It is a big challenge in a startup business, to make sure that your staff is catered for in every sense of the word, and in trying to steer the ship and make sure that everyone is getting paid, something as simple as staff comforts can be overlooked a lot of the time.
The big task in trying to keep a business afloat is not just about making your business successful, but by making sure that your workers are kept in good spirits and actually feel good about their place in the company, and this is a bigger task than it sounds.
There are many subtle levels to keeping workers happy and contributing to the continued development of the company, and while we are all different and have our own sensitivities, there is something you can do as a leader to inspire confidence and accomplishment in your team.
Be a “Good” employer!
What does this mean exactly? Sure, you are doing what you can for the business, and your employees should be grateful that they are earning money, but is this enough? In the modern business world, it isn’t.
The one thing you can do right now is to make sure that you are consistent with everything. A good employer is one that sets clear goals and boundaries and treats everyone fairly.
There is no point in applying one rule for one person and one rule for another, this is not a worthwhile way to get a business running properly. As a business, you need to move together as one, and this is one way to get everyone on the same page.
Make your employees comfortable
This is a big thing to get right, but working comforts mean so much to people, and it is also a fine balance because there is such a thing as being “too comfortable.” You need your staff to work to the best of their ability, but you don’t want them too relaxed either!
This means simple things such as adequate ventilation in the summer and good quality heating in the winter. You also need to make sure that your air is good quality. You can get Commercial HVAC Air Filters from Filter Guru and other suppliers to make sure that the air quality is in good condition.
Allergies are a big bugbear for many people who work in office environments that have air conditioning systems, and the chances are that they haven’t been cleaned out for years. Asthmatics can suffer in these environments, which will have an impact on their work.
Another thing to focus on, which has been a big thing in recent times, is the impact of fluorescent lighting on productivity. A harsh light like this can have a small impact on your body’s ability to produce melatonin, which can affect your ability to sleep.
So, over time, the problem of working under these buzzing lights can make workers lose productivity in other ways. Comfort is a big factor in making sure your staff works well.
Make your employees feel valued
The importance of being valued in an organization is something that will pay off in dividends. The culture of punishing someone for doing something wrong is demoralizing and will not help to develop a good environment for that person.
They will feel like a bad dog instead of a valued employee! If mistakes and human error occur, which they will, the best approach is a more holistic method of examining persistent errors and actually speaking to the employee to get to the root cause of the problem.
It may be something entirely logical, or it may be something personal that requires some adjustments to their individual working process. You, as the leader, have the opportunity to make a decent impression on your staff, which will filter into their appreciation of the company, and their attitude to their work.
If you don’t care, why should they? Care is the best way to build bridges, and you need to extend the olive branch, and it’s not something as basic while asking someone how their family is while thinking about the numbers, it is about investing time and effort into that person.
How To Win Friends And Influence People is a great example of a book that goes into great detail about how you need to focus on people and make them feel wanted so I won’t go into detail. Instead, read that book, it will give you a new outlook on how you treat your employees.
Make your employees feel part of the team
Following on from making employees feel valued, you need to make sure that each person realizes their importance in the company. If they don’t, there is no incentive to work harder or faster, and they can merely “phone it in.”
Communication is the trick to being more inclusive, it’s not a difficult formula, you just need to be more welcoming in how you speak to your staff. Each staff member is an important cog in the wheel, and they need to realize that.
You can do this by showing them the result of their efforts, either in the form of a reward, such as a little voucher, or you can show them the fruits of their labor in how the business is improving.
Either way, you need to make it tangible rather than metaphorical. We work for money, and that is a reward for our hard work, but it is not enough to get paid.
We need to get our employees onto our way of thinking by giving them an important role to play, which is something many people don’t feel like they are doing.
As staff members fall into the camps of complacent and go-getter, making them understand their importance, wherever they are in the chain, is a vital piece of the puzzle.
Whatever your type of business, the role of your staff is not one to be taken for granted. They need to be nurtured and need to be developed in the best way possible, and if this means you having to change your leadership style and learn a few lessons yourself, then so be it.