When you’ve hired talented workers, it is beyond frustrating when productivity levels are below what they are capable of achieving. It’s easy to assume these individuals are lazy or simply lack the drive to succeed, but there is a good chance that is not the case.

There is a direct correlation between the happiness of your employees and their productivity. If your team has low levels of job satisfaction, there is a good chance their unhappiness is the root of the problem. Thankfully, there are a number of simple and cost-effective ways to re-energize your staff.

7 Ways to Boost Productivity at Your Company

1. Promote Exercise

Physical activity is good for the mind, body and soul. If your office has the extra space, create a designated workout area for your employees. Encourage them to exercise together before work, at lunchtime or before heading home for the evening. If you don’t have the room to do this at your office, offer discounted memberships to a local gym. Remember, healthy employees are much more energetic!

2. Make Vacation Mandatory

Time away from the office is necessary for your employees to relax and recharge. However, many people get so wrapped up in their work that they forget to use vacation days. Institute a mandatory vacation policy, requiring your team to use up a portion of their paid time off each year. Whether they choose to travel or have a stay-cation is up to them — they just need to be out of the office to reboot.

3. Initiate Team Building Activities

Your employees are a team working together for the success of your company. It is important to foster the relationships between these individuals to ensure that they work cohesively. People tend to work better together and try harder to succeed when they are part of a team they really care about. Help your employees bond by hosting company lunches, happy hours, family picnics, holiday parties and other fun events where they can relax and get to know one another on a more personal level.

4. Encourage Growth

Most employees have a desire to grow and develop professionally. While it is good for employers to recognize hard work and success, professional development does not always refer to promotions and raises. Individuals also appreciate opportunities for continuous learning. This could range from webinars to paid certifications, or reimbursement for outside learning. Employees not only become more knowledgeable and motivated, (which can directly relate to productivity and impact on your bottom line) but also more marketable for your business (if a certain certification could impact the overall performance of employees and in turn the perception of the company).

5. Celebrate Success

Your employees work hard. Sure, hard work is a reasonable expectation of a manager or owner but make sure that you acknowledge their effort and dedication. Give credit for a job well done at the next meeting or have a pizza party when your team finishes a big project. Celebrations don’t always need to be grandiose gestures; simply saying great job today, can go a long way towards making someone feel appreciated.

6. Provide Feedback

No one is perfect! Even the best employees inevitably mess up from time to time. If your expectations weren’t met or a mistake was made, help your employees grow by providing them with feedback.  Make suggestions if you see an alternative way something could have been done to reach a more successful outcome.

7. Ask for Feedback

People like to know that their opinion counts. Have periodic check-ins with employees to see how they are doing and to ask if they have any questions, concerns or suggestions moving forward. If your office environment requires (or might respond better to) anonymous options, create a suggestion box for people to submit ideas for improvement or periodically send an anonymous email survey where they can provide feedback. Use the comments and ideas to implement changes to make your organization an even better place to work.

Looking for top talent to add to your team?

Searching for the best and brightest candidates to fill an open position at your company? Let the experienced team at RealStreet Staffing help. Whether you need a single scheduler for a week, or an entire construction management team for a year, contact RealStreet Staffing and we’ll find the best people in the architecture, engineering and construction communities for the job.