Making Your Employees Feel Important

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Employees|Making Your Employees Feel ImportantThere are few things in life that will make someone better than knowing that they are important. Most people like the idea of being important to those around them, and this can be especially crucial when it comes to the world of work. Of course, each and every one of your employees provides an invaluable service to your company, but this isn’t something that a lot of employers express. To help you out with this, this article will be exploring some of the best ways to show your employees that you wouldn’t be able to do what you do without them.

The Impact Of Their Work

It can be hard for an employee to see the impact of their work, especially when they aren’t doing a job that involves working with money. This is something you can solve by simply showing them the results of their work, with regular meetings to discuss the state of the business and the work that is driving it forwards. Of course, you may have to keep some things secret, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t give your team members a glimpse at the success of their work.

Praise & Rewards

Many employers fail to take the time to talk to their team members. You need to make sure that you are praising the people who work for you, letting them know that you are grateful that they are working hard. Some bosses will also include rewards along with this. This effort will always help to incentivize harder work, pushing your employees to do even more to help your business to succeed. Of course, though, you need to make sure that this feels sincere.

A Good Working Environment

Many people in the modern world have to work in environments that don’t inspire a sense of importance. While you may not be able to give everyone their own office, you should make sure that their workspace is comfortable, personal, and filled with things that they like. Alongside this, you should also make sure that their work outside your business will also make them feel important. Options like a limousine company can help you with this.

Promotions & Progression

No one likes the idea of doing a job that will never have the potential to change or improve. Promotions are common in the modern world, but you also need to make sure that your employees can progress and improve their current roles. Personal development plans are great for this, though you should also consider the idea of advancing their training to ensure that they are always moving forwards.

Feeling important at work is crucial to your employee’s happiness. Many people lack this in their jobs, and this can make working feel very unsatisfying. Of course, though, you can’t do this at the expense of honesty and discipline, making it extremely vital that you balance this out and ensure that your team is always working to improve itself.

4 Ways To Boost Employee Morale

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Employee Morale|4 Ways To Boost Employee MoraleYour employees are the backbone and foundation of your company. Without them, it’ll be hard to reach your goals and excel in your role as the boss and owner. It’s in your best interest to build a strong connection with each person you hire.

It’s costly to have to keep replacing employees who aren’t happy or the right fit. Therefore, it’s wise and also necessary to do what you can to keep them around for the long term. The following tips and ideas will help you learn how to boost employee morale and ensure your staff is satisfied and productive.

1. Show You Care

You must show your employees you care daily if you want them to perform well and be happy at your workplace. You can express your appreciation for all their hard work by lending an open ear, giving out specific compliments, offering opportunities for growth, and having an open-door policy. Don’t be afraid to speak up and thank your staff members for doing a good job and for all their efforts. A small gesture can go a long way in helping you boost employee morale. Be transparent and communicate clearly and often to keep everyone happy and on the same page.

2. Offer Attractive Benefits

Another way to boost employee morale is to offer attractive benefits at your company. While you should compensate them well and fairly, there are also other ideas worth considering. For example, you may want to have a game room where they can go relax and regroup or you can offer daycare at your work facility so it’s a friendly and welcoming environment for working parents. In this case, you may want to consider installing a playground rubber mat the kids can run around on and enjoy. You may also want to think about giving your employees days off once in a while or taking them out for a meal to treat them.

3. Ask for Feedback

You can boost employee morale by getting employee feedback and making them feel heard. Not only gather input from your staff but then make positive changes based on their comments and responses. Show you’re listening by adjusting how you operate and manage based on their remarks. They’ll appreciate you taking the time to hear them out and that you’re taking their opinions seriously. Let their feedback guide you to creating a calm, healthy, and organized environment where people want to work.

4. Train Your Staff

Your employees will perform better and be more satisfied at work when you take the time to train them. Offer training as part of the onboarding process and keep it going by rolling out additional opportunities for learning and development throughout the year. Your employees will not only feel more confident and prepared to do their jobs but there will likely be fewer mistakes and safety issues and accidents to deal with when you train them. You must also train your managers so that they can then take over and ensure the other staff members know what they’re doing.

Is Your Onboarding Process Up To Scratch?

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Onboarding Process|Is Your Onboarding Process Up To Scratch?The happiness of your staff is important, and making sure that they feel settled, happy and valued from day one is a must for your business.

The onboarding process for new starters is something that can affect your turnover and many other elements – get it right, and employees will say great things about your business. Get it wrong, however, and you’ll not only affect that particular employee’s experience, but it could also lead to negative word of mouth what will deter future candidates from applying to your company.

