How to Have Fun with Your Teams

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Teams|How to Have Fun with Your TeamsWhen you are in a leadership role, one of your jobs is to make sure that the morale is good within your teams. All places of work will have periods where things will become stressful, and these days, job seekers are looking for more than just a good salary to help them choose which position to accept. This is why you need to be creative and make sure that your teams are kept happy at work and allow them to have a little fun in the office rather than it being all work and no play. So, if you’re looking for ways to boost the moods of your team members, here are a few fun things you can try.

Betting on Sporting Events

When there is a big sporting event such as the World Cup or the Grand National, it could be fun to get the team together to make some bets. Not everyone has to take part if they aren’t keen on gambling, but a lot of people do like to bet on the bigger events like this as a bit of fun. Just make sure that you keep the betting limit at a sensible budget so that no one is getting themselves into financial trouble if they lose.

Host an Online Casino Night

If your teams aren’t fans of sports, then why not get the same thrill that betting would have provided everyone by drumming up some competition when playing casino games. You can find reviews on websites like best online casinos USA has and organize a casino night to play live roulette or blackjack.

Host Competitions

Another thing you can do to inject a bit of fun into the workday is hold competitions for your team members. For example, the first person to hit their daily targets wins a shopping voucher or a box of chocolates. This will not only make their workday more fun but offer them another incentive to hit their targets. Alternatively, you could do things like the desk with the best Christmas decorations wins a food hamper for some festive fun.

Monthly Socials

This is not only a good way to let your teams blow off some steam, but it can help them to bond and form friendships at work with their colleagues. Once a month, book a table at a local bar or restaurant on a Friday night that you can all go to after work. Whether people only stay for one drink or a few hours, this is a good way for everyone to have fun with each other and is a nice little reward after working hard. Just make sure that the bar or restaurant is easy to get to, preferably within walking distance from the office.

Employee Awards

Hosting employee awards once a year can be another way to boost morale and have some fun in the office. A lot of places might choose to do this around Christmas time, but doing it during the summer months could be a good option if you already host Christmas parties, as then it gives your teams a little boost at another point in the year. You can take these awards more seriously or make them novelty ones if you want to make it a sillier event for some laughs.
If you want to help to boost the morale within your teams, consider the suggestions above to help make work more fun.

How to Improve Employee Engagement

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Employee Engagement|How to Improve Employee EngagementIf you’re a business owner or your role involves managing people, you’ll have some idea of how much easier your job is if your employees are engaged in their work and motivated by what they do.

By investing in employee engagement, you will see numerous benefits, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot, either.
Why is employee engagement important?

When employees are engaged in their work, they feel a sense of purpose about what they are doing, and they feel proud to be working for the organization.

It’s been reported that employee engagement is one of the key factors in company success for a few reasons:

  • Engaged employees are more likely to stay. This means that companies will spend less money on recruiting and training new staff and will avoid the inevitable dips in productivity while one staff member is leaving and another starts.
  • Engaged employees are more productive. If people care about the work they are doing, and they feel loyal to the company they are doing it for, then they will work harder, and you will see the benefits of this.
  • Engaged employees mean a happy workplace. And everyone benefits from that!

Emphasizing the company mission

One of the most important ways that you can improve employee engagement is to ensure that all of your employees know what the company mission is and that you emphasize it at every opportunity. This means that they will always remember the bigger cause you are working towards.

As a manager, it’s important that you demonstrate your own commitment to the mission, too. For example, if you work for a company with an environmental message, it can be effective to take measures in your own life to care for the environment.

Showing appreciation

A simple thank you goes a long way. If an employee has done good work, then be sure to thank them individually. This will help them to feel appreciated.

Throwing exciting work parties every so often can also be a good way to show your staff that you appreciate the work they have done throughout the course of the year. As an added bonus, they can be a great way to improve team morale and help people to bond with one another.

Supporting career development

Most people want to continue to grow and evolve throughout the course of their career, and if they feel as though they are in a role that isn’t helping them to do that, they will quickly lose motivation.

Make sure that you support your employee’s career development by taking the time to speak with them and learn what their goals are. You can then help them to progress towards their goals by seeking out learning opportunities and helping them to find relevant work experience.

Even if they end up leaving your company, supporting them while they are with you means that the work you get from them while they are still there will be of much higher quality. It also means that you will get a reputation as a good employer, which will attract higher calibre staff.

5 Ways to Effectively Motivate Your Team as a Manager

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | 5 Ways to Effectively Motivate Your Team as a ManagerHiring capable candidates that are a good fit for your organization is just the first step of building a happy and motivated workforce. If you fail to take steps to ensure that your employees are content in your organization, you risk having demoralized and inefficient staff. In addition, when team members are unhappy with management, they are far more likely to leave a company. In this case, you will lose stellar employees and increase expenditure.

