Six Ways to Improve an Employee’s Productivity Today

Here are six simple actions you can take to help someone be more productive today. 
 
1. Challenge her.  From time to time we all need a little bit of extra motivation and focus. Challenge a person who has a $200 average sale to strive for $225 today.  At the very least she will be more aware of where her average sale is that day.
 
2. Observe and give feedback.  Take a few minutes to watch your employee with a customer.  Afterward, share with the employee one or two ideas he can try with the next customer.  Even better, continue to observe the employee so that you can give him feedback on how he applied your suggestion.
 
3. Teach him. We often take for granted that our employees know everything they need to know to be productive, but just because we've taught it doesn't mean they learned it or remember it.  Ask yourself what is the one thing you can teach an employee that will help him/her be more productive.  Then do it.  There's nothing wrong with quick refresher courses or a pop quiz.
 
4. Show him.  Most people they learn better by watching rather of simply being told.  If you want an employee to improve his add-ons (or as we call it, enhancing the sale) you or another employee can demonstrate the expected behaviors.
 
5. Reward them. Contests and spiffs are a great way to increase productivity, but don't expect the motivation to continue after the end of the contest or spiff.
 
6. Tell her. Sometimes you just have to tell someone that her productivity is below your expectations, and you expect her to do better today.  This only works if you know the person has the skills to do what you're asking.
 
Here's what doesn't help someone be more productive today
 
1. Hoping they do better.
 
2. Spending time in the office.
 
3. Thinking about what they need to do.
 
4. Putting it on your to-do list.
 
5. Avoiding the person you need to talk to/work with.
 
6. Doing it yourself.
 
Of course I've totally oversimplified the very big topic of coaching and developing employees.  Which was also my intent.  Most of the ways I listed to increase an employee's productivity only take a few minutes of your time.
 
You don't need fancy forms or hour-long meetings to improve an employee's productivity.  It just takes a commitment to make it happen.
 
So let me ask, which list will you be working from today?