In the book "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, they suggest twelve questions which measure the strength of a workplace. Of those twelve questions, six that are most related to productivity are as follows:

Do I know what is expected of me at work?
Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?
Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

My thoughts on these six questions:

Managers should set clear expectations of employees, that is to say what they are expected to do each day at work. This doesn't mean micro-management, but rather providing a clear understanding of the goals of the organization and how their individual roles relate to achieving those goals. This will increase productivity through a higher level of collective focus at all levels of an organization.

An organization should provide training and resources for your employees to do their jobs. Nothing is more frustrating to an employee when they don't have the necessary resources to meet the expectations set forth. Lack of essential resources is a morale killer and leads to turnover, which lowers productivity.

Managers should always strive to match employees to roles which compliment their strengths. It's easier to develop strengths than it is to improve upon weaknesses. Why waste valuable time working on weaknesses with marginal improvement? Instead put employees in roles they are naturally suited for based on what they do well. This will improve productivity by maximizing the organization's resources and will improve overall moral.

Be generous with praise, recognize and appreciate each and every individual's contribution to the success of the company. This serves as a motivator, encouraging individual's to continue to improve their performance.

Managers should have a high level of emotional intelligence. A manager doesn't have to be a direct report's best friend, but should be able to recognize when something is wrong and show empathy for that individual. While this may not instantly improve productivity, it will demonstrate the organization cares for their employees, which will pay dividends of loyalty, high moral, and overall support of the organization's direction.

Finally, encourage employees to embrace continuous improvement and growth. Mentoring programs should be the norm, not the exception. Employees who grow increase their productivity, not to mention add value to an organization.

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