Many businesses attempt to motivate their employees through money and other benefits. While these are undoubtedly effective, studies suggest that these are not always the most critical factors. Peer motivation and recognition are often more important aspects of a workplace when it comes to motivating staff. With this in mind, here are some management tactics you can implement to keep your team loyal and motivated.

Make the Workplace Somewhere People Enjoy Being

Unsurprisingly, not many people relish the thought of being stuck in dingy and dull office spaces while they work. Consequently, as a manager, you should take steps to make your workspace a visually enticing and aesthetically pleasing area.

One of the easiest ways to make an office a more pleasant place is to focus on the lighting. You should take the time to ensure that the spaces are well-lit. A poorly illuminated environment can quickly become mentally taxing for employees, reducing productivity and contributing to dissatisfaction in the workplace.

You don’t need to spend a fortune when revitalizing your office. Consider finding interesting art and furniture on local sales pages or in thrift stores. Regardless of what you decide to purchase, bringing a degree of character into workspaces will help to ensure that your employees are stimulated and happy when they are at work.

Support Your Team

This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often managers forget this fundamental aspect of their jobs. Bad management is one of the primary factors contributing to staff turnover, so if your staff do not feel respected, listened to or supported, expect them to not stick around for long.

There are some fundamental aspects of managing a team that you should not overlook. For example, promoting honesty, support and communication in your organization is essential. However, if you are newer to management, you might be wondering where to begin when it comes to motivating your team. Consider reading up on the subject. Like any other skill, effective management takes time and knowledge to master, so reading material related to management could help you hone your management style.

Embrace Agile Principles

The agile manifesto helps to improve focus and motivation within your organization by focusing on continual improvement based on feedback. Additionally, it stresses the importance of technology as a tool to enable cross-team collaboration to create a workplace where teamwork and interaction between individuals are priorities.

Therefore, it is relatively clear how agile business management principles can help make your workplace where employees want to be. These principles are particularly suited to software development companies, but they can be applied across various industries. In fact, the majority of Fortune 500 companies utilize agile principles in their day-to-day operations. Therefore, if you want to create a happy and motivating environment, it is an excellent idea to promote engagement and collaboration using these. For more information about these agile principles and how they can help your company, check out Easy Agile.

Recognize Achievements

Often, all your staff expect from their employer is to be recognized and celebrated when they do their job well. As a result, you should not hesitate to offer honest praise to your team members when you notice them going above and beyond. For example, when employees put a lot of time and effort into completing a project, or you see them helping their co-workers, let them know that you appreciate it.

While this might seem like a minor thing, it can make a world of difference to your staff. The principle of recognizing efforts makes people feel more appreciated in the workplace and will compel them to continue to deliver maximum effort while performing their jobs. This is well documented, as employees whose hard work is regularly praised report that they enjoy their jobs more than those who are not.

Ultimately, this is one of the most effective ways of motivating staff. It helps individuals feel more connected with and loyal to a company, which will boost their performance while at work. Keeping your team happy and invested in the company is essential to avoid losing valuable team members. Losing employees can damage morale, reduce efficiency and lead to significant expenditure, so you should avoid it at all costs. Thankfully, simply recognizing their efforts is one of the most effective ways of developing a happy workforce.

Be Flexible in Your Scheduling

The ways of working have changed a lot over recent years thanks to technology. This was never as clear as during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many office workers were forced to work from home to prevent viral transmission. Restrictions on working from shared spaces provided many valuable lessons for both employers and employees. One of the most significant takeaways was that working doesn’t need to fit into a regimented nine to five schedule.

With modern communication and remote working solutions, it is possible to pick up and finish work when convenient. For many, this has been a massive boon for their work/life balance, as it allows them to fit their working hours into their busy schedules. Therefore, flexible working arrangements can be an excellent way to motivate employees and entice them to stay at your organization. So, whether you offer opportunities to work from home or schedule the working week on a flexi-time basis, a flexible approach is often the best one.

The Takeaway

Motivated and happy employees are a cornerstone of any successful business. Therefore, your management style should incorporate tactics to ensure that your team members enjoy coming to work and feel like they are a valued part of the business. This can be facilitated by following the tips outlined above. Additionally, take care to regularly hone your management skills to ensure that you are constantly improving your methods of motivating your team.

Creating An Office Space For Happy, Productive Employees

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Office Environment|Creating An Office Space For Happy, Productive EmployeesHaving happy, productive employees is one of the greatest assets your business can have. When your employees feel valued and comfortable in what they do, they can help some amazing results for your company.

Creating a happy and productive workforce involves many actions, with one of them being a workspace that’s fit for purpose. Look at ways you can transform your workplace and help create a positive working environment for your employees.

