In the business context, employee productivity refers to each team member’s total output per hour worked. That data may seem straightforward, but there are a variety of factors that influence whether an employee is productive, many of which are under your control.

A productive workforce could lead to lower costs, greater creativity, and rising profits, plus a happier team overall, which only benefits your organization more in the long run. Check out these actionable ideas and see how a few strategic changes could help your company improve functionality and morale at the same time.

1. Provide Mental Health Resources

According to one survey, 41% of workers say that being stressed causes them to be less productive. In addition, the CDC says depression can interfere with someone’s ability to complete physical job tasks while also reducing cognitive performance, and another study showed that the vast majority of employees treated for depression subsequently exhibited improved performance at work.

Providing your team with mental health support could help them manage challenges like stress and depression while also encouraging a better work-life balance. 

  • Educate your leadership team. Train supervisors to understand mental health, including how to spot employees in distress and the proper steps for approaching and assisting those employees.
  • Hold a wellness fair. Once or twice a year, invite local providers to share their expertise at a corporate-sponsored wellness fair. You provide the space, refreshments catered in from local restaurants with healthier offerings, and time off for your staff to attend. The experts provide insight, advice, and other resources.
  • Include a list of mental health providers in the employee handbook. Put together a list or even a mini manual that includes an emergency hotline, local therapists (bonus if you know they’re included with your employee health coverage), support groups, and phone numbers for facilities providing access to inpatient and outpatient care.
  • Make an open dialogue about mental health a part of your company culture. Incorporate mentions of mental health and bit-sized resource lists in company newsletters, lunch and learns, and other routine correspondence. By removing the stigma, you may make it easier for someone experiencing challenges to come forward and ask for help.

2. Use Free Lunch to Help Boost Employee Productivity

Give your employees free food, and you may actually come out ahead. By turning a company-provided lunch into a brainstorming session or skills workshop, you’re potentially maximizing employee productivity while also giving your team something they are sure to enjoy. Additionally, 72% of our corporate clients surveyed agree that meal perks increase employee productivity.*

Free lunches come with other benefits, too:

  • An opportunity for employees to mingle and forge connections
  • An added perk when recruiting candidates to fill a job opening
  • A way to boost employee morale and improve overall retention

Include hybrid and remote workers by sending them Grubhub individual meal credits. You set the budget and pay the bill, but employees get to choose what to eat and have it delivered to wherever they’re working from that day.

3. Place a Strong Emphasis on Company-Wide Culture

Another way to encourage productivity is to create a company culture that sets employees up for success. Company culture makes up the personality of your organization and defines what your work environment is like.

Many company cultures can’t be summed up in a few words, but instead use mission and vision statements to emphasize what leadership feels are the most important elements of how the organization operates. But the most important things you can do to create a company culture that encourages productivity is to take actions designed to increase morale, offer recognition, and make your employees feel supported.

  • Make positivity part of your recruitment process and choose candidates based not only on experience and skill set but also how they’d fit in with the culture you’ve already established
  • Express your employee gratitude by sending out thank you notes, creating an effective employee rewards program, and featuring employees on social media
  • Offer meal perks for group events (e.g., virtual team lunches, team-building days, new hire welcome lunches) as well as individual achievements and contributions (e.g., working late on a project approaching deadline, helping their department win a coveted contract)
  • Ensure everyone understands the end goal of the company so they know what they’re working toward and why their contributions matter

4. Make Senior Leadership Available

Opening up lines of communication between leadership and the rest of your team allows employees with concerns and those facing challenges to access help without fear of judgement.

  • Have an open-door policy or set up office hours during which any team members can come to you for any reason – this helps ensure employees feel inspired and part of the bigger picture
  • Be physically available from time to time by touring each department and seeing what employees are up to firsthand
  • Try to greet all new hires, even if it’s just a few minutes to shake hands, introduce yourself, and mention the office hours outlined above – it puts a face to upper management and underscores the idea of an open and transparent company culture
  • Lead by example and be the culture you want to see embraced and embodied by others

5. Encourage and Create Opportunities for Ongoing Education

Technological innovations, emerging trends, and changing algorithms are just a few reasons it’s important that your employees have the time and resources to stay current on what’s new in your industry. For instance, there are applications that could help improve productivity, but you have to invest in training so your team can use them.

Dedicate part of your budget to workshops, classes, conferences, and webinars, and encourage your staff to sign up to whichever options they feel will benefit them most. Combine that with in-house mentorships and skill-building sessions and everyone on your team can grow together.

The journey to increased employee productivity is never-ending, as you’ll always be searching out new ways to improve your connection with staff and learn how to support their individual needs. From small efforts like verbal thank-yous to larger ideas like Free Meal Fridays, the changes you make today could inspire company-wide success for years to come.

For more delicious ways to treat your staff, cater your next office lunch with Grubhub. Contact us to learn more.

 

*Survey Methodology: Grubhub surveyed almost 500 Grubhub corporate clients between July 26, 2022 and August 4, 2022.  The survey was fielded to current Grubhub enterprise clients. Results include responses of “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree” to the applicable survey questions.