I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the issue of productivity. I have particularly been interested in the way that productivity is encouraged in small businesses. The small business offers an interesting dynamic because it’s got a sense of community to it but it’s still got a boss and employees. The sense of community tends to increase the employees’ personal investments in the business and to drive up productivity but the fact that there’s still a boss always causes a little bit of resistance on the part of employees.

I think that one of the most important things that a small business can do to increase productivity is to work on promoting that sense of community. Although the boss may set the rules in the place and may even do things like monitoring employee internet use, the employee needs to feel that he or she has a real say in what’s going on within the small business. That feeling of being needed and valued will cause the employee to want to contribute in a meaninful and productive way to the business.

The first thing that a boss should do to increase productivity in this type of setting, then, seems to me to be to focus on increasing his or her own productivity first. (You can do this easily with a 5-day productivity plan.) This allows the boss to not only improve productivity but also to identify ways in which employees may also improve productivity. Setting this example is a great starting place for creating a foundation of trust within the business and moving everyone forward into more productive work together.

Tags: productivity, small business, work