, which costs companies $600 dollars per worker, every single year.

When the stress level crosses the limit, then it becomes hard for any employee to concentrate on the task at hand, they get distracted, resulting in non-completion of tasks, bare minimums, and a lack of indulgence in their jobs.

6- Not Enough Recognition

People loves acknowledgement. That’s what drives them to give more effort and perform their best.

And, giving recognition for their work is the easiest job for the management. But, it can be easily neglected.

 Only 20% of employees feel strongly valued at work.

tinypulse.com

When a worker is not given the proper recognition for his/her hard work, they become devastated. They get demotivated and decreases the productivity rate.

It results in unhappy employees, whose attention will not be directed towards doing their work in the best possible way. Instead, they will be sending out resumes and applying for different jobs.

7- Bad Practice of Multitasking

There are many opinions regarding multitasking. Some will say it’s bad and some will say it’s good.

We have to admit, in order to survive in this cruel and competitive corporate world, multitasking is a must. However, people has only two hands and he/she can only do so much.

Now, as a manager or admin, you want to give your employees multiple tasks so that they don’t sit idle. We are not saying it is a bad thing. But, when it gets overboard, it will only hamper the work rate.

Because, when you assign an employee to multiple projects in the same time, he/she will not be able to give his/her best to any of the projects. Instead trying to finish both the project at the same time the employee will rush his/her work.

And we know, nothing come out good when you are doing a job that quickly.

Available Measures to Control & Boost Low Employee Productivity

We stated the problems. Now we are going to give you the solution as well. Besides, these solutions are not for some specific organizations. You can apply these solutions to any organization anywhere in the world.

Let’s see what we came up with.

Flexible Working Hours

89% of companies report better retention rates because of their flexible work options.

comparecamp.com

So, what do we want from our workers?

• Work efficiently
• Finish in time.

It doesn’t matter how they does it as long as they do it correctly and timely. However, by enforcing a strict working schedule may hamper the workers productivity.

Because, every employee is different and some like to work in the morning, some in the evening or late at night. So, if you give them the freedom to work flexibly as long as they meet the deadline, then it will certainly help increase the low employee productivity rate.

Dell formalized its flexibility policy to provide a support structure for all employees — saving $12 million annually in the process.

Increase Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is one of the major steps in increasing low productivity rate. Productivity and engagement may sound different but they are heavily linked together.

By increasing employee engagement, 80% of employees would be more willing to put in extra hours to get things done. Here look at some points on how you can increase employee engagement.

• Recognition: When an employee does something great for the company, give them a reward, and also it should be visible. You can write about it on the company platform or mention it in a team meeting. It is really a morale booster.
• Shadowing: You can give a newcomer a chance to follow around his/her senior for a period of time. That way he/she will learn quickly and will be able to grasp his/her responsibilities towards the company in no time.
• Sessions: Sessions on various topics are a great way to increase employee engagement. They get to learn about new things and also view their opinions. Friendly debates can often lead to great engagement.

Create a Suitable Working Environment

It is not rocket science that work environment plays a huge part in increasing productivity level.

It is the job of HR/Admin to give the employees a suitable environment to work on. Not the big things, but little things like controlling the noise levels, adjusting the lighting, providing the right temperature can have an effect on employees’ productivity.

Also, the seating arrangements should be comfortable, so that colleagues can communicate with each other easily and without disturbing others.

Rewards

Give your employees a reason to work harder.

We said a few times in the article that how important recognition and rewards are for an employee. So, we are not going to go into the details again.

Instead let us tell you what kind of rewards you can give to your best performing employees.

• Bonuses
• Salary raise
• Gifts
• Promotion
• Trust/ empowerment (Show them you trust them by giving important tasks)

These are the kind of rewards you can give your employees after they have performed exceptionally well and boost their confidence. Eventually it will increase the low employee productivity rate.

‘Health is Wealth’, Apply on Your Employees

A healthy worker is 10 times more efficient than an unhealthy one. Healthy employees mean better productivity.

That’s why it is important to motivate them to do physical activities on a daily basis. Or you can install a indoor sports like table-tennis that employees can play on their free time.

It will serve as a great physical exercise and some healthy competition doesn’t hurt anyone.

Smart Use of Technology

Only hiring the right employees doesn’t ensure the increase in low employee productivity. The employees must have the right tools to give their best.

Otherwise it can easily hamper productivity.  Several companies still use Windows XP even though the support for that was stopped in 2004. Working with slow and outdated technology can be extremely frustrating and can reduce the productivity of even the best of employees.

Tools like Time trackers, payroll and more can be seamlessly automated. Giving employees good software to work with can definitely help improve their productivity.

Outing/ Company Dinner

Earlier we talked about increasing employee engagement. Well, team outing or company dinner is another great way to increase employee engagement.

The employees can bond with each other with other things rather than work and spend a relaxed time without worrying about the upcoming or pending projects. Also, they get to enjoy a nice meal provided by the office.

It is good to go on such outings every 3-6 months. So, employees won’t get bored and they will get that extra motivation to give more.

How to Increase Low Employee Productivity Rate Using The Right Management Tool

So, we mentioned some points to increase the low productivity rate. However, it is not easy to keep track of everything. That’s why you need management tools.

It is important to realize that workplace monitoring is an important activity that ensures that employees end up doing the work that they are actually paid for.

However, it is also very important to realize as a leader you can’t let the monitoring become shackles for your employees. You need to ensure they are having fun while doing their work, and not taking extra stress.

Moreover, they are getting recognition and taking responsibility for their work as well. You can do that with software like,

WP ERP + WP Project Manager

We are going to start of with WP ERP combined with WP Project Manager. We know we are talking about two types of tools. But, believe us they go very well together.

WP ERP is the first full-fledged Enterprise Resource Solution in WordPress. With modules like HRM, CRM, Accounting, you can easily manage the whole company with quite ease. Like,

• Add employees with relevant information
• Manages your employee leaves
• Evaluates employee performance
• Powerful HR reporting
• Built-in mailing system
• Scheduling meeting, call, email, messages
• Sales transactions
• Expense management
• Realtime transactions and account management.

On the other hand, WP Project Manager is the perfect solution for all the project managers out there to manage their team. It is a cost-effective project management and collaborative project management software where tracking every project is easy.

Managers can create multiple goals, projects, and milestones. They can see who is working on what, which tasks are ongoing, and which have been completed. It also can assign multiple employees to an individual task and goal and see the work progress in the Gantt chart.

It has useful features like,

• Team discussion
• Time Tracking
• Recurring Task Management
• Project Calendar
• Kanban Board.

Lastly, when you combine this two great software you know you are getting the best deal. One will help you manage your company and clients, other will help you manage your employees. Moreover, your low employee productivity rate will increase surely.

Last Words

If your employees are happy and enjoying their work, then there is no obstacle or project too big for your company. Rather, you will see amazing results.

And it is not necessary these are the only way to increase your low employee productivity rate. You can find out the problems first and then take the necessary measures. Best of luck.