Workplace productivity has a direct link to business growth and success.

If your employees spend most of the day chatting with coworkers or browsing through social media, it hurts your business’s bottom-line. As a business owner, it falls in your lap to make sure your employees are at their optimal performance levels at work. Here are five things you can introduce that can boost the quantity and quality of employee output:

1. Good food

Hunger at work can slow your employees down. And while they always have the option to go out and buy food at a nearby restaurant or deli, it’s a huge time-waster. Keeping your employees fed at work can help them be more productive. That being said, the wrong kinds of food in your break room can actually hurt your employees’ productivity. For instance, studies show that an overabundance of carbohydrate-rich foods, such as bread and sugary pastries, can have a negative effect on the body’s insulin and energy levels. Stock the pantry with fruits, nuts, and other healthier snack options instead of the high-carb, high-sugar stuff. Healthier employees mean fewer sick days, which means unimpeded progress and productivity.

2. Comfortable office environment

Extremely hot or cold temperatures inside the workplace can affect your employees’ ability to focus, which means lower output. Control your office temperature by installing a commercial heating and cooling system. A packaged system can serve as a more efficient HVAC system rather than getting a separate heater and cooler. You should also install plants that help with temperature regulation and air purification, such as Chinese Evergreen, Areca Palms and Aloe Vera. A comfortable work environment should also have adequate lighting and zero noise pollution. You can achieve these by using white noise machines, soundproofing the walls and installing motion-triggered lights on all rooms.

3. Flexible schedules

A work schedule can help maintain order in a business, but too strict a schedule can lead to a downturn in productivity levels as employees burn out faster and are less engaged. People have varying productivity hours throughout the day. Some are nocturnal and operate more efficiently during afternoon hours while others do so early in the morning. Introducing flexible work schedules allows your employees to work during their peak productivity hours. They’ll feel a lot more energized and fulfilled if they can go to the gym, eat and take short breaks when they need to. Take it a step further by allowing them to work from home. This gives your employees more control over their time and energy.

4. Employee training

All businesses have a process for training their employees, yet most are inadequate in teaching employees how to work fast, smart and consistent. It’s not enough to show employees how work tasks are done. A rigorous and continuous hands-on training program should be implemented. This arms your workforce with the skillset and mindset to take on challenges and projects of varying difficulties. Aside from a hands-on training program, provide online resources that employees can study at their own pace. A hands-on training approach doesn’t match everyone’s learning style. Giving them a secondary option ensures no one is left behind and that everyone has the information and skills to work towards the collective goal.

5. Technology

The right communication and task management tools can help your employees accomplish their tasks faster. This not only increases workplace productivity but also boosts employee engagement and satisfaction rates. Email management software, collaboration platforms like Slack, and case ticketing and issue tracking tools are only a few of the many business technologies that you can invest in to streamline your business’s productivity. Hardware, such as a commercial cell phone booster, can also be of good use for your employees, especially if your office is in a location with unreliable signal service. Cellular amplifiers can detect nearby signals outside a central location, pull that signal back in and then boost it.

Final thoughts

Keeping your employees happy and well-equipped to do their jobs are the twin pillars of productivity. It’s also how you get them to stay with your company, and a lower employee attrition rate equates to lower HR costs. Use these five tips to build both pillars of business productivity.

Samantha Higgins is a professional writer with a passion for research, observation, and innovation. She is nurturing a growing family of twin boys in Portland, Oregon with her husband.