These days, many managers are more worried than ever about their employees' productivity. Particularly in an era increasingly defined by remote and hybrid work environments, managers are no longer able to be the watchful eyes over their employees while they are at work - and that might be a good thing.

Employers are beginning to realize that the traditional way of looking at productivity is not ideal. Productivity is not something that should be mandated out of employees, but something that should be encouraged and worked towards in a collaborative way.

Measuring productivity

Before figuring out how to improve productivity in the workplace, employers must first understand what productivity actually entails. According to Lauren Winans, CEO and Principal HR Consultant at Next Level Benefits, "productivity is a metric that measures how well resources are being used to create value."

Even so, Winans says many employers tend to fundamentally misunderstand what it means to be truly productive. "True productivity entails more than just finishing many tasks or working longer hours," she says. "It is all about making the most of the time you have by setting specific and attainable goals, prioritizing tasks, and employing effective time management techniques."

Furthermore, it is important for business leaders to understand how to define organizational productivity compared to individual productivity. "Measuring organizational productivity typically involves evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization's systems, processes, and workforces," Winans explains. "Measuring personal productivity, on the other hand, requires evaluating an individual's efficiency and effectiveness in completing tasks and achieving their goals. Treating these two principles the same way is entirely ineffective."

Managers often wonder how they can encourage their employees to practice better individual productivity since it is, by nature, individualistic. "Encouraging productivity is primarily a function of removing barriers to successful time management," says Winans. "Managers can stop certain behaviors and deploy new tactics to help their employees reach their goals."

How not to make employees more productive

One of the worst things an employer can do for productivity is to not respect their employees' time. "You must stop expecting immediate responses to emails, planning meetings without considering an employee's availability or scheduling boundaries, or holding meetings without agendas," Winans asserts. "These actions, even if not ill-intentioned, show the employee that you do not respect their time. As such, they too will stop respecting their own time."

Similarly, many employers make the mistake of asking for regular status updates too frequently. This habit can be detrimental to the feeling of trust necessary between employee and employer. If an employee feels they are being checked in on too frequently, they will start to feel as if their employer does not trust them to do their job properly. In addition, these status reports can sometimes cause an undue strain on an employee's time by forcing them to jump through unnecessary hoops. 

How to help employees become more productive

One of the first steps a business leader must take to ensure productivity in the workplace is to create an environment where employees feel encouraged to raise reasonable concerns. "Foster what psychologists call 'psychological safety,' or the sense of security that comes from knowing there's no punishment for raising reasonable concerns," says Winans. "Only when people feel safe discussing their workplace problems that get in the way of their own productivity can you find solutions to fix them."

Employees are the best-suited people to describe what is distracting them. Ask employees for feedback on the most significant work distractions they encounter every day, and devise a plan to help eliminate as many of them as feasible. Of course, there will be some distractions that don't have an easy solution - for example, if an employee complains about noise on the street - but employers will find that many of the most common distractions plaguing their employees are within their control.

Creating agendas for every important meeting will ensure that time is better optimized. "There are few things more frustrating to an employee than a meeting that could have been an email," says Winans. "Requiring an agenda keeps everyone on track and cuts down unnecessary meetings by forcing the organizer to make an effort before calling a meeting. Furthermore, some schedule a meeting to avoid having to put in the effort of solving a problem themselves. Although collaboration can be a powerful problem-solving tool, it should not be used as an excuse not to put in the work yourself."

Some employers have also found success using the strategy of schedule-syncing, which allows managers to better understand how employees spend their time without being invasive. One strategy is to ask employees to share a time-boxed calendar with blocks set aside for focused work, taking calls, and other strategies. Even simpler is setting aside specific distraction-free periods each day, during which everyone is free of messages, calls, meetings, emails, or in-person check-ins.

Winans suggests that business leaders should strive to lead by example. "Managers should set an example for their employees by creating their own boundaries and sticking to them," she adds. "Make time for focused work yourself. Let people know when you are (and aren't) available, and don't interrupt others during their focused work or off-hours."

Once negative employee behaviors are modified and actions are taken to help employees eliminate distractions, managers can better measure productivity in the workplace. Although they are different concepts, organizational productivity and individual productivity tend to go hand in hand. Encouraging employees to maximize their individual productivity can substantially improve the organization's productivity.