Higher productivity levels can lead to lower costs, higher profits and better-quality outputs. What’s not to like? But improving productivity can be challenging for any business. Not only are there global factors affecting productivity levels, there are barriers within the workplace too. We take a closer look at these barriers and how organizations can overcome them.

Productivity growth has been slow for a number of years. Major world events including the financial crisis of 2007/08 and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic have all affected productivity on a global scale. Natural disasters, conflicts including the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions and ongoing economic challenges have also played their part.

According to The Conference Board’s Global Productivity Brief, GDP per hour worked—a typical indicator used to measure productivity—is set to rise just 1.2% worldwide in 2023. This follows zero growth in 2022.

Many organizations will be feeling the impact of these global events. But while you may have little influence on the wider factors affecting productivity, you can try to counteract them by taking proactive steps to address the barriers that exist within your own business.

1. Poor communication

   Open and clear lines of communication are essential. Forbes Advisor’s State of Workplace Communication 2023 report found that nearly half (49%) of workers feel their productivity is affected by poor communication.

   If employees aren’t sure what their manager expects of them and are reluctant to ask, they can easily waste hours of time trying to accomplish a task which may have been relatively simple if communicated properly. Similarly, if people aren’t given regular feedback, or don’t feel able to raise concerns, it can lead to them feeling disengaged.

   The rise of hybrid and remote working since the pandemic means it’s even more important that people communicate quickly and easily with colleagues and aren’t excluded from important messages.

   Removing the productivity barrier

   Using consistent communication channels rather than a confusing mix of emails, messaging services and apps, can help streamline communications and make sure nothing is missed. Find the right platform for your business’s needs and make sure everyone knows how they’re supposed to use it.

   It’s also important to create safe spaces for communication. Suggestion boxes, drop-in sessions and open-door policies can all encourage people to be comfortable sharing their views and asking questions.

2. Lack of goal setting

   Setting goals and targets gives your workforce something to work towards and helps motivate them. An absence of clear, consistent goals can easily have the opposite effect, leaving employees to procrastinate and waste time.

   If goals are constantly being shifted it’s easy for teams to feel disoriented and unmotivated as it’s not clear what success looks like.

   Removing the productivity barrier

   Setting SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-related, both for the business and individual employees, sets clear expectations and encourages people to prioritize their work and stay focused.

   Make sure to check in with people about their progress towards their goals at regular intervals to help refocus them and see if any adjustments need to be made.

3. Engagement issues

   Engaged employees are motivated to help their organization grow and meet its goals. So if your workplace suffers from low engagement it can have a serious impact on productivity.

   Disengaged workers are less likely to innovate, go the extra mile, collaborate with colleagues and provide an amazing customer experience. Plus, they’re more likely to leave, meaning you suffer from further lost productivity while you replace them.

   According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report, employees who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged cost the world $8.8 trillion in lost productivity.

   Removing the productivity barrier

   Building an engaged workforce is no small task. It’s not about simply paying people more or promoting them, although both of these things can play a role. It’s about making sure people feel emotionally connected and invested in their work and supported by their employer.

   Providing opportunities for learning and development, communicating effectively, having a strong management team and a positive workplace culture can all help boost engagement.

   Holding regular employee engagement surveys can give a valuable insight into engagement levels within your organization as well as generating ideas about the specific improvement measures your staff would like to see.

4. Too many meetings

   A calendar filled with meetings typically leads to busy but unproductive days where little actual work gets done.

   It’s estimated that in the US alone there are 55 million meetings held each week, with over 34% of workers saying they spend over five hours a week in meetings. Worryingly, although companies spend around $37 billion a year on meetings, 71% of these are considered unproductive.

   And it’s not just the time in meetings that’s lost. Many workers feel unable to be productive in-between meetings, as they don’t have any long stretches of time clear to really get into the flow and engage with a task. Or they’re watching the clock so they’re not late for their next meeting.

   Removing the productivity barrier

   Putting in some clear rules around meetings can help avoid unnecessary get-togethers and make essential meetings run more efficiently. Ideally all meetings should have a clear agenda and a leader who keeps everyone on track and ensures the session doesn’t over-run.

