Your employees are the heart of any business, and this means it’s essential to take care of them. Making sure they’re happy is not only important to ensure they’re working hard and efficiently, and that they get along well with each other, but it’s also important because they deserve to be treated well. After all, they’re dedicating part of their lives to your business – it’s only fair you dedicate some time to make sure they enjoy it! Unsure how? Here are 3 ways to make sure the people in your business are well looked after.
Keep Up Their Training
Keeping your employees regularly trained is important for several reasons. For an employer, regular training means that your employees are reminded of the important values and skills they’ll need to do a great job. It means you can push things that are important – for example, if you want to place an emphasis on customer service, you can offer extra training in this – as well as correct any mistakes that may have come up with old or new employees, whether they’re bad habits or misunderstandings. Training also allows your staff to ask questions or express any confusion or disagreement they may be feeling, and narrows the gap between employees and employer, meaning they feel more comfortable communicating their positive and negative experiences, as well as questions, with you.
It’s also important, however, to make them feel good. Regular training helps your employees feel confident in their role, but by offering extra training such as an MBA course that they’d otherwise not think about or not want to pay for means you can show them that they’re not just filling empty spaces, but are a valued member of the team. There’s plenty of reasons why an MBA for your employees is a great idea – it also gives them that extra knowledge to be able to work efficiently, express themselves well with customers, and have inside knowledge on how your business runs. With competition within the global market growing more and more, that knowledge is vital to success, and an MBA has never been more relevant – click here for more information on why an MBA is relevant in an evolving workplace.
Help Them Feel Comfortable
Have you ever tried to work in a hot, crowded room on a computer that doesn’t work and not even a cup of coffee to keep you going? Your workers not only deserve great workplace comfort, but it’s super important to help them work efficiently, and at a high standard, so you can get the very best out of them at all times.
There are plenty of ways you can help your employees feel comfortable and ready to work. One of the most important is making sure that the room they’re in is not too warm, but not too cold. Too hot, and it gets stuffy and uncomfortable, but too cold and they’ll be spending more time shivering than working. Fitting a decent heating system and air conditioning is so simple but can often be ignored as an unnecessary cost. You may even want to get a ventilation system to help improve air quality and let your employees breathe more easily. Speaking of breathing easily, your employees also need their own personal space – too crowded, and it’ll feel too overwhelming to get anything done.
Updating furniture and equipment is also a must every so often. Making sure chairs are comfy, desks are sturdy and not damaged, and that technology is up to date – there’s nothing worse than waiting 10 minutes for a web page to load! Not just keeping technology up to date, but keeping the internet up to date so you have good speeds and connection is important for keeping your employees happy, as well as keeping their workflow fluid and efficient.
Finally, having a staffroom they enjoy spending time in is imperative to a happy workplace. All work and no play is a recipe is a disaster, as it can lead to your employees feeling overworked and stressed out. Giving them space to destress, socialize with colleagues, grab a snack or a drink, and get ready for the rest of their working day. It takes a little spending, but having happy, comfortable employees help you much more in the long run, both economically and otherwise.
Reward Your Staff
Once businesses grow in size, employees and their achievements have the tendency to be forgotten. It’s important to make sure that no matter how high up your employees are, they are noticed and not taken for granted. The easiest way to do this is to make sure that when they do a good job, reward them! If money is your language, offer them a raise or bonus, or if you’d like to do something more meaningful, perhaps ask them if there’s anything they’d like – you could reward them with a voucher or experience day for them to enjoy outside of work.
It’s important to not just show appreciation for those who do extraordinarily well, though – showing everyone some appreciation is important for keeping morale within the team, and not letting others feel disappointed or underappreciated. Work parties, such as Christmas parties, or even celebrations for the sake of celebration, are a great way to thank your staff for the hard work they’re doing for you and the company. Not only does the party itself give your employees a chance to relax and celebrate their own good work, but it gives you the opportunity to say directly that you’re proud of them.
The simplest way, however? Tell them. Don’t be afraid to make appearances in the office, not to check up, but to encourage them and make them feel valued for their work. Make sure you tell them that they’re doing a good job, that you appreciate the work they’re doing. It can be surprising what just a few words can do to improve your staff satisfaction.
With these three tips, you can improve your employee satisfaction significantly – a happy staff is a happy business, and helps your business improve in terms of profit, reputation, and popularity with your customers, too.
