4 Ways You Could Be Killing Your Employees’ Productivity

Business leaders, it’s time to take a long hard look in the mirror. This post is all about you and some of the ways you may be killing employee productivity. Whether you realize it or not, your actions are one of the key factors driving workforce engagement, and it’s important to understand how they may affect your people. Do you do any of these four employee productivity killers?

1) You have too many big ideas.
There’s nothing wrong with thinking big – in fact, it’s an important part of your job – as long as at some point you focus on a goal and start working toward it. According to information from the Associated Press, our average attention span has decreased by 50% over the past decade. The effects of a vision-driven leader can have a significant impact on employee productivity. Constantly shifting your focus from one major initiative to another without seeing the previous one through can make it difficult for your employees to put their full potential into any one effort, either because they don’t have time or, even worse, they already expect it’s only a matter of time before you’ll move on to something else.

2) You plan meetings to talk about planning meetings to discuss future meetings.
Nearly half (47%) of respondents to a 2012 Salary.com survey ranked too many meetings as the top workplace time waster. If you’ve spent any time in the business world, you’re likely well-acquainted with the “meeting culture” that seems to permeate every workplace and how it can be a drain on productivity. If you’re a chronic meeting planner, your employees probably already know what it’s like to start making headway on a project only to have their meeting reminder pop up, halting any progress they were making. So, it’s important to only plan meetings when they are absolutely necessary. And remember, a quick email can often be more effective than a meeting anyway.

3) You’re not passionate about the work.
Employee engagement is a major challenge many companies face. A Gallup study on the state of the American workplace found that as much as 70% of workers are not engaged in their work. A key component of engagement is passion. Employees who find purpose in their work are often more engaged and productive. And the same goes for their leadership. If you are not passionate about leading your team and striving to reach goals, your employees will have a difficult time rallying behind you and their commitment to achieving success will wane.

4) You forget to recognize performance.
A 2013 survey by the American Psychological Association found that 50% of workers do not feel valued at work. Recognition has been shown time and time again to be a key factor in employee productivity and engagement. A few minutes in the spotlight every once in a while can be a major confidence builder for your employees because it validates their hard work and will only inspire them to reach for more.

What are some other ways leaders stifle productivity? Let us know in the comments section below.

Refresh Leadership is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

7 Responses to 4 Ways You Could Be Killing Your Employees’ Productivity

  1. Marlene Chism April 19, 2014 at 12:55 pm #

    Lack of clarity is a huge productivity killer. When the employees do not know exactly what is required, or if they do not know how to “win” they stop being engaged and instead trade productivity for putting in time.

  2. carol van linda May 6, 2014 at 6:18 am #

    lack of raises is another one or financial rewards to go with the “empty” “oh great job” words or piece of paper never hurts either especially in a company that pays the bottom end of the pay scale I personally have won the two top awards for customer service more than once in a national company and have yet to see 5 bucks sent in my direction to recognize it but I do have a few “great” paperweights that were sent to me for a “great job going above and beyond” but does it help to keep me motivated ? No

    • Eddie Brooks May 6, 2014 at 8:50 am #

      If you are only working for money what gets in your way of moving to another job or industry? You are being paid to do a job that your employer has entrusted to you. The fact that your efforts are recognized is great. If you would rather have a transient five dollars over your very visible and permanent thanks for doing a great job “paperweight” then either inform your employer or move on. You have the power of choice.

    • Fred May 7, 2014 at 9:41 am #

      I agree with this. I have a boss who will talk about his bonuses (that are partially a result of work I do for him) and his commissions and his golden parachute while the rest of us can’t even have a cost of living raise.

      Then he sends me an e-mail thanking me for the great work I did on a project that I had nothing to do with.

      And moving to another job (as one has suggested) is not so easy when you have a family to support.

  3. Angie Scalzo May 6, 2014 at 6:58 am #

    Not allowing for employee input or creativity. I was so careful to exactly spell out job descriptions and tasks, as well as what was expected on a daily basis, that I left no room for my employees to contribute their own ideas or put their own personal “spin” on their work. Instead, I find that when I ask “how would you go about solving this problem?” my employees often contribute more than I would have asked for!

  4. Kris Cook May 6, 2014 at 8:36 am #

    Lack of communication. My workplace is full of whispers and things are divulged to a chosen few and not the rest. We’re re-branding and I have no idea where the process stands or what the new name will be.

    I’ve heard the office is moving to a location much more inconvenient from my home. Have I heard this from management? No.

    Managers, do not confide in one employee to the exclusion of everyone else, even if it means having a dreaded MEETING. We need to buy in, or we all walk around feeling like we’re continually being slapped in the face.

  5. Mishka May 29, 2014 at 5:11 am #

    I absolutely agree that the management is in charge of building and keeping employees engaged. And definitely unproductive killers might are overlooked which only keep employees stressed and pressured. I read an article from http://www.spi-global.com/blog/think-tank/5-tools-boost-productivity-office-team/ which will correlate to this problem given that collaboration is very important within employees and supervisors. Thank you for this entry. It is a great help.

Leave a Reply