What is workplace productivity and how can it be measured?

When we talk about workplace productivity, we are referring largely to how much work is accomplished in a particular work environment, over a particular period of time.

When a business is fully operational and functioning at capacity, productivity should, in theory, be maximized.  But that’s not always the case...

However, as the saying goes - ‘your business is only as good as your employees’.  You may have the best materials, the latest technology, the coolest working spaces, the newest innovations, the most creative product - but all these things are really quite meaningless without the core of your business: your employees. 

A business’s workforce is a considerable contributing factor into its ability to be productive.  This means that workplace productivity is one of the main determining factors in a business’s ability to turn a profit so it makes total sense that poorly motivated and uninspired people can have a direct affect on the overall performance of any company. 

Productivity needs to be a visible business issue and every employee within the organization should have an understanding of how productivity is measured.

There are many ways to measure productivity, the ‘two statistics usually quoted (referenced by CIPD) are output per hour worked and output per worker.’  

Every business is different, different businesses have different teams (and all those teams are unique as well), they have different skills, different customers and so on so you need to work out what is the best way to measure productivity for YOUR business and make sure that you share that with your employees.

Understanding what helps and what hinders productivity is of paramount importance for any senior leadership team.  As they are responsible for getting the most out of employees, HR managers and professionals are constantly looking for ways to maintain or increase workplace productivity.  We’ve produced a handy guide to help look at some of the key areas for doing so.  Check it out and let us know what you are doing in your business to help everyone be and stay productive.