Entrepreneurs and managers are always looking for ways to increase productivity in the workplace. A company can only succeed if everyone is motivated and willing to work hard to achieve shared goals. Being hypercritical and micromanaging your team often backfires and makes employees feel more stressed and angry.

Instead, you should work on creating a happy workplace, a relaxed environment where everyone feels valued and valued. It is known that happiness and productivity go hand in hand. So if you want to see sales increase and reach goals faster, don’t just look at the bottom line, look at your team’s attitude and mindset. Here are a few tips to help you with that.

Give colleagues positive feedback

If a colleague does something that makes your day, be sure to let them know. Everyone loves to feel appreciated, but far too many people neglect the simple acts of kindness that make others feel their efforts are appreciated.

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It could be work related or a simple gesture that helped you. They may have offered to work on a project to help you meet a deadline or meet their work goals for the month. Every positive action, no matter how small, should be acknowledged with positive feedback to encourage similar behavior in the future. If it’s something small, a simple thank you might suffice, but if it’s more important, consider sending them a card or a modest gift. Just be sure to be specific about what they did and how it affected you.

Congratulate colleagues on their victories

In addition to giving positive feedback, congratulate colleagues on any wins or achievements. No one wants to feel like their hard work goes unnoticed, especially in the workplace. So take the time to recognize employee achievements – big or small. Maybe they exceeded their monthly sales goals or landed a new customer.

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Whatever the win, make sure you acknowledge it and encourage them to keep it up. A simple e-mail will suffice, or congratulations in person if possible. You may even consider holding regular meetings to recognize staff achievements. But don’t put it between feedback and requested improvements – let the compliments stand on their own and find another way to address improvement if necessary.

Make shared plans

Humans are social creatures, and we thrive when work in groups. So do your best to make shared plans and communicate goals and expectations. Employees can quickly become frustrated and stressed if they feel they need a clearer understanding of what is expected of them, or if they are unable to communicate effectively with colleagues and management. So, making shared plans helps ensure that employees don’t waste time figuring out how to best serve the company or team. It also helps encourage teamwork and collaboration so no one feels isolated or left out in the decision-making process.

Encourage open dialogue

Communication is essential to a happy, productive workplace, so encourage open dialogue between employees, management and other key partners. Have regular conversations about the team’s progress and get feedback on what’s working well and what could be improved.

Set aside time during your regular staff meetings to answer a few questions:

• How can we help each other to use time more efficiently
• What are our biggest time wasters as a group? (Email, chat?)
• What kinds of breaks are essential to help us focus longer?

Keep in mind that email and conversation are essential aspects of a healthy work-social life, but socializing too much can reduce focus. Also remember that breaks are scientifically proven to improve long-term focus. However, you need to be strategic about when and what types of breaks you take to improve productivity and avoid unnecessary distractions.

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When creating this open dialogue, try to focus on how the group can improve and not single out individuals. That makes it easier to give constructive criticism without feeling like chastising anyone in particular.

Set clear goals for productivity and happiness

Finally, you should also prioritize discussing goals for productivity and happiness in the workplace. While it’s essential to set goals related to earning or completing tasks to keep everyone on track, this shouldn’t be your only concern. Also discuss ways you can improve the overall happiness and comfort level in the workplace by getting feedback from your staff.

You can set a goal to host one pizza party per month or you can regularly recognize one person in the office for their hard work. Once you realize that happiness and productivity go hand in hand, start making a consistent effort to improve your team’s mindset and well-being. Everyone will be more productive if they feel their personal source of happiness is being recognized and nurtured.