A workplace should always be a place where an employee is inspired to deliver the best of their skills and abilities for the overall development of the company and their own professional growth. If the workplace is not a positive place, you run the risk of destroying your employee’s morale, which in turn hurts productivity and output, as well as on individual mental health.
Here, we share some tips to help you create a workplace that is positive, encouraging and productive for both you and your staff.
1. Encouragement
It is essential to make an employee feel good about his or her working environment and to make that happen an employer needs to start encouraging. This can be done in a variety of ways. You can award promotions and prizes to those who are doing well in their role, but sometimes, a simple acknowledgment and ‘thank you’ can be enough, so that they know that their work is not going unnoticed.
2. Learn from others
No one gets to a point where they can’t learn from someone else, even in a managing director or chief executive position. Create a culture within your workplace of working together and learning from one another. If someone is showing that they have a particular skill, ask them to lead training and demonstrate it to their colleagues. This is a win-win situation for all involved – they feel appreciated and unique, the rest of the staff learn something from it, and you are providing on the job training – for free.
3. Create a healthy competition culture
A healthy dose of competition is one of the best incentives for most people. It is in our nature to want to be the best and show people, so by gently encouraging this, you will be motivating your staff. This often works better if it is done in teams or departments rather than individually, as it also promotes teamwork and collaborative working.
4. Encourage communication between departments
If you do this, you will see benefits for not only your staff but your clients and customers as well. No one likes having to be passed from pillar to post and having to explain the same thing over and over again. By encouraging your teams and departments to talk to one another, it makes things and an awful lot easier for everyone involved. With the introduction of cloud technology, it is easier than ever for information to be shared between departments.
5. Involve your employees and listen to them
Your staff are the ones on the ground doing the donkey work of the business. They see what works and what does not work as part of their everyday role, so when it comes to making improvements and growing your business, they are often the best people to ask. Regularly get feedback from them on what can be done, and more importantly, listen to them.
6. Encourage respect
Traditionally, the people at the top of the chain had all of the power and would often treat the people further down the line with disrespect. This used to be manifested in things like the expectations that junior staff would make the big bosses coffees and run to fetch lunch and dry cleaning. We are, thankfully, moving away from that and respect is shown between all members of staff, regardless of their ranking within the company. Foster this respect – sometimes, it is nice for the more senior staff to do something for the less experienced people on the team.
7. Support diversity
While there are laws about to protect employees from discrimination, it sadly does not mean that all companies stick to them. Celebrate and support the diversity within your company – women and other minority groups deserve to be treated with the same respect as any other group in the workplace. Don’t just pay lip service to the rules – make sure you are not treating them any different and positively working with them.
8. Make it a pleasant space
It is hard to enjoy your job if the area you are working in is dull and depressing. Take steps to make the office a nice, happy place to be. Things that help this include having access to lots of bright, natural light, lots of green plants in the room to encourage the production of oxygen and somewhere comfortable to spend their downtime. Things like https://www.bajacarports.com/solar-carports/ can make a huge difference as well, keeping them dry and protected on their way in and out of work.
9. Support your staff
While many employees like to keep their personal lives out of the office, some may be struggling with problems that make their working lives difficult. Be sympathetic to this as far as you can, and where possible, offer support. Perhaps you could help them to access counseling or therapy, or give them some time off to work through the issue. Just listening and being a shoulder to cry on if they need one is sometimes enough.
10. Consider your time management
While in most situations having some sort of time limits are necessary, make sure that they are reasonable. Restrictions that are too tight or seem unfair may lead to staff rushing through jobs and not completing them to the best of their ability. In the long term, this can harm your productivity.
11. Celebrate succes
Celebrating success is key to making your employees feel valued and happy. When something is done well, celebrate it. It does not have to be a big gesture – ‘well done’ and a metaphorical pat on the back is enough for them to know you have taken note of their achievement, but doughnuts or cookies in the break room are never a bad idea!
By taking note and putting these tips into practice, you will foster a happy and productive workplace, for both you and your employees.
No comments yet.