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.

What Your Approach To Managing Appraisals Says About You

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Appraisals|What Your Approach To Managing Appraisals Says About YouWhen it comes to workplace appraisals, it’s easy to assume that the attention is focused squarely on the employee you’re evaluating.

However, the tables can be turned here, as your approach to appraisals can reflect on you as a manager. Two years ago, workplace appraisals were even branded pointless for most employees, so your colleagues will undoubtedly question your aptitude if they arrive at a similar conclusion about your assessments.

So, what is the correct way to manage things here? What does your approach to appraisals say about you? Well, any of the following qualities could be judged while the appraisal you’re overseeing is underway.

How Invested You Are

Appraisals can either be a run-of-the-mill bore or an exciting opportunity for career development. Your approach will determine either atmosphere.

Remember, appraisals are not mandatory by law, but they are excellent opportunities to review progress and invest in your worker’s careers. For instance, it is a perfect opportunity to evaluate pay increases and bonuses and let employees know that their efforts are not going unnoticed.

Instead of bombarding your employees with a list of demands, try to focus on ways you can help them too. Consequently, you should be able to build worker satisfaction and potentially even reduce staff turnover. In the end, as appraisals are optional, it is vital to make them count.

How Competent You Are

You may be ready to unleash some tough love on slacking employees. However, if you have organised the appraisal to a subpar standard, the only person leaving the meeting room with an egg on their face is you.

To prevent any shortcomings, make use of 360 appraisal software, as it will help you to stay organised. StaffCircle provides comprehensive feedback templates, which HR managers can easily use to create structured appraisal questions and score specific aspects of a worker’s performance. 360 appraisal software also uses automation, creating templates at a time of your choosing that also remind you of upcoming meetings, thereby saving time.

Not only must you be organised, but you should use the appraisal smartly also. Ask calculating questions, offer constructive feedback, and resolve crucial matters your employee is experiencing. The appraisal is not an opportunity for idle chatter and passing the time, so spend every second wisely. Your employees will know you take both the business and their performance seriously after that.

How Confrontational You Are

Managers always face the insurmountable task of being firm but fair. That balance is crucial in maintaining worker wellbeing.

If you are too relaxed with your employees, there is a real risk that some of them will cease to respect you. They may not turn in their best performances and interpret your calm for sheer apathy.

However, if you’re too harsh, then your workers may be looking for a different job at the earliest opportunity. A work culture of fear and dread can be born of this.

Therefore, your approach to the appraisal should be balanced. A focus on specificity should help. Instead of relying on vague conjecture, draw on evidence and data to inform your judgments. Try to be objective rather than subjective where possible and leave personal feelings out of the equation. Employees can’t object to the facts.

Top Ways to Give Your Business an Epic Boost

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Boost your Business|Top Ways to Give Your Business an Epic BoostAre you looking for ways to give your business an epic boost, but you aren’t sure what the best way is? You’ve got a few ideas in mind and want to know which one will work best.

If that sounds like you, then this blog post might be just what you need! In this blog post, you will learn some of the top ways to give your business an epic boost and show how they can help make it even more successful than before.

Improve its Physical Appearance

Encourage a culture of cleanliness and organization by providing trash cans, recycling bins, paper towel dispensers. Make sure to have plenty of seating available so employees can take breaks when they need them.

You should also consider doing repairs that may be unappealing to your customer’s eyes. For instance, if your walls and roof have severe damages, what are you waiting for? Get them fixed as soon as possible! You may want to consider commercial roofing contractors who can get the job done.

Improve Communication

Create an open culture where employees can give feedback without fear of retaliation or judgment. It’s essential to create an environment where people feel safe when they speak up.

Make sure that there are plenty of outlets for people to express themselves creatively. This could be through artwork, games, or any other kind of creative outlet they may like and need.

Buy the Latest Equipment

Try to make sure you are always in touch with the latest and best apps that can help your business succeed even more! Be sure you are always on top of industry standards by having access to online resources that can help you stay informed.

Train Your Staff

Your staff is your most valuable resource, so it’s essential to train them well. Provide the opportunity for continuing education and cross-training by working with outside vendors who can provide courses on everything from management skills to customer service tactics.

Make sure you have a sound system in place where people get regularly evaluated as they progress through their careers.

Set Goals

Setting goals not only helps your business to have a clear vision, but it also motivates employees.
Encourage your employees to set their own goals and then help them achieve those. This will give people a sense of accomplishment and foster the idea that they are an essential part of helping your company succeed.

