Boosting Productivity: 10 Ways to Incentivise Your Team

Workplace productivity and profit go hand in hand. While productivity is directly influenced by output, it’s important to remember that the world of work has changed quite dramatically in the last few years, and people aren’t robots either – “the average worker is productive for 60% or less each day.” To incentivise your team to be their most productive selves, consider applying a holistic approach towards their work-life balance, and professional development, while placing the tools and support systems to enable this.

Let’s dive into 10 ways you can incentivise your team’s productivity.

1. Embrace flexible working

The expectation of today’s working lifestyle no longer requires spending 8 hours in the office. From ‘working from anywhere’ to introducing a 4-day work week, hybrid working practices are currently “the ultimate recruitment tool for talent attraction – ranking higher than salary as a key benefit in some surveys,” reports ACAS. When you trust your team to decide where to work and at what times, they can align their working day with their most productive hours. So, encourage them to take that lunchtime walk, or split their day between meetings at home, before cycling into their local coworking space for the afternoon – productivity isn’t linear.

2. Live your inclusive values

Embracing flex is very much part of establishing an inclusive company culture. Whether some of your team members are caregivers (in 2019, one in seven workers juggled employment with caregiving), or neurodiverse (making up 15% of the UK population) – supporting your workers’ needs and work-life balance helps them feel more valued, happier, and productive. With June being Pride month, consider hosting an event or workshop celebrating your LGBTQ+ community, for instance. Feeling seen and heard can go a long way for many people, who will endeavour to give back with a stronger work ethic.

3. Encourage coworking

Working from home is a much-needed part of having a healthy work-life balance. But, it doesn’t work all the time, with distractions occurring when deliveries turn up, or the house is filled with excitable children, and pets, or housework takes priority over work tasks. With every distraction, it takes about 10-15 minutes to return to a state of flow. So, give your team an alternative – a productive work environment away from home. Perhaps it’s your central office, satellite workspace, or a local coworking space. The added benefit is the social aspect of coworking, which reduces feelings of isolation and loneliness. Empowering your team to use a workspace near their home helps them cut their commute, saving their energy levels for a productive workday instead.

4. Have an inspiring workspace

Providing your team with a workspace is one thing, but encouraging them to come in is another. Choose your workspace wisely – consider its impact on your team’s feelings and emotions. Natural lighting, for example, improves circadian rhythms, boosting Vitamin D production and happiness. Bright colours evoke feelings of joy, while natural shades imbue relaxed sensations. Ergonomic chairs and desks support people to work comfortably all day long. Consider giving your team a choice between workstations, like having phone booths to facilitate private calls and focus time, while buzzing communal spaces provide breakout zones for collaboration. Empowering your team to move throughout the workspace stimulates their senses, enabling a stronger work ethic.

5. Offer wellness perks

Good physical and mental health links to better habits and engagement levels at work. So, embrace wellness in your workplace – partner with a local gym to provide discounted memberships, and support your employees who want to run exercise clubs. It’s now the norm to host wellness events in the office, like meditation and Yoga sessions, or alcohol-free and healthy food options at events, even welcoming dogs in the workspace. When a company ‘prioritises engagement, well-being, and honouring individual strengths,’ it reduces employee burnout while increasing workplace productivity declares a Forbes article.

6. Give compassionate support

The youngest generation entering the workforce today is Gen Z, who will make up 27% of the workforce by 2025. They began their careers in a pandemic, during a cost of living crisis, with rising mental health cases, and increasing uncertainties around the climate crisis. It’s no wonder then that this generation prioritises a healthy work-life balance, DEI initiatives, and freedom of choice to combat increasing feelings of stress, loneliness, and anxiety. Giving compassion to everyone in your team, not just the youngest ones, boosts morale and establishes a good work ethic.

7. Open up professional development opportunities

According to research conducted by Zurich, Gen Z prioritises lifelong learning and work-life balance over climbing the career ladder, differentiating them from older generations. Times must change when it comes to management as, interestingly, 37% of Gen Z workers experience low workplace productivity working in companies where their managers are 12+ years older than them. Meanwhile, this number is as low as 18% in companies with “intergenerationally inclusive work practices,” establishing an age-agnostic approach acknowledging “that generational differences are likely to be a key factor in workplace efficiency.”

8. Set clear objectives

With hybrid working and coworking being the norm, workers receive less face time with their coworkers than in pre-pandemic times, leading them to spend more time on calls. According to Microsoft’s Work Index Trend, “since February 2020, people are in 3x more Teams meetings and calls per week.” It also declares that 68% of workers felt they didn’t have enough uninterrupted time in their workday to undertake focus work. Inefficient meetings were flagged as the biggest blocker to workplace productivity, followed by a lack of clear goals. The report advises managers and teams to “protect focus time for the creative work that leads to innovation” and record calls to reference and understand clear objectives and tasks.

9. Provide financial incentives

Work now exists on a value-based scale where, if employees don’t feel respected, valued, or heard, they will simply leave and find another job. “For some people, money is the ultimate motivator this instils a sense of purpose and satisfaction from accomplishment and a job well done,” explains a Forbes article. Financial incentives might be granted in the form of bonus schemes, equity in the business, or increasing pension contributions. To retain talent and, consequently, your most productive workers, show appreciation by advocating for larger salaries for your highest performers.

10. Celebrate wins

Ultimately, people want to feel a sense of purpose and meaning in their work. One way to boost this is by taking a ‘we’re all in it together’ approach, and celebrating wins, as a collective. Whether you host team lunches, shout-outs in meetings, or small tokens of appreciation, acknowledging achievements keeps motivation high and reinforces a culture of recognition and appreciation. Keeping all of these points in mind creates a stronger work ethic, and workplace productivity all around.

Do you want to boost productivity with your team? Book a free consultative call with one of our software experts to determine if Nexudus is the right hybrid workplace software for your space.