Crazy Workplace? How to Get It Under Control

If you’re a manager or owner, you know how hard it can be to keep employees working their hardest. After all, most of the employees who work for you don’t get a share of the profits, and many lower level employees are happy simply getting through the day and cashing their paycheck every week or two weeks.
However, if your workplace has gone from chaotic to completely out of control, there are some things you can do to help get your employees back in line so you can have a productive business again. Use this guide to help you do it in a hurry.

1. Take the time to talk to your team. Many managers and owners just start implementing changes when something is wrong – without talking to the people doing the heavy lifting on the ground. Sit down with your staff and see why productivity is no good. It might be time for small changes that you wouldn’t have thought of and your employees have been afraid of suggesting.

2. Use time clocks to make sure that employees clock in and out when they come in, go for lunch and when they leave at the end of their shift. A time card machine may not seem like the best message to send to your employees, but the truth is that they ensure honest pay for honest work.

There’s nothing wrong with using time cards and having your employees punch in and out if they work on an hourly basis.

3. Fire people that need firing. In some workplaces, there are one or two people that seem to bring everybody else down. If you work in a warehouse environment or another type of environment where safety is a big concern, these people can actually cost you more than productivity in the form of lawsuits if somebody gets hurt.

It may not be fun or comfortable to fire people, but there are times when you just have to do it if they won’t straighten up and fly right. You’ll be better off in the long run and so will your other employees.

4. Think about your managerial or ownership tactics. In many cases, motivating people with incentives is something that can work better than reprimanding employees. An incentive, especially in the form of cash, can go a long way toward helping employees straighten out. In some cases, it doesn’t need to be much money at all.