Improving Employee Efficiency

By Rachel Andrea Ko Go
Writer, Profiles Asia Pacific

Employee efficiency should be a priority for every company. Employees who take pride in their work create an efficient company, better work atmosphere, and produce a better product.

It is important to realize that workplace efficiency relies as much on management as it does on employees. An environment of productivity results from accountable employees who are motivated, rewarded and communicative, regardless of rank. Here are some questions to ask to help evaluate how well your company is creating efficient employees.

• Do employees earn their salary by simply showing up, or are they required to meet goals each month?
• Are employees incentivized to produce quality work, monetarily or otherwise? An example would be allowing an employee who accomplishes something ahead of deadline to leave the office early.
• Does management recognize individual employees with exemplary performance? This will encourage the employee to continue to work hard, and encourage other employees to work harder.
• Do employees have clear communication channels to make needed changes? If something in the office is making it hard to get work done, an employee should be able to discuss it with someone who is authorized to make changes. The key is letting employees know that this communication channel is open to them, should they have suggestions for workplace improvements.
• Are employees micro-managed? Giving employees the authority to resolve small issues independently eliminates the drain of time and resources it would take to elevate an issue to management for approval.
• Are there extra touch-points in the office workflow? Is a document going to someone more than once unnecessarily? Eliminate any unnecessary procedures that take up time and resources.
• Do your employees work well with their coworkers? People work best when they are in a team they can trust and rely on, with complementary skills.
• Are your employees continually challenged? Monotony is deadly to innovation. When employees get stuck in a pattern, they may not be as deliberate in their actions, or as aware of the big picture behind a project.
• Are your employees in the right department? Different people have different skills, talents, and personality traits. An extroverted employee would probably be more comfortable than an introverted employee when interacting with clients.

Once you have asked these questions, you should have a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your company in terms of employee efficiency.