Much will contribute to the success of your business. Your ideas, unique selling point, and financing will be important. As will that little stroke of look that we all need to get ahead. There’s one aspect that stands above all the others, however, and that is your staff. You’re just one person in your organization; the bulk of the work is done by the people you employ. If you’re able to motivate them and make them happy in their work, then you’ll be putting yourself in the best position possible for moving forward. Below, we take a look at some of the factors you’ll need to keep in mind. Your staff can make or break your business; ensure they’re well taken care of, and everyone will be able to toast your company’s success.
Hire Correctly
The process of developing a stellar team of performers doesn’t just begin once everyone’s in position. That’s important, but it’s already three stages into the employee process. The first step is making sure that you always hire the right employee. For myriad reasons, employers usually adopt a cautious, traditional approach when it comes to hiring, and this doesn’t always result in the best person being hired for the job. Take your time to review your hiring process, and take out the guesswork; you should have clear goals you want to achieve with each hire, which will enable you to find the best worker. As well as their ability to do the job, you should also consider how each prospective employee will fit in with your existing team and wider company culture as a whole.
The Tools They Need
You’ve hired your employees because they know what their job is going to entail; don’t blunt their powers by having inadequate tools. You’re only as strong as your weakest link, and if technology and infrastructure aren’t up to scratch, then you’re going to be very weak indeed. As well as costing your business working hours and profit, having substandard tools will frustrate your workers, who may start looking to move to a company that understands the importance of having the tools to work well. You should be routinely updating your tech anyway, but also make a habit of asking your employees if there’s anything they need to work better. They’ll tell you.
Show Your Trust
Of all the crimes against employees that entrepreneurs are guilty of, none is more damaging than micromanagement. If you trust a person enough to hire them, then you should trust them enough to get on with their job without having someone looking over their shoulder. It’s frustrating to the employee, of course, but also damaging to your business. People are at their creative best when they’re able to test things out without fear of failure. If there’s a project or task you want an employee to do, tell them to go away and get on with it; though of course, make yourself available for help should they need it. Trust makes people feel valued and respected; it’s that simple!
They Can Be Individuals
We’re not in school anymore. Your employees are adults. While some scenarios will call for a specific uniform, in most cases workers should feel free to wear what they please, within a specific parameter (say, ‘smart,’ for example). It’s a small thing that won’t negatively affect your business, but which might have significant benefits. People can work at their best if they feel comfortable. It’ll also help blur the line between work/everywhere else in their life, which is what you should be trying to achieve. You want work to be a part of their lifestyle, not a separate entity!
Keep Things Organised
You’ve got a million and one things that you need to be in control of. There are also new tasks, events, and announcements cropping up all the time. While all of these make seem obvious to you, spare a thought for your staff, who can only know what you tell them. As well as tasks, you need to keep on top of all the small HR responsibilities that any organization has, such as time off requests, schedules, and so on. To avoid the problem of your workers being left in the dark, integrate the best employee scheduling tools into your company. It’ll make communication between you and your staff a breeze, and will ensure that your workers don’t suffer due to poor management organization.
Allow Them To Grow
As much as you might want to think otherwise, the success of your company is not your employee’s only priority. Though they, of course, want it to do well, they also want your company’s growth to coincide with their own professional development. As such, you should give them a platform to grow. Allocate a portion of your budget to training days and conferences for your staff. It’ll help them progress in their career, and if they’re progressing, then your company is progressing.
Small Perks
There was a study conducted a few years ago. In it, it was revealed that 70% of workers would enjoy being in work more if they were given free coffee throughout the day. That would be the vast majority of your workforce having a better time in the office, and all for the cost of coffee. Never underestimate just how much of an impact small perks like coffee services can have. If there were fresh coffee and a box of donuts on the table each morning, you’d have a happy – and thus productive – team of staff.
Image: jeshoots
Have a Relationship
Your workers are not drone bees. They’re humans, with complex backstories, ambitions, likes, and dislikes. If you want to be a good boss, then foster a relationship with your employees. It’s a matter of asking about their day and their home life; being, essentially, invested in them as people, not just as workers. Everyone on earth wants to feel like there are people who care about them, and this is especially relevant in the workplace. Paying them a salary isn’t enough; you have a duty of care as a boss – and a human being – to make them feel welcome, included, and valued.
Be Consistent
As a boss, it’ll pay to be consistent. It’ll help you make better business decisions, improve your relationship with your customers and clients, and take much of the guesswork out of running a company. It’ll also enable you to gain the trust and respect of your workers. If you’re prone to bursting into anger, then it doesn’t matter how nice you are to everybody the rest of the time; your workers will know that you can turn at any moment and will be walking around on eggshells. Also, once you’ve made a decision, stick with it. Your workers won’t know where they’re going if you’re forever changing your mind.
Be a Good Worker
There’s something to be said for the line ‘do as I say, not as I do,’ but that saying isn’t strong enough to cut it in a hectic workplace that’s trying to achieve things. If you want your workers to work hard, then you need to work hard. If you want to slack off from your duties for the afternoon, then everyone in the office should be getting time off. Doing anything else other than this will cause a crack – and then a chasm – to develop between you and your team of staff.
They’re Not Locked Down
If you want to get a worker to join your company over one of your rivals, then you’re going to have to sweeten the pot to get them on board. But remember, just because they’ve agreed to join you, it doesn’t mean that they’re committing to staying with you forever. To avoid having a high turnover of staff, you need to not just act on the promises you made during the hiring process, but continually offer new perks and incentives to stay with you.
Be Ever Improving The Workplace
There’s a strong correlation between workplace, productivity, and employee happiness. As such, it’s important that you’re routinely evaluating your working environment, and figuring out how you can make it better. Indeed, the working conditions are one of the biggest factors that contribute to employee happiness. If you think that yours is looking a bit worse for wear, it might be time to redesign your office.
Remember: You Need Them
It’s your money, but many workers care about more than money. As such, you can’t just assume you’re living up to your part of the deal by depositing money in their bank account each money. Never lose sight of the fact that you need them just as much – if not more – than they need you.
Conclusion
Treating your employees well isn’t rocket science; all the things we’ve mentioned above are simple to enact within your business. But it does require effort. Moving forward, focus on employee happiness; it might just give your business a boost that enables it to move to the next level, and will contribute to a happy working environment!