Is your onboarding process up to scratch? Perhaps it’s time to reconsider ready for your next new starter.

Why the onboarding process matters

While most people have suffered from a poor onboarding process at some point in their career, it isn’t something that has to happen. A study on the state of the American workplace revealed that 70% of workers did not feel engaged at work, a statistic that should cause concern for most business. When employees feel disengaged, they’re likely to feel undervalued and unsatisfied with their roles, and more likely to accept a position elsewhere. Feeling engaged from the outset is important for new starters, and will help to make sure that they start their new role feeling confident that they know their place and are receiving effective management.

Onboarding begins before the first day

While an employee doesn’t technically work for you until their first day, there are some things you can do to help make the process easier in advance of their start date. An invitation to a welcome lunch is a great way to ease a new starter in and allows them to get to know some key people before they start work. You can also provide them with some literature that will help them get to understand the company a bit better and help them feel more prepared for their first day. It’s quite rare for companies to carry out any early onboarding, so your business can get ahead of the curve by making a part of your process going forward.

Making that first day a success

Effective onboarding will make sure your new employee is left wowed rather than worried. You can make a new starter’s first day a success by making sure they’ve got a prepared itinerary that includes a tour, meet and greets, and a nice social event like a team breakfast or lunch, you’ll already be getting their day off to a great start. Speak to your current employees about things that would’ve made their first say better and try to implement their comments as much as you can.

Help them settle in

There’s nothing worse than being sat in a new office with nothing to do. New employees left to their own devices can feel nervous and disheartened – they’re there to work after all! Giving your new starter some tasks to get on with can help them start to settle and get to grips with their new role. Put together an onboarding checklist that includes some small, manageable tasks to help keep your new recruit busy while also getting a feel of the office. This can help them prepare for their role and ensures they get the opportunity to ask questions along the way.

Touch base regularly

The first few days and weeks of a new job can be a lot to take in for a new starter. While they might be showing a smile on the outside, things might not be so rosy on the inside. It’s important that you meet with your new employee regularly to find out how they’re getting on and how things can be improved. Many businesses are using onboarding surveys as a way to get authentic feedback about the onboarding process and can help improve things going forward. New employees will form their impressions of an employer quickly, so you’ll want to do everything you can to make that first impression a great one.

If you’re looking to recruit the highest quality staff for your business, you need to nail your onboarding process. By engaging employees from the moment they set foot in your door, you stand a better chance of establishing company loyalty and making your staff feel welcomed and valued. New starters can breathe fresh life into your business, but that will soon disappear if you don’t give them the welcome they deserve. Work on your onboarding process and help boost the reputation of your business as a top employer.

Smart Ways To Enhance the Efficiency of Your Business

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Business efficiency|Smart Ways To Enhance the Efficiency of Your BusinessEvery entrepreneur and business manager is constantly working to improve the efficiency of their business. Business efficiency entails maximizing your outputs from your input and making the most out of your resources.

Failure to notice stagnation or regression in your business can ultimately lead to a decrease in profits or the eventual closure of your business. It is, therefore, essential to apply smart tactics to improve the efficiency of your business. They include the following;

Delegate Duties

While delegating duties might seem obvious for business owners, it is often quite difficult to practice. Many entrepreneurs hold their business close to their heart, and they prefer to have a direct hand in everything involved with it. While prioritizing the quality of your products or services is quite okay, checking on every small detail rather than delegating can lead to wastage of everyone’s valuable time.

Instead, consider delegating responsibilities to the most qualified employees and entrust them with performing the task well. Doing this gives your employees the chance to learn new skills and gain leadership experience, which are ultimate benefits for your company.

Assign Tasks According to Skills

Knowing the behavioral styles and skills of your employees is vital for maximizing efficiency. For instance, a creative and extroverted person who thinks out of the box will probably be the best at pitching proposals to potential clients. However, they may not show the same excellence when it comes to a more detail-oriented and rule-intensive task.

Efficiency doesn’t call for expecting your employees to be great at everything. Instead, it requires that you determine that an employee is suited to perform a specific task before you assign it to them. If they cannot perform the task as expected, it means you might have to find someone else whose styles and skills match your needs.

Outsource Intelligently

Intelligent outsourcing can make your business run efficiently without alienating your employees and customers. The best way to do this is by outsourcing the non-core activities of your business. For instance, you can find a company specializing in human resource management and payroll or outsource for QuickBooks bookkeeping services if no one in your team is savvy with accounting.

