At the end of the day, a business is only as good as its employees.
While you may be the best manager or business owner out there, the reality is you can’t tackle everything on your own and you’ll need a devoted team of employees to have your back. That said, you can’t just hire a bunch of staff and call it a day. Unfortunately, employee productivity levels have been on the decline for some time now and managers are left trying to figure out the best solution. Thankfully, we have the many benefits of software and technology that serve as a perfect fix for many of the issues surrounding employee productivity.
For more insight, take a look at these 10 ways that software boosts employee productivity.
-
Stronger employee scheduling management
How much time does the average manager or supervisor spend creating their employee schedules? The answer is at least two hours each week, and some even spend up to twelve hours on the task. And any manager will say that not only does this process hold them back from investing their full-focus into bettering the business, but it also inhibits employee productivity by delaying the process of their staff members receiving their schedules.
For example, when employees receive their work schedules two weeks ahead of time, they’re able to plan their lives accordingly to ensure nothing gets in the way of them making it to their shifts. It also means there isn’t any extensive need for managers to find replacements for shifts, changing shifts around, etc. On the other hand, if employees get their work schedules just a few days before they have to work those shifts, there’s a high chance of the schedule interfering with some other aspect of their lives like school, family, another job, etc.
To remedy the issues of employee schedules, try adopting employee scheduling software into your internal workflow so you can create schedules all with the click of a button! To see it in action for yourself, click here.
-
More efficient workplace communication
Playing phone or email tag gets exhausting after a while, especially when you’re running out of time and just need someone that can pick up a shift. This scenario gives some insight into why workplace communication is so important for bettering employee productivity. Getting everyone to save each others’ phone numbers is often a pain and some employees prefer not to give out their numbers. So when someone doesn’t show up for a shift or needs someone to replace them, there are often many issues that arise when trying to contact one another. This can lead to a delay in finding a replacement or getting to the bottom of a number of other issues.
To remedy this occurrence, business owners should incorporate software that’s able to optimize workplace communication to the point where employees can open an app and message whomever they need to.
-
Automate time tracking
The fastest way to decrease any employees’ productivity levels is by not paying them for the hard hours they’ve put in. In fact, it just may make the employee quit the job altogether. And time tracking issues don’t arise because businesses want to steal from their employees, it’s a common issue rooted in the inability for many business owners to accurately record the correct number of hours their employees worked.
This is partly due to many businesses still using pen and paper to track the shifts of their hourly employees. To get around this, use efficient employee scheduling software that’s also able to track employee hours.
-
Offers full insight into labor costs
The only way to truly increase employee productivity is by diving into the data to get full transparency into where the money is being spent, as well as where savings can occur. This way, your employees aren’t being held back by any unnecessary processes that may actually be holding them back. Two examples of crucial pieces of insight include:
- Being able to identify your top performers
- Understanding how your projected labor costs compare to your actual labor costs.
-
Speeds up and simplifies the onboarding process so employees can start working as soon as possible
It’s an employee’s first day on the job and they woke up bright and early to make a good impression. They walk through the doors excited to finally get to work when they realize they forgot to bring an important document. The employee must now either go back home or delay their start date in order to process the document. Situations like the one above happen frequently and it’s about time that employers stopped making the onboarding process harder than it has to be.
And with software platforms out there like Zenefits and BambooHR, there’s no reason to inject any unnecessary processes into your onboarding. In fact, employees can make sure everything is handled before they even step in for their first day.
-
Employees have better control over their work lives
Life happens and sometimes people need help to get past certain obstacles they’re facing. Whether it be a personal emergency, family event, or maybe they just need a personal day. Either way, it’s best for everyone involved for the employee to have a clear avenue for swapping shifts, messaging managers, asking for certain days off, etc. And as you could imagine, this can be tough when the only available channel is text, email, or leaving a note on a paper schedule.
Which is why workforce management software is so beneficial for businesses that utilize hourly workers, it allows them to swap shifts, mark their unavailability, as well as control other areas of their lives.
-
Managers are able to pay wages instantly, instead of having to wait 2 weeks
Payday is an unofficial holiday for many hourly and part-time workers, and for good reason. But imagine how much more motivated your team would be if they didn’t have to wait for payday and could instead receive payment for their work sooner than what a typical payroll cycle allows?
Well thanks to software, this is now a possibility for employees all over the country. Your employees will show their thanks by displaying a noticeable increase in their productivity levels.
-
Employers can identify employees that are late, early, or that never showed up
The quickest way to lower employee morale is by not addressing problematic employees that frequently arrive late or don’t show up at all. It causes other employees to have to work harder in order to pick up the slack. And unfortunately, this will often translate to them looking for a new job.
For a quick solution, start using software that gives you full insight into which employees are frequently late, as well as who’s going above and beyond. You’ll then be able to easily identify any problem areas.
-
Less time documenting, more time invested bettering the business
In order to have any real impact on your employees’ productivity, you first must find the time to sit down and figure out the best possible solutions. And while this sounds straightforward, the reality is that it’s very difficult to accomplish when you’re trying to juggle a bunch of other priorities.
That’s why the first step in improving your employees’ productivity is to cut down as much as you can on time spent documenting. This way, you can truly invest in bettering the business for your team. As of now, software and technology is your best bet in automating tiresome tasks like automating.
-
Easier to motivate employees and award them for their performance
When you’re using workforce management software that informs you of crucial details regarding your staff’s working habits, it allows you to award employees for their high performance. And when employees see that they’re being appreciated for their work, they’ll be motivated to go the extra mile.
Software is the key to higher productivity levels!
The benefits above highlight the role that software plays in bettering employee productivity levels. The old ways of doing things are slowing being phased out and business owners need to adopt technology to keep up with the pack. To start using software that’s able to free up a lot of your workflows, click here to check out the benefits of Nowsta for your business.
