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3 Ways of Taking Better Care of Your Team

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As a business owner, it’s up to you to make sure that your employees thrive. Without them, your business would certainly not be where it is today – and, unless you take proper care of them, you might see them move elsewhere.

They could end up with one of your competitors instead, for example, which ensures them the kind of success that you could have enjoyed.

That’s why the best of kind of business owners focus on taking care of what really matters: their human resources. Here is a handful of ways on how you can do exactly this and be a great leader and boss for your team.

StrategyDriven Talent Management Article
 
#1 Be available

Being a great boss means that you’re not going out of your way to stay above your employees. If you’d prefer not to be liked by your team, however, this is probably the best way to go. Well-liked leaders know that getting to know them and being friendly means that they’re going to feel a bit more appreciated and liked.

Plus, it’s a good rule-of-thumb, in any way, if you want to be liked as a person in general.

Although business owners and managers usually have a lot to do, it’s actually all about the little things. Being available doesn’t mean that you constantly have to attend to their needs and keep an open door; it just means that you should try to stop for a chat every now and then.

Besides, everybody knows that the best kind of ideas and the most insightful conversations happen around the coffee machine these days. Chat with your team, talk about what they’re up to, and take an interest in their personal lives as well – that way, you won’t just be a well-liked manager, you’ll also be the go-to person for gossip around the office.

#2 Encourage learning on the job

While some people join your team and think they already know everything there is to know, others are aware that they should try to continue to learn. These are the people you should pay a bit of extra attention to as they might be very valuable to your company.

First of all, they’re showing motivation and drive by wanting to learn more – and, secondly, the knowledge they soak up will help your company to thrive and prosper as well. It’s not always that easy for employees to know where to start, though, and even if they mention that they’d like to learn a bit more, they might not know how to do it.

This is where your great management skills come in. Give them the tools to learn and they will definitely grab the opportunity if they’re serious about furthering their knowledge.

StrategyDriven Talent Management Article
 
There are many ways to do this, though, and it all depends on what they need to learn. If you’re taking onboard new employees or launching a whole new branch, it could be a good idea to get in touch with a virtual reality studio so that they get an in-depth understand of what their new surroundings will be like.

This is an investment that will continue to benefit you, by the way, as you can use the virtual reality video to introduce every new employee on your team. That way, they’re going to be properly informed by the time they start working – and you save both time and money on having to train them.

Another benefit to this is that you might get better results from them, in the beginning, than you would have had without the video. When they are able to immerse themselves during the training and get a real understanding of what they’re up against, it suddenly won’t feel that overwhelming when they start the job.

On the other hand, you might have a seasoned employee who wants to become a better public speaker or a better leader for their department. Treat your team to a seminar on public speaking, for example, or send them off for a course – their increased knowledge will definitely benefit your company as well.

#3 Reward hard work

Some employers seem to forget that hard work should be rewarded. You don’t have to praise individual employees in front of the whole team, though, rather than treating your entire team to some rewards when they’ve worked well together.

Take them out for a lunch on the company, for example, give them a gift card to show your appreciation, or do something fun together as a team. The idea is that you want to build a team that is strong together while also making sure that their hard work is being noticed.

Teams that are rewarded together tend to stick together as well – and, that way, you won’t have to look for any replacements too often. Think about other ways you can make sure that you’re attending to their needs as well; flexible working hours is proven to boost both productivity and motivation so it should be just what your team needs.

By getting to know them properly and understanding their personal lives as well, you’ll be able to point out who needs these flexible working hours more than others. Working from home is a great way of showing them that you understand how important their lives outside of work is, and they will definitely appreciate you more for it.

Although all of the great things you do for your employees is to make sure that your business continues to prosper, the key to being a good boss is actually to be friendly and empathetic. It might not be your ideal version of a boss, but it is your employees’ ideal version – and, at the end of the day, that’s what really matters.

Do You Have The Right Leadership Qualities?

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Are you planning to start a new business during the next few months? Would you like to make sure you have what it takes to succeed? Then take a minute or two to consider some of the information on this page and make sure you understand the most crucial leadership qualities you will require. If you don’t have them at the moment; now is the best time to improve your skills.

Communication skills

If you struggle to communicate with your employees or clients; you will never reach your full potential in the business world. Communication is vital, and you need to make sure you can explain your ideas and highlight concepts in a way that others grasp quickly.

Problem-solving skills

You are going to encounter many problems and stumbling blocks in the business world. Success lies in your ability to solve those issues and overcome anything that blocks your path. If you aren’t the best problem-solver right now; you need to work on that ability.

Project management skills

As an entrepreneur; it is vital that you plan working practices that ensure your employees become as productive as possible. Maybe you would benefit from taking a project management course or something similar before you push ahead?

Now you know about some of the most critical leadership qualifies for entrepreneurs; you can begin to improve your skills and make sure you get everything right with your new venture. Regardless of the nature of your business idea, the same rules will apply. Take a look at the infographic for more tips.


