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How to Track Employee Productivity without Micromanaging

How to Track Employee Productivity without Micromanaging

As a manager, you want to ensure that your employees are staying focused during the work day, but micromanaging just isn’t enjoyable for anyone. Morale is better when you’re able to treat your team members like adults, plus it frees up your schedule so that you can get more done too. When you’re looking to maintain or increase employee productivity without hovering over everyone’s desks all day, keep these tips in mind:

Set clear goals

When you establish both short and long-term goals for your staff, each person in the office knows what is expected of them. It’s also easier to hold your team accountable. These milestones make it harder for an employee to feign productivity; they’re either accomplishing them or they’re not.

Put deadlines in place

Now that you’ve told your employees what you want them to accomplish, give them a time limit. This also helps with accountability and keeping everyone on track. When your staff knows that they have to have x project accomplished by x date, they’re more likely to plug away consistently to get it done.

Give them ownership over their work

When employees know that their thoughts and contributions matter, they’re more likely to stay invested in their work. If employees have feedback about what’s going on in the office, take these comments seriously. This helps staff members to feel a sense of ownership over what’s going on, which keeps them excited about their projects.

Pay special attention to sales reps

If you’re managing sales reps, it’s especially important to have some sort of system for accountability in place. You can ask everyone to keep track of who they called and visited that day, or to forecast the budgets they will hit that week. Some managers also choose to do “ride-alongs” where they go with sellers to visit clients from time to time in order to see how they perform while out on calls.

Making yourself available to your team is another important part of increasing employee productivity. When your staff members feel as if they can come to you with questions or concerns, they’re able to address issues head-on, thus tackling them before they inhibit their ability to perform.

Image: monkeybusinessimages/BigStock.com

Lauren Levine

Lauren Levine is a copywriter/blogger who contributes to a number of magazines and websites including The Frisky, USA Today, and others. She also authors her own blog called Life with Lauren. She loves cooking, anything on the E! network, and is trying to convince herself that running isn't so bad.