Be open

Many modern workplaces are embracing open plan office space. There are several advantages of open plan offices that can make them worth having, especially in creative and tech-based companies. Having an open plan office can break down barriers and help teams work closer together, which will help to develop a more positive workplace.

Focus on creativity and collaboration

Putting an emphasis on creative thinking and collaboration can help your teams work better together in order to achieve company goals. A workspace that has breakout areas and space for thinking can be a real asset to employees and helps them take a breather from their desks to recharge. There are several collaboration options for businesses to pursue that should be explored to see if you could enhance your teams’ ways of working.

Keep it clean and green

Having a clean and neat office space can make people feel more positive, while also making it easier to work. Hiring janitorial services will help to keep your office looking great, while also making sure issues and barriers to work are taken care of. Encouraging staff to clean up after themselves is also important, and there should be clear desk policies in place to help maintain an organized workplace.

Adopting green practices is another way you can bring more happiness to your workplace. By encouraging employees to recycle, consume less energy and think twice about their waste, you can help create a greener workplace that brings something positive to your community.

Remember to think about life outside the office

As well as making improvements to the inside of your office, you also need to give some thought to the outside. Helping your employees achieve a better work/life balance will help them to be more productive during the hours they are in the office and will help them feel happier in their jobs too. From flexible working to better home working facilities, you can show employees that you care about their wellbeing and make your company a great place to work.

The right office space will help transform things for your employees, helping to make your company one that people enjoy working in, and make others aspire to work for. You’ll not only benefit from a more upbeat workplace but will experience better retention rates too. Simple changes can help make a significant difference to the attitudes and effectiveness of your staff. Why not put a plan in place as to how you can transform your workplace and help develop happy, productive employees who achieve great things for your business?

How Can You Show Your Employees You Care?

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Care for Employees|How Can You Show Your Employees You Care?You need to take care of your best employees. Because it is difficult to find talented individuals to take over open positions, you need to make sure you keep the best employees you have. Even though you should offer them a competitive salary, this is only going to get you so far. If you really want to convince your best employees to stick around, you need to show them that you care about them as people. How can you do exactly that? There are several ways that you can show your employees just how important they are to your business.

Offer Trips on the Company Dime

The first thing you may want to think about is offering trips on the company dime. Even though your employees may end up on business trips from time to time, you should also send them on vacation. For example, you may want to run a competition where your best employees are going to compete for a free trip somewhere awesome. Or, you may want to offer multiple trips, allowing the winner to pick his or her preferred destination first before moving on to the other people in the company. This will incentivize your employees to work harder while also showing that you care about them.

Provide Your Employees With More Autonomy Over Their Schedules

You may also want to provide your employees with more autonomy over their schedules. For example, a lot of companies have given their employees unlimited vacation time as long as the work gets done. If your employees are working remotely, allow them more control over their own schedules. Let them pick one they work, when they relax, and when they go on vacation as long as they get the work done. If you show your employees that you are willing to provide them with more autonomy over their work schedules, they will be more likely to stick around. They know this is something that they are unlikely to get from other businesses.

Let Your Employees Pick Out Their Equipment

You should also consider allowing your employees to pick out their own equipment. Everyone has slightly different preferences. Therefore, some employees may prefer to work at a standing desk. Other employees may prefer to work at a sitting desk. There are other employees who may have back issues. Therefore, they may require a specific desk chair. As an employer, you should be willing to invest in these items for your employees. If your employees are comfortable, they will be more likely to get their work done on time. You may want to provide them with options for their other equipment as well. For example, you may want to consider offering them custom pencils, special coffee mugs, or even specific lights that could be helpful to them. This can make a significant difference in the overall morale of your employees.

Give Extra Sick Days and Holidays

Finally, you should also take care of your employees by providing them with extra sick days and holidays. Every employer is going to offer a competitive compensation package. If you really want to set yourself apart from the others in your industry, show your employees that you care about them by offering sick days, holidays, bereavement days, and other days off. If one of your employees has a death in the family, they should be allowed to go to the funeral without having to answer any questions. If your employees have to stay home to take care of a sick child, they should be allowed to do so. If you demonstrate to your employees that you view them as people instead of replaceable cogs in a machine, they will be more likely to stick around. Go the extra mile for your employees by giving them time off when they need it.

Take Care of Your Employees

It is important for you to take care of your employees if you really want them to stick around. It can cost a lot of money for your company to find new people, train them, and make them as productive as your current staff. Therefore, this is probably an issue that you would rather avoid. One of the ways you can stay away from this problem is to make sure you take care of your best employees. If you show your employees that you will take care of them, they will take care of you by rewarding you with their loyalty. Reach out to professionals if you want to learn more about how you can take care of your best employees.