Design created by USC Online

The Big Picture of Business – Entrepreneurs’ Guideposts to Real Business Success

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleThere are many romantic notions about entrepreneurship. There are many misconceptions.

People hear about entrepreneurism and think it is for them. They may not do much research or may think there are pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. They talk to other entrepreneurs and learn that it all about perseverance and building sweat-equity in companies.

The wise entrepreneurs have mentors, compensated for their advice, tenured in consulting and wise beyond reproach. Advisers are important to fitting the entrepreneurs to the right niche. Mentors draw out transferrable talents to apply to the appropriate entrepreneurial situation.

The corporate mindset does not necessarily transfer to small business. Just because someone took early retirement is not a reason to go into a startup business. People who worked for other people do not necessarily transfer to the entrepreneurial mode.

Those who have captained teams tend to make better collaborators and members of others’ teams. Entrepreneur is as entrepreneur does

Make an equitable blend of ambition and desire: Fine-tuning one’s career is an admirable and necessary process. It is quite illuminating. Imagine going back to reflect upon all you were taught. Along the way, you reapply old knowledge, find some new nuggets and create your own philosophies.

We were taught to be our best and have strong ambition to succeed. Unfortunately, we were not taught the best methods of working with others in achieving desired goals. We became a society of highly ambitious achievers without the full roster of resources to facilitate steady success.

Every company must and should put its best face forward for the public. Public perceptions are called “credence goods” by economists. Every organization must educate outside publics about what they do and how they do it. This premise also holds true for each corporate operating unit and department. The whole of the business and each sub-set must always educate corporate opinion makers on how it functions and the skill with which the company operates.

Gaining confidence among stakeholders is crucial. Business relationships with customers, collaborators and other professionals are established to be long-term in duration. Each organization or should determine and craft its own corporate culture, character and personality, seeking to differentiate itself from others.

Every business, company or organization goes through cycles in its life. At any point, each program or business unit is in a different phase from others. The astute organization assesses the status of each program and orients its team members to meet constant changes and fluctuations.

I’ve talked with many entrepreneurs and founders of companies which rapidly grew from the seed of an idea they had. Most admitted enjoying the founding phase but lost interest shortly after giving birth. Over and over, they said, “When it stops being fun, I move on.”

After the initial honeymoon, you speak with them and hear rumblings like, “It isn’t supposed to be this hard. Whatever happened to the old days? I’m ready to move on. This seems too much like running a business. I’m an idea person, and all this administrative stuff is a waste of my time. I should move on to other new projects.”

When they come to me, they want the business to transition smoothly and still make the founders some money. They ask, “Are you the one who comes in here and makes this into a real business?” I reply, “No. After the caretakers come in and apply the wrong approaches to making something of your business, I’m the one who cleans up after them and starts the business over again.” The reality is that I’m even better on the front end, helping business owners avoid the costly pitfalls attached to their losing interest and abdicating to the wrong people.

Entrepreneurial companies enjoy the early stage of success…and wish things would stay as in the beginning. When “the fun ends,” the hard work begins. There are no fast-forward buttons or skipping steps inn developing an effective organization, just as there are no shortcuts in formulating a career and Body of Work.

Questions to ask entrepreneurs:

  1. Do you have goals for the next year in writing?
  2. Are the long-range strategic planning and budgeting processes integrated?
  3. Are planning activities consolidated into a written organizational plan?
  4. Do you have a written analysis of organizational strengths and weaknesses?
  5. Do you have a detailed, written analysis of your market area?
  6. Do detailed action plans support each major strategy?
  7. Is there a Big Picture?

About the Author

Hank MoorePower Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame is now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.

The Benefits Of A Winning Company Culture

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StrategyDriven Corporate Cultures ArticleA company’s culture says a lot about who they are, what they value, and what their beliefs are. For this reason, any business should take the time to really think about what their company culture is and how to ensure it’s pervasive throughout their business operations and employee behavior. You may be thinking about your company’s culture presently or whether it’s worth revisiting as well as improving. The good news is that you may find this article insightful as it’s going to explore the benefits of a winning company culture.

Employee Satisfaction

When thinking about the benefits of a winning company culture, one of them is employee satisfaction. When employees are a part of an admired company that’s sought after, they’re more likely to take pride in this, and it should show through their team spirit and the work they do. Also, when there’s a winning company culture, employees are also more likely to relate as well as connect with it. This means that they’re less likely to want to wake up and decide to quit and are more likely to show loyalty.

Brand Identity

Another benefit of a winning company culture is how it can positively affect your brand. Whether you realize it or not, your employees are brand ambassadors that represent you and emulate your company’s culture everywhere they go. For that reason, when you invest in creating a winning culture, this is beneficial for your business in the long-run. It can help influence the way people see your brand as well as spread your brand message.

