Employees are companies most valuable asset – Without the talent, knowledge and expertise those employed bring to an organisation, it’s safe to say that the business world would be a very different landscape. 

Human Resources is often held responsible for owning the employee value strategy, where we’re now embracing tremendous improvements in how the value that employees bring, can be achieved.

Here we’ll explore how data analysis, learning & development, employee engagement, 360 feedback and flexibility all offer a significant opportunity to improve employee output within every organisation in 2020.

1️⃣ Evaluate productivity

Having a mechanism to evaluate employee productivity is an essential step in understanding what’s working effectively in your organisation or not.

Data and analytics are far more than just buzzwords and offer companies a real-time opportunity to transform how they organise, operate, create value and manage talent.

Being productive at work can be difficult. Managing your time in ways that are conducive to your productivity is key…

HR Managers and function leads can measure the productivity of their teams by firstly monitoring and then evaluating how long tasks take to complete, as well as measuring the amount of effort spent on those tasks. 

Productivity can also be evaluated by setting and managing objectives, targets and sales productivity, aligned to the key performance indicators (KPI’s) of the organisation’s needs. 

Companies who embrace the setting of objectives are not only able to measure the effectiveness of employee productivity but are also able to identify further learning and upskilling opportunities in addition to identifying those employees ready for increased levels of responsibility.

In all instances, it’s the very practice of evaluating productivity data that will drive insights into employee output and any opportunities for improvements there may be.

2️⃣ Make Learning & Development a priority

The continuous professional development of your employees has several benefits for your organisation. Not only are you improving the skill set of your workforce which has immediate-term benefits to output and value, but you are also priming those employees for continued advancement within the organisation.

By making Learning & Development (L&D) a key component of your Human Resources, talent strategy, you are helping to create a value-based culture in addition to motivating your employees by providing them with opportunities to learn and develop new competencies.

In turn, by having a continuous learning culture, you are according to research conducted by Mckinsey, contributing to employee & workplace happiness overall. 

The further benefit of L&D, is that you are, through the continued upskilling of your workforce, setting the path for advancement for those employee’s demonstrating additional capabilities and talents. By having a practice of upskilling and promoting talent internally, you are setting a precedent for growth from within, whilst developing a culture of recognition; one that encourages and supports those demonstrating commitment and talent.

3️⃣ Improve employee engagement

Employee engagement is well understood by HR as having considerable benefits for the organisation overall, but can also have a significant impact on employee output.

In order to understand how engaged your employees are, you will need to have a process in place where you regularly communicate, in addition to seeking out the feedback of your employees. Consistent communications into what’s happening within the company, from staff moves to news of bigger business plans, will benefit from frequent cadence and is key to helping ensure your workforce has a sense of community engagement.

Leveraging communication channels like your intranet, or shared team sites is a great way to build a communal feel across your organisation, which could well by current business operating standards, be dispersed geographically and remotely. If your organisation doesn’t have these channels, then a regular email newsletter works equally as well.

4️⃣ Have a culture where employee feedback is valued

Asking for feedback from your employee’s works well in improving output, quite simply because when you let your employees know you’re concerned about their welfare and opinion, they feel empowered and this, in turn, has wondrous effects on morale.

Employee surveys are one way to tap into the collective views of your wider employee base. These surveys don’t have to be restricted to once a year, or bi-annually as they once were. Now, thanks to HR software solutions like CakeHR, real-time 360 feedback can be collected and measured accurately, effectively and as frequently as you deem helpful to your organisation’s needs.

To make the best decisions, HR teams need clear information about what staff think and feel on a regular basis

A good culture of feedback also aids employee retention, which is essential when employers are struggling to recruit the talent they need.

5️⃣ Implement flexible working

Through offering the option to work flexibly, businesses can access a wider, deeper and more diverse pool of talent to drive increased innovation, creativity and profitability. The benefits of offering flexible working are well understood, particularly when you consider that investors in people survey found that 31% of employees would prefer to work flexibly over receiving a pay rise.

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By leveraging the benefits of flexible working, you’re not only demonstrating to your employees that they are valued and trusted to deliver on their work, regardless of location. But you are also enabling opportunities for those to work in your organisation that would benefit from greater flexibility to accommodate caring responsibilities, which has a particular benefit for working parents.

Bringing it all together

CakeHR offers award-winning software to not only make Human Resources information management easy, but to free your time enabling you to focus on the bigger picture of employee value strategy.

You can find out how our software solution can make a big difference to your organisation by booking a demo’, speaking with us or enjoying a free trial. 

Jade.

CakeHR is a one stop shop for your HR management needs. With attention to user experience & making the software easy to use yet packed with loads of features we strive to make your HR management as easy as a piece of cake!