86% of UK SMEs believe productivity is an issue. Given that there are more than 5.7 million SMEs in the UK, making up 99% of the UK’s businesses, productivity inefficiencies have a substantial impact on the UK economy.

Given that a large proportion of business owners are not even measuring productivity, how do we become better and what is the benchmark?

Why is productivity important in business ?

Increasing productivity doesn’t mean you have to spend more time on work – there are other methods for facilitation.

It’s not just about how many hours you have spent working. It is about how much you have accomplished in those hours. You can be productive without working for long periods of time!

Business growth is vital because more real income means the business can meet its obligations to customers, suppliers, workers, shareholders, and governments (taxes and regulation), and maintain its competitiveness in the marketplace. You cannot do that without employee productivity

How to Establish a Metric for Your Team’s Productivity

Everyone wants to be more productive. We all want to produce more. Productivity is not just about the quantity of your output, but about how well you are able to generate quality results with the time that you are working with. It’s very difficult to objectively measure productivity.

The best way to come up with a good idea for a metric is to first think about why you want it and how you will be using it. What are you trying to measure?

 One hour spent on the phone resolving a query from an unhappy customer could be worth a lot more than one new sales’ call.
Why? An unhappy customer can do more damage to your business than you think.

Next, look at what challenges your team faces, and what is the desired outcome to continue to measure productivity.

What are the Challenges of Measuring Productivity in Teams?

Companies need to find a way to measure the productivity of their teams. The problem with this is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for measuring productivity. In some workplaces, teams are measured on the number of tasks they complete while in others, it’s measured by how many hours they have spent working.

It is difficult to measure the productivity of people working together in teams because every member of the team has their own role to play and measuring it depends on the kind of task they are doing and how it hard it is. That’s why it’s hard finding that perfect balance that could work for all of the employees that have different kinds of tasks they are working on.

What are the Benefits of Measuring Productivity in Teams?

A lot of people are still not measuring their productivity. This is because it can sound like a daunting task. However, it doesn’t have to be hard if you just know what to measure.

We should be measuring the outcome of what we do, not just the activities that we do. For example, if you wanted to measure your productivity as an individual, you would measure how productive you are based on the outcome of your work instead of how many hours you spend in front of a computer.

This will help employees understand their own workflow and they will know where they can improve in order to increase their output and be more productive. It also helps managers better understand when employees need help or have an issue with their workload so that they can manage accordingly and provide support when necessary.

Measurement Tools or Apps that Measure Employee Productivity

We must admit that productivity is hard to measure on its own and also for employees to keep track of. With all that task they have on their plate. That’s why it’s a good thing to rely on other ways that can help us with that. Such as using software and apps that, is specifically made to measure productivity that can be used to track work hours, project hours, time spent on tasks and many more.

There are many apps and tools out there that can help with this, but we will go over a few of them below some of the top-rated ones with their most notable features:

● RescueTime is an app that tracks your time on the computer, app or website-based activity

● Hubstaff helps track hours, manage projects and monitor work quality

● Toggl helps you create detailed reports on team members’ productivity

Strategies & Tips on How to Increase Employee Productivity?

Employees need to know how to prioritize their work and how to manage their time effectively. They also need a clear understanding of company goals and objectives in order to reach them.

There are a lot of tips that managers can provide employees with on ways they can increase productivity. One way is by setting specific goals and objectives for employees. Another is by assigning tasks that align with the skill set of the employee which will help them achieve more in less time.

Another strategy is for managers to use a one-minute overview at the beginning or end of meetings, so everyone understands the objective of the meeting, what they have accomplished, and what they have left on their agenda for next time around.

Productivity is one of the pathways to success.

• find ways that can help your employees to streamline their own processes
• to find the most effective way that they can make the most of the time they have
• all without sacrificing the quality of work.

To maximise performance, SME’s need to understand & account for the role that employee engagement plays in their success. It’s important to regularly measure employee productivity if you want to identify problem areas and come up with ways of helping staff feel more supported.