How to get more from your workforce – more commitment to their daily tasks, more innovation and creativity, more loyalty towards the company and more dedication to the success of your organisation – is any business owner or manager’s aspiration. To be able to achieve better results from the same resources is the very definition of efficiency and sometimes the smallest of changes can result in significant rewards when it comes to staff productivity.

Essentially, your workforce have already got all the skills and expertise to do their best for you (or you would not have hired them in the first place), but their potential might be being held back by a number of things – confidence, clarity, motivation and anxiety are a few of the most common factors.

With Covid-19 still very much part of our lives, having your staff back in your office may be a path back to normality, but it is only the first step. For many who have either been furloughed or have been working at home, this may be their first time back in the office for months. They are likely to be anxious about the risks to their health of returning to work, they may be unclear about what you have done to make sure they are as safe as they can be, they might not have confidence that you prioritise their wellbeing and, as a result, their motivation may be lower than it could be.

So, how can you create an environment that promotes productivity through evidencing that you prioritise the needs, wishes and wellness of your staff?

1. Technological solutions

Many offices are deploying technological solutions to not only protect their staff, but to evidence that they are protected. Thermal imaging cameras in lobbies and on passcode pads to check people’s temperature and deny entry if they register above normal. Wearable tech that provides a visual and audible alert should staff breach pre-set proximity boundaries with one another. And fixed devices that track people’s movements throughout an office to deter overcrowding. These will all provide peace of mind that social distancing standards will be upheld so staff can stop worrying about this and focus on their work.

2. Listening solutions

Staff can often feel that their voices are not heard, that the corporate machinery will drown them out and that the priority will once again be profits and not their well-being. Listening to your workforce, and showing them that you have listened, flattening out hierarchical structures and making management more accessible, will give staff confidence that they have a little control in a world that has felt for some time like they have none. This could result in greater commitment and company loyalty.

3. Hygienic solutions

We all know that Covid-19 spreads with human to human contact and from touched surfaces. Cleanliness and hygiene have, of course, become all the more important to everyone throughout this period. And, to create an environment in which your staff will feel more comfortable and, therefore, more able to be productive, you need to evidence that you understand this as well. Increased internal cleaning and regular disinfection are clear starting points, but perception is everything, so even the exterior of your building should a model of cleanliness – the cladding on your building, your office’s signage, and the one external element of the building that everyone can see from the inside – the windows.

Grimy, grubby windows will dull the natural light in your office, they will feel representative of your commitment to the hygiene of your office and, therefore, play an important role in ensuring that your staff feel you are dedicated to developing an environment in which they can be most productive.

For all your high-rise window cleaning, external cleaning and jet washing needs, call London Window Cleaners 020 3954 2900. 

SOURCES

1. https://www.abelian.com/newsdata/building-an-office-atmosphere-for-creative-minds/
2. https://www.aquamarkcleaning.co.uk/how-can-a-clean-workplace-transform-productivity/