   Encourage staff to think about the invite list – does everyone need to attend, or can some people be sent actions afterwards?

   Workplaces can also really benefit from dedicated meeting-free times – periods in the day or across the week where no meetings are allowed, no exceptions. This gives people time when they know they can work uninterrupted.

5. Lack of training

   The world of work is constantly changing. If your staff aren’t having regular training they could easily slip behind in terms of technology updates and best practice ways of working, causing you to be less productive than your competitors.

   Investing in training is also a great way to motivate employees. If they’re not being given a chance to learn and develop, teams can start to feel disengaged, which has a knock-on effect on productivity.

   Removing the productivity barrier

   Giving staff their own training budget to invest as they choose can empower and motivate them. Make it clear what percentage of people’s time they should dedicate to learning so they can plan accordingly.

   And remember, training can take many forms. If budgets are restricted, make use of the knowledge and skills you have in-house by hosting lunch and learn sessions where staff can share their experience.

6. Work overload

   Too much work can cause team members to be unproductive as they get burned out or simply don’t know what to do first and end up procrastinating. The longer people work the less productive they actually are.

   Research conducted at Stanford University shows that productivity declines sharply once people have worked over 50 hours a week, and after 55 hours it becomes pointless doing any more work at all. Unfortunately, in some organizations there’s still a ‘hustle culture’ where people feel they need to work longer hours to be seen as hardworking, despite the evidence suggesting otherwise.

   Removing the productivity barrier

   Developing a company culture where people leave on time and don’t send emails and messages outside work hours, and modeling this behavior from the top down, can inspire people to manage their time better.

   Encourage staff to set strict boundaries, like always taking a lunch away from their screen, and help them prioritize work with clear deadlines.

7. Lack of recognition

   Everyone likes to be congratulated for a job well done and getting some well-deserved recognition can act as a great motivator. Research shows that 37% of workers would be encouraged to produce better work more often if they received more personal recognition.

   On the other hand, a lack of recognition leaves people unsure of their contribution and questioning their value, leading to low productivity. It can also be a factor in people deciding to move on to a new role, creating productivity issues related to high employee turnover.

   Removing the productivity barrier

   This can be as simple as remembering to say, ‘well done’ and ‘thank you’ on a regular basis. But for maximum impact consider establishing multiple routes to recognize and reward staff. These could include your version of employee of the month or quarter, annual staff awards, informal shout-outs and office treats to celebrate client wins or exceeding targets.

   Don’t just focus your recognition efforts on financial goals. Give people praise for helping their colleagues, solving a challenge they’ve been wrestling with or helping a new starter settle in.

Sometimes the barriers to productivity can be personal, and something employees need to work on themselves, with the support of their manager. If a member of your team is struggling with productivity, one of these could be the cause:

Whether it’s background noise in the office or a pile of dishes at home, there are always distractions that can pull your attention away from the task at hand.

Take proactive steps to minimize things you know reduce your focus, whether it’s wearing headphones or turning the notifications on your phone off. It can also be helpful to set yourself small goals throughout the day – reward yourself with 5 minutes ‘distraction’ once they’re ticked off.

Our brains aren’t actually wired for multi-tasking. We’re much more productive – and less likely to make mistakes – when we focus on one job at a time. To break the multi-tasking habit, try using the 20-minute rule, where you focus all your attention on one thing for 20 minutes before switching.

Putting off that task you really don’t want to do can lead to a lot of wasted time. But there is a way to use procrastination to your benefit.

Productive procrastination means you can still delay starting a job, but you consciously fill the time with other secondary tasks so you’re being productive. For example, if you’re putting off writing a report you could work through your emails.

Overall, you could end up getting more done, but you need to be careful to leave enough time to complete the initial task.

Time management is a skill and without it it’s easy to waste a lot of time. People use different techniques to manage their time and it’s important to experiment and find one that suits your personal needs and role. Popular methods include writing a ‘to-do’ list each morning, doing certain jobs when you know you’re at your most productive and categorizing all tasks by level of urgency.

Keep reading

• What is productivity and why does it matter?
• Should you ban meetings?
• How to improve employee productivity