It’s nearly 2022, and the world has never been this forward-thinking. The start of this decade lit a fire under all of us, making us realize that complacency was no longer an option, and if we were to focus on our forward progress we needed to think outside the box, retain staff with care, and learn to integrate convenient measures like remote working into our daily functioning.
That said, many startups can often find themselves falling back on traditional wisdom in order to make it through a competitive environment, and it’s hard to blame them for that. It’s essential to remember, however, that the only way progress is made is when smaller entities are willing to leverage their flexibility for the better.
With that capability, small firms become more than just firms, but nodes of progress that turn heads and inspire others. At a time where workers come at a premium, it could be worth considering how exactly this forward-thinking approach could be used to benefit your staff and curate a strong team that can stick with you as progress is made. In this post, then, we’ll discuss all of that and more:
A Diverse Approach
Keeping a diverse approach towards hiring and managing staff is a key way of making workplaces more representative. That said, it’s important to think about what this means for your business rather than trying to fill quotas at the expense of the dignity of each applicant. A good way to do this is to remove the personal identifying information from resumes before another person reviews them, allowing primarily the skillsets and qualifications to speak to you. As competence is diverse, this naturally leads to diverse departments taking shape.
Of course, diversity is much more than in finding people from different cultures. You’ll also find that hiring from different industries, identifying transferable skills, and recruiting from different venues can provide a diverse makeup of talent as you grow and become more substantiated as a business entity. All of this is worth considering and planning for.
Transparency
Transparency is often seen as a tool to use for worthwhile marketing import, but you’d be surprised at how much it can affect staff for the better, as well as allowing them to feel like contributing members of your team as opposed to people who just turn up and do a job.
This might involve giving the heads up on planned changes as you think about them, such as how remote working might be implemented, or to what degree you will vet new suppliers. It’s also good to make certain failings or errors known too, so that staff are on the same page and can see your company isn’t too proud to admit its problems before getting to work on them. A nice balance here can make all the difference.
Pay Protocols
It’s worthwhile for any startup to think about how to establish worthwhile payroll necessities. Just because your firm is in its infancy does not imply that lenience is given for miscalculations of payroll, payment on the incorrect dates are acceptable, or that you should expect staff to be tolerant of these errors taking palace multiple times.
It may even be that thinking of the future and the convenience of payment can be worthwhile. For instance, it might be that you hire subcontractors or outsource to online freelancers, and as part of the work they submit, you may offer immediate PayPal withdrawals once said submissions are verified and approved. Alternatively, you can give your tacit approval for payment schemes such as those provided by Press Pay, which allows employees to properly withdraw funds they’re owed without having to wait for a cyclical pay date – as this seems to be more and more outdated in the world of today.
Crediting Ideas
The more you can credit the ideas of your staff on the projects you eventually adopt them for, the more satisfied your staff will be, and the more easily you can push them towards promotion or giving them more responsibility to develop their ideas.
In some firms, the idea of ‘whatever is contributed is the company’s property’ is key, and of course, that’s what you’re paying the staff member for, their contributions. This is likely carefully laid out in their contract. That said, that doesn’t prevent you from properly ensuring credit is given during your internal reviews of the staff, or that future trust cannot be placed in your staff members with care and willingness. The more you can achieve that, the better the outcome will be.
Placement Options
The more you can develop your staff members, the better they’ll be, and the more you’ll reduce staff turnover levels. That’s always a positive for businesses, but especially businesses like startups, where having one person missing or a staff member invested in and then leaving can lead to real issues going forward.
For this reason, it’s important to offer placement options to staff willing to invest their time into your business, which may not have the security offered by other placements. For instance, you may find that asking a representative on your team to give a talk at a local business expo can help them train their public speaking skills, perhaps those that you’ve already invested in via training beforehand. Startups that use their flexibility and ‘every team member matters dearly’ approach can truly lead staff members to feel absolutely encouraged to stick with such a firm and see it through to the end.
Remote Work
Of course, remote work is an essential necessity that we need to keep in mind, especially as some startups don’t even have the luxury of a permanent office space. By making sure you use standardized VPN services, conferencing apps that work for you, and making certain that staff understand which working schedule to keep, you can make the most of this entire affair in the best possible sense – keeping a shoestring team together and cohesive. With that approach, you’re much more likely to get the best out of everyone in your employ.
With this advice, we hope you can create that best forward-thinking atmosphere for your staff going forward.