Better Performance

Sometimes, the standards that you set in the workplace can be a benchmark for how well your employees choose to perform. In this respect, if excellence is a key characteristic of your company culture, then you’re more likely to see better performance from your employees. Employees will see opportunities to showcase their talent and will, therefore, give their all to every opportunity. By offering incentives and benefits, these talented employees will see a company culture offering opportunity, growth, and awareness of well-being. By offering some of the best employee benefits in the UK, you’re more likely to see a willingness to work hard and grow your company. Most people want to be part of a winning team, so if you make winning part of the culture, you’re more likely to see a positive output.

Increase Loyalty

As briefly mentioned above, when there’s a strong company culture, it can increase the chances of creating loyal employees. This is because they’re less likely to dread waking up to come to work in the morning and are likely to feel motivated that they’re contributing to a mission they believe in. Ultimately, culture has a way of giving employees goals and helping them find purpose in what they do as well as connecting and binding them with a set of shared beliefs.

A winning company culture is key if you want to create a well-branded organization as well as one employees enjoy. There are numerous ways that you can create this winning culture, which includes reinforcing your values, making your expectations clear, continuously sharing your mission statement as well as leading by example. By doing so, you should see immense benefits and exponential growth with time.

5 Strategies, Tactics and Traits to Support Diversity in the Modern Workplace

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StrategyDriven Diversity and Inclusion Article
 
Whether it’s embracing differing cultural backgrounds or bringing in workers from abroad, modern businesses are becoming more diverse than ever in terms of talent.

However, bear in mind that today’s companies aren’t adopting a sort of “melting pot” mentality “just because.” In fact, there’s a strong argument to be made that embracing more diverse backgrounds is a net positive for modern businesses.

Think about it. Beyond data that supports that more diverse companies reap higher profits, casting a wider net in terms of backgrounds and culture means dipping into a deeper pool of talent. In other words, hiring the absolute best people possible to meet your business’ needs.

Also consider the need to expand into new markets and connect with other cultures from a business standpoint. The more diverse your team, the easier it is to tap into those markets.

And if nothing else, diversity can ultimately lead to a more connected, open-minded workplace. Fresh ideas and perspective can be powerful motivators, if nothing else.

That said, it takes a thoughtful leader with strong attention to detail to ensure a positive, diverse work environment that products results. Below we’ve broken down a list of strategies and traits necessary to make sure that your team thrives while also supporting workplace diversity.

Conduct Individual Check-In’s

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of creating a stronger team is taking the time to understand your workers on an individual level. This is especially true of workers who are coming from abroad.

According to Gallup’s most recent State of the American Workplace, many employees feel like their concerns, strengths and needs completely go over the heads of higher-ups. On the flip side, having stake in your workers’ personal lives alongside their professional ones ultimately makes you more approachable in the long-run.

In other words, take the time to have one-on-ones to understand the motivations of your employees. Perhaps they could only climb the career ladder in a new country. Maybe they regularly send remittance payments to family back home and therefore have a huge stake in their jobs. Either way, regularly one-on-ones create that ever-so-important bond in the office.

Collect Frequent Anonymous Feedback

Consider that not all workers will be so forthcoming in one-on-one meetings, particularly those who might be nervous about concerns over discrimination or bullying.

To address such concerns, collecting anonymous feedback is a must-do for any office. Providing multiple avenues for feedback gives you a more comprehensive view of your teams’ strengths and weaknesses, while also holding workers accountable.

Whether through anonymous email surveys, engagement surveys (think: a employee net promoter score) or a digital suggestion box, you’d be surprised at what you can by asking the right questions. Feedback received from workers serves as valuable insight as you strive to continuously improve your company’s working environment.

Encourage Group Collaboration

Allowing employees to frequently work in groups, whether through an open office setting or on their own terms, is a smart move. This does double duty of helping people from different backgrounds assimilate while also driving home a “team” mentality. Rather than allow departments to become siloed, collaboration can be the catalyst your company needs for fresh ideas.

Be Aware of Bias

The epidemic of unconscious bias in the workplace is a serious issue that is overlooked simply by nature. In short, people don’t realize that they might have biases against someone’s background until it becomes an outright problem. This not only opens companies up to legal trouble, but could ultimately lead to improper treatment of workers which is unacceptable.

Acknowledging bias is a must-do, and anyone found to display bias should be held accountable. A company culture of empathy and open-mindedness is a good starting point, yet also think about biases that occur during hiring such as disregarding someone for their background or perceived lack of experience.

Rethink Your Onboarding Process

A huge factor in making any team member feel welcome and comfortable is how you onboard them. There is no “right” way to onboard employees, but there are ways to ease people into your company without overwhelming them, all the while celebrating their diversity. For example:

  • Introduce your new hires to current team members in “waves,” ideally allowing them to mentor or be shadowed by someone who they can form a working relationship with
  • Convey your company culture of acceptance from the word “go”
  • Make their success a priority, with frequent check-in’s as per usual in addition to giving them multiple points of contact for questions and concerns

While the concept of diversity in the workplace is nothing new, many companies struggle when it comes to adapting to new backgrounds, cultures and experiences. By emphasizing these tactics and traits, you can manage your team with more peace of mind while also embracing diversity.