In order to increase employee productivity your main objective should be to ensure that your staff feel valued. It is far more cost effective to hold on to existing employees for as long as possible than to have to repeat the recruitment process – potentially being left without members of your team for long periods of time. Your staff need to feel respected and have the freedom and responsibility they need to succeed. It has become even more important to keep staff motivated to boost productivity in these times of tough economic conditions.

There are several ways you can boost your employee confidence and, in turn, productivity; many of which require very little capital. At the forefront of these methods is improved communication in your workplace. Effective communication throughout your workforce is essential in allowing for effective carry out of even the smallest tasks. Your leaders may need to be proactive and managerial, but they also need to be approachable. 

To boost work output, ensure that the relationship between your employees is one that is not full of anxiety – you won’t get the best from your staff if they feel they are not able to honestly communicate with each other, whether sharing new ideas or discussing problems.

Make sure those at-the-top communicate with their office employees even in the most basic of ways each day; just a simple ‘good morning’ or ‘good bye’ can make sure that your staff don’t feel invisible to their seniors.

Recognition is another large part of increasing employee productivity. If your staff feel appreciated for the work they do for you, they are much more likely to continue with the same momentum. When efforts go unnoticed it can lead to an attitude of ‘why bother’. Praise on-the-spot will have a greater impact than praise that is delivered days or weeks later. Help your staff to celebrate their successes and feel that they are responsible for company successes as a whole too.

Whilst some of these simple tips are cost-free, investing company money into staff training is also hugely beneficial. When you are prepared to invest time and money into your employees this helps emphasise that they are valued and will help them to have a refreshed outlook on their work. Training acts as a form of personal training which will boost self-esteem, teamwork, communication and ultimately – productivity in your workplace.

Don’t forget to regularly reassess your working environments too. Just as the relationships between co-workers need to be relaxed and healthy, so does your office atmosphere. Are your staff coming to work in a space that is clutter-free and inspiring? Do you have comfortable office chairs and reliable equipment? Is your day-to-day business schedule working to provide an enjoyable yet productive work day? If not, now is the time to upgrade your meeting spaces and add informal discussion times to your schedule – give your employees a place to be creative and pro-active.

Finally, how about taking your staff out of the office now and again? This will provide a change of environment and outlook, allowing employees to look at things from a new perspective whilst feeling they have been treated - perhaps to a business lunch or conference event. Hold annual events or conferences in a different setting. Find a venue which will help to motivate and inspire your staff.

Author Bio: This article was brought to you by Conference Care who provide a range of event management and conference finding services.

Avoiding Recruitment Discrimination

In today's employment culture, employers must not only create robust anti-discrimination procedures and develop cultures that foster equality; they must also be able to demonstrate their achievements to the outside world. Discrimination is a hot topic, as the vast numbers of tribunals will attest each year. The recruitment process is particularly vulnerable in this regard, so follow our handy guide to ensure that you minimise the risk to your business.

Recruitment Processes

Good staff training and robust processes are essential to maintaining regulatory compliance and building an equality driven culture. Ideally, draw up your processes with the aid of a HR expert, whether in-house or external, to ensure that you have the right guidance and input.

You must have a Job Description prior to Recruitment

Before you begin any recruitment activity you must, for example, have a job description in place that covers the required duties of the role, along with a person specification that details experience, skills and necessary qualifications. These documents are essential, providing a platform for the latter part of the process.

Producing a Job advertisement

Focus on the requisite key skills, experience and qualifications and include a list of duties. Be very clear about the occasions when you can specify potentially discriminatory factors, such as gender or disability. The purpose of discrimination laws is to ensure that people are treated fairly, so irrelevant factors such as religion and sexual orientation cannot form the basis of a recruiter's decision to hire or exclude a candidate. But there are exceptions. A severe physical disability, for example, might preclude a candidate from being accepted for a position that requires good health. Seek HR advice on this potentially awkward issue.

Candidate Shortlist

It may be sensible to remove the name and contact sections of each application form to encourage candidates to focus on the essentials. Try using a grid to record assessments and ensure transparency. Ensure that more than one person supports this activity to avoid bias. When you have a number of applications, begin the task of creating a shortlist of candidates.

Job Interview

Your panel should draw up a question schedule beforehand and focus only on experience and skills deemed necessary for the job. They must also be aware of subjects that they must not discuss, such as age and marital status. The interviewers must use the same process for each candidate and record their answers using a scoring sheet. Keep all paperwork for reference. Finally, these scoring sheets should be used to make the final decision. Ideally, a HR representative would attend the interview to offer additional peace of mind for all parties.

Written by Marc Dewdney of Circle Square Talent - Finance Jobs London& Accountancy Jobs London. Marc specialises in recruiting Permanent Senior Finance Candidates into Real Estate, Property and Construction firms within London and the surrounding counties. He also recruits for Investment and Media firms in Central London, and other contract and interim roles.

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