Improve its Digital Presence

It might seem daunting at first, primarily if you aren’t used to working in this area. However, one of the best things you can do is to start with something simple: update your social media profiles to be up-to-date and engaging.

Get everyone on board by creating a company blog where people will be free to post content about what’s happening at work, their thoughts, or anything else relevant.

In conclusion, now that you know what to do, go out there and get started! It might be hard at first, but the more you push yourself, the better your business will become.

Krishen Iyer’s Outline for Middle-Managers Navigating Return-to-Work Anxiety

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Middle Manager|Krishen Iyer's Outline for Middle-Managers Navigating Return-to-Work AnxietyAfter over one year of navigating an unthinkable public health crisis, the world is beginning to look more normal. As a result, executives and managers alike have started to brainstorm strategies for returning to the office. For some, returning to the office represents a long-awaited victory over COVID-19. However, others do not share that same optimism. While professional leaders cannot control their employees’ attitudes towards the pandemic, they can control their rhetoric towards return-to-work anxiety.

Return-to-work anxiety is valid. Some employees may have health issues that make them more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 or more likely to have severe complications from the coronavirus. Simultaneously, plenty of professionals have caretaking responsibilities that could be impacted by working predominantly outside the home.

Regardless of the circumstances, it should be the top priority of professional leadership to empathize with their reluctant employees who are hesitant to scale back remote work. More specifically, it may be difficult for middle-managers to balance their team’s concerns with the organization’s intentions. If you are feeling stuck, here is a step-by-step outline for middle-managers navigating return-to-work anxiety.

Step #1: Assess your team’s attitudes towards returning to the office.

The study of public policy teaches us that no policy can be effectively implemented unless the public consents. For this reason, it is critical to do your best as a middle manager to meet your employees where they are at with regards to returning to the office. The nuance with assessing your team’s attitudes lies in that you cannot simply assume where your team stands on returning to the office unless you ask.

Even when prompted to speak their truth, your team might not necessarily be telling you the whole story. Take Linda Hill’s perception, for example. A professor at Harvard Business School and author of Being the Boss, Hill finds that “people are fearful of looking weak or not living up to expectations.” Keeping this in mind, I agree with Hill’s suggestion to use anonymous attitudes to assess what your team thinks about returning to the office. Anonymous survey data can empower you to narrow in on your employees’ concerns, while employees can rest assured that their opinions are heard and addressed.

Step #2: Determine how compromise can factor into your office’s reopening.

If you can give your team options on returning to the office, that should be your first point of action following an anonymous survey. Options should give your team the liberty to choose how often they come to the office, as well as on which days. You can also go the extra mile to meet your team where they are by making adjustments to their office space. For example, if your workplace is in an open-faced cubicle format, feel free to encourage your team to reach out to you privately about finding a more semi-private space to work in the office.

As a middle manager, empathy matters, especially when retaining talent. A FlexJobs survey found that 58% of professionals would “absolutely look for a new job if they weren’t allowed to continue working remotely in their current position.” The survey, which compiled data from over 2,000 respondents, also found that 65% of participants sought to work remotely full-time post-pandemic, whereas 33% of the study preferred a hybrid work arrangement. When considering the workforce’s acclimation to remote work, we see all the more reasons for managers to compromise with their employees about their office schedule.

Step #3: People-pleasing does not work.

Compromise is essential, but so is honesty. Make sure that you do not make any promises that you must later retract. Hill reminds us that no one can say with absolute certainty that returning to the office has “zero risks” from a public health insight. Offering your full transparency and honesty with your team can be a moment of growth for you as a manager. It may be a difficult conversation to let your employees know that some degree of compromise might not be possible, but the best decisions are rarely the easiest.

Although compromise might be tricky to balance with other internal stakeholders, you should, of course, try to make every employee as satisfied as possible. If someone on your team makes a novel request that you are unsure about, do not confirm that the accommodations can be made until you speak with senior leadership or your human resources department. That might be difficult to remember, given your innate desire to retain your team, but full transparency and honesty will make the decision-making process easy for everyone involved in the long run.

About the Author

Krishen Iyer is the founder of MAIS Consulting Services, a Southern California-based firm with a vertical focus on health and dental insurance distribution centers. MAIS Consulting provides innovative contracting and marketing solutions to their clients, a mission that draws on Iyer’s nearly two-decades-long career in digital marketing on behalf of insurance distribution centers.