No matterthe work being done, it's important to ensure that people arespending their time wisely, being efficient and feel they arehaving an impact in the workplace. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Productivity at its basis, signifies the rate of output per unitof input. The phrase echoes an era where people were seen aselements in a production line, measured by the amount of time itwould take them to produce a single item. But in today's knowledge-based economy, this measure ofproductivity no longer holds true, making it increasingly difficultto evaluate people's' performance.

It's challenging to measure knowledge-based workers purely bythe output of their productivity. Quality is often important,meaning that the sheer amount of time spent on a project, or thefinal work delivered, may not be directly related to the person'sproductivity. In today's knowledge-based economy, if organizationsfocus solely on measuring productivity as the volume of output ofpeople's work, they are likely to find themselves with a stressedand disengaged workforce that feels misunderstood.

Related: 4 ways to prevent employee burnout

Yet it is still important to ensure that no matter the workbeing done, people are spending their time wisely, being efficientand feel they are having an impact in the workplace. Here aresome of the most common inhibitors of productivity for today'sknowledge workers, and how you can address them:

1. Employee disengagement

If people are disengaged, it is most likely they are not attheir most productive since they don't feel attached to thecompany. Yet according to a Gallup study, organizations with high rates ofengagement experience 21 percent higher productivity. When peoplefeel strongly connected to a company, they are more motivated andtherefore more naturally inclined to be productive, contributing totheir organisation's success.

A major part of engagement is successfully creating a companyculture in which people develop a sense of belonging and feelsupported. For this to work, the company's values need to beclearly articulated and trickle down to each team, so everyoneknows what they are working towards. A greater sense of purposewill drive people's motivation on an individual level, within theirwork and daily tasks.

In addition people require timely, meaningful recognition. By letting them know their workhas had an impact on business results, people get a sense they arepart of something important and form a mental and emotionalattachment that becomes mutually beneficial for both them and theiremployer.

2. Ineffective performance management

A Gallup study found that half of workers don'tknow what's expected of them at work. When this happens it can leadto them setting the wrong priorities, feeling confused, andultimately working on the wrong things, which in turn decreasesproductivity all around. However, if managers assist their reportsin setting goals for each work period, clear expectations can leadto 5 percent to 10 percent gains in productivity.

This is why it's essential for managers to guide their teammembers not just through goal-setting but also by regularlyaligning with them and creating opportunities to check in. Once ayear isn't enough for people to get a sense of how they're doingand what they could improve on.

People should be able to know on a regular basis what theirstrengths are, as well as what they should be working towardsthroughout the year. Introducing quarterly or sprint basedperformance reviews tailored to their needs will give them thenecessary knowledge for them to continuously develop andimprove.

3. Tools, training and development

Even after setting clear expectations and goals, people willstill need continuous guidance and coaching throughout the quarteror sprint. Not wanting to appear incompetent, some people may tryto struggle through their difficulties on their own, either takingmore time or making mistakes along the way, which could impactoverall productivity. Instead, it's importantto develop a culture of continuous learning so people feel able toask questions and empowered to learn on the job.

A manager's role is to demonstrate that they're always open togiving constructive feedback or advice to their team members, tohelp them develop in their roles. In fact, a study by Western Michigan University found thatgreat feedback can increase performance by 5 percent to20 percent.

4. Excessive meetings

Today's workplace is full of distractions: open office spacesand app notifications create more distractions than ever. But anoften overlooked culprit is meetings!

There are times when your whole day is back-to-back meetings, orworse, days when you have short 30 minute periods in between, whichis not quite enough to get back into work, but also enough to feelthe minutes of productivity slip away.

If your company culture is strong, ensure that it trickles allthe way down to things like how you conduct meetings and the impactthis can have on people in the workplace. If you represent a funand dynamic culture, help people find efficient ways to runmeetings that don't sap their productivity and make thedemoralized.

One way to cut down workplace distractions could be byinstituting “no-meeting Thursdays,” creating silent rooms in theoffice or setting up a signal for when someone needs absolutedistraction-free focus time.

5. Non-work related reasons

Sometimes the reason for low productivity can be personal. Butduring those times, pushing too hard to squeeze out work only leadsto high stress and burn-out. Thinking back to your company cultureand an engaged workforce, it's important to ensure people feesupported during those times rather than squeezed.

Companies often forget that employees are people too. Yet asmentioned in the beginning, productivity isn't a simple equation ofinputting money and getting out work. Non-work related stress canhave a major impact on people's ability to focus and get thingsdone. Rather than wasting resources, give people the time andsupport they need to recover and create dedicated companyambassadors in return.

One way to ensure people feel supported by their employer is byinstituting regular 1-on-1s between managers and their directreports. If they regularly check-in, not just on work but on howthey are feeling about work, this creates an opportunity for peopleto speak up in difficult times.

In addition, you could encourage a coaching culture at alllevels of the organization, so that people don't need to solelyrely on their managers and feel supported by any colleague.

At the core, you want to ensure that your people feel valued andare giving back to the business. Helping them feel more productiveand having the right structure to support them, contributes tothat.

Read more:

• Is your company culture underminingemployee productivity?
• 5 things killing employeeproductivity
• Communication breakdowns wreak havoc onworkplace productivity

SteffenMaier is the co-founder of Impraise,the People Enablement Platform.Impraise's belief is simple: Grow your people, grow your business.They help unleash people's potential, doing more than justperformance reviews, which means accelerating performance,fostering career development, and seizing all the moments thathappen in between.