Ali Beheshti, CEO @ Zealie, on Employee Productivity

Employee productivity is a vital key to keeping your company performing efficiently and effectively. When the company is performing well, it requires little intervention. When companies are not performing their best and hit roadblocks, it can have a significant impact on operations. Throw in the digital age of social media, videos, and other related distractions, it can easily result in your employees wasting precious hours on the clock and ultimately, your company performing poorly. Consider all of these distractions an put yourself in your employee's shoes to help improve their productivity in the workplace.

Distractions in the workplace can include but are not limited to, cell phones and social media, personal issues, and the environment of the office. Cell phones are not only a means of communicating silently via text message, but an easy way to monitor social media, play games, and more. The combination of cell phones and social media are major productivity killers.

Personal issues such as relationship issues, divorce, personal finances, and parenthood can be one of the most challenging distractions for an employer to overcome. It can be a challenge because there is a thin line of knowing when to step in and intervene and when to overlook the situation.

Finally, the environment of the office can have a significant impact on the productivity of employees. Open-air settings can often be distracting and prevent employees from focusing on a task at hand, while office settings that can close doors and work in silence can be more productive.

Becoming aware of the distractions in the workplace is the first element of developing employee productivity. Once you are aware of those, implementing a few strategies will further enhance your employees’ productivity.

1. Set the tone for the day

It is pertinent to start the day on the right foot, and that includes making sure your employees understand that showing up to work on time is mandatory, not optional or appreciated. This will require a method for tracking and monitoring when employees arrive to work.

2. Provide incentives

Starting a program that offers monetary incentives for employees that perform well can significantly boost your employee productivity. By providing financial incentives to all employees in the company, not just those in senior-level positions, will encourage employees at all levels to cement their commitment to the success of the business. It is important to note that this strategy should not be the backbone for increasing employee productivity, but should be the cherry on top of a well-rounded productivity program.

3. Implement a device policy
Many companies do not take a firm stance on bringing personal devices to work, and it can have a negative impact on operations. To increase employee productivity, having a policy in place regarding personal devices is pertinent. Alternatively, providing company devices will allow business owners to control when the devices can access.

Ali Beheshti is a serial entrepreneur, currently the founder and CEO of Zealie, a revenue cycle management platform. Ali is knowledgable in a variety of fields, including behavioral health and law. To learn more about Ali, visit his website AliBeheshti.com