3 unexpected ways to improve company growth and productivity

What is the main goal of every entrepreneur and business owner? Growth.

No one wants to have their company become stagnant. While scaling your company for the future is an essential part of the entrepreneurial journey, it can also be very risky.

Growth and productivity are not always just about boosting numbers and improving sales targets. The best leaders understand that there are many factors that are tied to the growth of their business. Everything from employee relationships to company morale can affect productivity.

I’ve got a few unconventional tips to help you to keep your business growing and your employee efficient (and if you want to learn more, check out my weekly INC column!).

1. Stop self-sabotaging.

People don’t always realize how important a positive work environment is, and how it can affect the company. When a leader is constantly sabotaging themselves with a negative outlook, it ends up being much harder to keep employees happy. As a result, this may end up causing high turnover and staff who lack motivation.

I know it can be tempting to start to panic. After all, you’re the one steering the ship. However, you never want to lead from a place of fear. Why? Because then you micromanage in an attempt to control everyone, everything, and every outcome. And who wants to work for someone like that? The answer: no one.

Consciously work on pulling yourself away from negative thinking. Don’t constantly compare yourself to the competition. Practice a healthy mindset and start viewing your mistakes as learning opportunities, rather than failures.

Read more on how the affects of self-sabotage has on your company's growth.

2. Share your expectations with employees.

No matter how big (or small) your team is or how much experience they share, everyone needs to set goals and identify how they’re going to contribute to the team. Setting expectations should be a top priority, it will help improve performance and create an open workplace.

Don’t ever assume that your employees know what you want. You have to communicate with them so they’re not stuck trying to read your mind. Uncertainty can lead to costly mistakes and a major drop in productivity.

I often used to catch myself telling employees what to do but ignored the question of how they were going to get there. Once I started encouraging them to map out processes and trusted them to execute it independently, our entire team became much more efficient.

Learn how sharing your expectations with employees helps boost growth and productivity.

3. Boost company morale without any promotions.

A big selling point for attracting new talent is the opportunity for growth. When people get stuck doing the same role for too long, they become bored and eventually head for the door. The problem is, there isn’t always enough money left in the budget to offer promotions.

There are some creative ways you can prevent your employees from getting bored and boost morale without giving an increase in salary. You may not have any senior positions available but think about other departments that might be able to offer a lateral move.

Consider focusing on skills growth. You can invite them to take a certification course or send them to development training. This will occupy them with a challenge and potentially create new opportunities for your business to expand its services.

Read how you can boost company morale without any promotions.