People spend a considerable amount of time in the office. And the hours can be higher for small business because of the multiple roles and time required to gain footing. With the different personalities and work stresses, it’s not always easy for employees to be at their best. As a business owner, you can help ease this by creating a positive and safe environment where your workers can thrive. Here are a few ways to achieve this.
1. Management commitment
Safety starts with you. Policies that have little or no commitment from management are always likely to fail. For you to be able to create a safe environment, you have to be all in before you try and sell safety policies to your employees.
For business owners who have taken business administration courses, say in management or leadership, it becomes easier to define and execute safety policies.
2. Involve all employees in safety planning
Safety planning should involve each employee in the workplace. This requires you to involve your staff in the planning phase, not just the safety training. When each person is empowered in this manner, they are encouraged to take ownership and understand the safety rules and are more likely to actively comply as well.
It’s essential to include the different departments because each person has a unique work experience. For example, take a relocation company. We have administrative staff in a neat office, and we have truck drivers and loaders as well. The hazards the office workers face have few or no parallels to those faced by say the loaders. Inclusiveness will give you different points of view from all your workers.
3. Create a safe work area
Even with sound safety regulations in place, a safe environment is still the foundation. Create the safest work area you possibly can by eliminating potential safety issues.
4. Think about your organisational culture
A positive organisational culture does not just happen; it is created. A well-defined culture helps you shape the work-life around an environment that is best suited for your business needs. It also helps you recruit people that will thrive in your workspace, as this is where they will be most productive.
When you recruit employees, who are far from your value system, what you will get is resistance, lack of cohesion and reduced productivity.
5. Make housekeeping an individual task
A clean clutter free environment supports clear thinking and wastes less time. Whenever one employee has to spend more time trying to do something because another one is untidy, it brings about a feeling of disrespect.
When employees lack this mindfulness over others, they are creating a negative work environment. Right from induction, have clear policies from the little things to the major ones. From organising individual desks to not leaving dirty cups in the sink to leaving office cars fueled. You might feel like you are stating the obvious, but it’s best not to assume anything.
6. Acknowledge and celebrate wins
Studies into the subject show that 70% of employees get motivated when their superiors express appreciation for their efforts.
As a leader, it is important to acknowledge big and small wins. This does not necessarily mean monetary gifts. Mentioning an employee or a team by name and a simple ‘thank you’ is just as effective.
As your business grows, you can also work on non-monetary reward systems like an extra day off work, a front row parking spot for a week, a handwritten thank you note and so on. You can be as creative as you possibly can be.
At the end of the day, most employees are well-meaning and want growth. Both individually and for your business. It is critical to support these efforts by creating a safe, positive environment to support your employee’s commitment and hard work.