Outsourcing also allows you to focus on the core activities that make up your business. You can also put the money you saved up from outsourcing into marketing, innovation, and any other aspects that are vital for the smooth running of your business. It also allows you to focus your attention exactly where it belongs and see a quick boost in the productivity and efficiency of your business.

Automate

While some entrepreneurs are reluctant about automating their business, it is also likely that their businesses are incredibly inefficient. Technology is a vital tool for improving the efficiency of your business, and you should consider incorporating it as soon as possible if you haven’t already done it.

Automation doesn’t mean that you have to replace your employees with robots and software. It only requires that you incorporate such technology to increase the efficiency of your workforce. You can also use software to host meetings, which saves a lot of time and money used for travel to the meeting venue.

Incentivize Your Employees

One of the best ways to encourage your employees to continue performing exceptionally is by giving them a reason to do so. You can achieve this by recognizing them whenever they do a good job, making them feel appreciated, therefore increasing their productivity.

Ensure that you take every individual’s preferences and needs when rewarding your employees. In addition to simple words of gratitude and appreciation, you can give them incentives like a handwritten note, taking them out for a meal, or implementing a workplace wellness program.

Make Communication Easy

Miscommunication or the lack of communication is another aspect of inefficiency. While a meeting can sometimes solve this problem quite easily, they are difficult to schedule, and you may end up wasting a lot of time.

Fortunately, all the available technology makes it easy to have streamlined communication at all times. Whether you opt to utilize a fast-paced chat system software or easy face-to-face conversation via webcam, you can ensure that your employees get the relevant information as fast as possible. Effective communication can also sidestep confusion and ensure that your employees can get to work and improve the productivity of your business.

While selecting the tactics that will help improve your business’s efficiency, you must first identify the issues present and then work to determine their solution. You should also keep in mind that working for your business efficiency is a continuous process that requires you to continually find loopholes and work towards implementing an effective solution.

Four Best Practices for Managing a Remote Workforce

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Remote Workforce|Four Best Practices for Managing a Remote WorkforceIf it hasn’t happened yet, it’s bound to come soon — your employee wants to transition to working remotely full-time. Maybe you’ve had to experiment with remote working in the last year like much of the world or perhaps your team members have friends or family members that have discovered how great remote work can be for quality of life and now they want their own shot at making it work.

Before you write off the idea completely, it’s important to consider the benefits of offering remote work to your employees. From helping with recruitment to reducing expenses, offering flexibility in work location can be a great alternative to a traditional office for the right employee. It takes planning, great communication, and a little creative thinking but it’s an idea worth considering.

Before you dive in to offering remote work as an option for your team, here are four best practices to consider.

Set clear expectations from the start

As with any new working arrangement, setting clear expectations is mandatory. By communicating what you expect from the beginning, you dramatically reduce the chance of conflict and disappointment later. Take the time to set clear boundaries around business hours, attendance policies for team meetings, and technology requirements (like keeping video on for calls) and in the end, both the employee and the business will benefit.

Keep remote employees engaged

It can be difficult to manage both in-person and remote team members simultaneously. Take a moment to check in with remote employees daily, either through email, virtual chat, a video call, or text and let them know they are valued. If the “out of sight, out of mind” approach is taken, employee performance and motivation can suffer and lead to unwanted turnover.

Take advantage of remote resources

Some positions are more easily adapted to remote work than others. For example, an analyst or researcher who spends a great deal of time behind a computer is more likely to adapt to a remote-working arrangement than a receptionist or assistant who answers calls and serves other team members throughout the day. However, this doesn’t mean those employees don’t deserve a shot at working from home, too! If your business requires someone to frequently answer incoming calls and yet you also want to offer a remote working arrangement, call answering makes good sense. By taking advantage of resources designed to help businesses adapt to having a remote workforce, you’re more likely to see the benefits of virtual working like having more productive employees and cutting costs on in-office expenses.

Get creative with the technology

It’s easy to fall into a rut of using Zoom or Google Hangouts to conduct yet another video conference call or relying on email to answer the latest questions about a report or project. Instead of risking employee burnout by holding every meeting via Zoom, consider getting creative in your approach. Ask everyone to take the afternoon meeting call outside and turn their cameras around so team members can virtually enjoy some new scenery. Send a fun “get to know you” poll via instant messaging on Fridays and ask team members to participate in sharing their favorite recent book or tv show. By demonstrating that technology can be used creatively, employees can see their remote-working circumstances as a valuable benefit and become more grateful in the process.

Remote working is likely here to stay so by using some of these best practices, you’re more likely to benefit from the “new normal” and might even end up enjoying it!