Human Resource Optimization: Make The Most Of Your Staff

Employers have their work cut out for them when it comes to their employees. After all, it’s your responsibility to find the best individuals to help your company’s production remain high in order to be successful.

But doing this is often challenging. Employees get distracted and steal time. You don’t fill your staff with the right people. Or you end up having to dole out extra responsibilities to your team, which ends up decreasing production.

Luckily, this isn’t how your business has to operate. You can make the most out of your staff by implementing a few of the following strategies.

Create a friendly work environment.

If your employees don’t like coming to work, they’re not going to maintain a strong production schedule, and this will hurt your business. It’s very important that you create a friendly work environment. Keep the office casual by allowing your employees to have a relaxed dress code. Treat them to breakfast or lunch every now and then. Provide them with plenty of activities, such as bringing in a masseuse. If you create an environment that’s desirable to your employees, their overall morale will increase and you’ll see better production.

Provide incentives.

Giving your employees something to obtain by doing a great job is essential to creating a strong company. Using incentives is a great way to keep your employees on task and working hard. You could offer monetary incentives, such as bonuses for reaching a certain goal. You could also offer other incentives, such as an extra day of paid time off, a closer parking spot, or anything else that you think would make your employees willing to work harder.

Lead by example.

Yes, you have employees designated to work on certain projects, but if you’re constantly handing off responsibilities and heading into your office to do, well, nothing, your employees are going to resent you. If you want to get the most out of your employees, you need to be a boss they can trust. When possible, show your face and do some work with them. When they see that you are actively participating in the core of the company, they’ll respect you more and be more willing to work harder.

Dole out responsibilities responsibly.

Not every employee has the same skill level, and it’s important that you recognize this. When you know the strengths and weaknesses of your employees, you can dole out the responsibilities and projects more responsibly. For example, if you know that Susan is great with Excel, then you’ll want her to be in charge of creating that Excel report. If you know that Henry has a way with people, you’ll want him in charge of the sales project. When you maximize your employees’ strengths, you’ll get the most of out them.

Outsource some of your tasks.

Every company has a tendency to pile on the projects, and this will wear your employees out. Not only may you be placing a project or task in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to do it, but you’ll also be putting their regular responsibilities on hold, and this will hurt the production of your company. Instead, don’t be afraid to outsource some projects to freelancers or contractors so your staff is free to handle their own responsibilities. For example, online transcribing services can save your staff valuable time, and investing in a social media management company can ensure you receive optimal social media marketing. When you allow your employees to focus on their tasks at hand, you’ll end up with better results.

Meyling Lau is a partner at SEOMap.com and has lead enterprise scale SEO programs. Formerly, Mey led a variety of grassroots marketing projects for Hotels.com.