Good employees can be a make-or-break factor for your company. It’s these workers who ensure the smooth running of your business, the positive reputation you build with customers, and the upbeat energy that promotes progress and success. When you have a good employee, hold onto them! In today’s competitive market of employment (as well as production), here are a few things that will make your company a desirable workplace for your workers.
Create an Awesome Culture
You can still get professional results from an environment that doesn’t require formality at all times; providing outlets for casual interaction like a relaxed dress code, casual company events, fun elements to meetings and a good sense of humor throughout your workplace will create a space of low pressure with high productivity and reward. You can further encourage an inclusive and exciting “culture” within your company by inviting your employees to be a central part of its development! Be open to their input and demonstrate a willingness to take their comments seriously. If you can get your employees to feel as passionate about your company vision as you are, they will develop a stronger bond to your business.
Offer Mentorship
Every worker should create career goals for themselves—this is as beneficial to your business’s progress as it is to their personal progress! As they push themselves to achieve more, provide them a means to do so within your company. Offer mentorship, whether by you or by other higher level professionals in your company, to help them understand their potential and the options in the avenues they are interested in pursuing. Mentors can then help them shape goals and implement plans that will allow them to feel the success of their hard work, and will consequently allow you to reap much of the benefit from it! Mentorship also instills a feeling of investment in each other as employees of the same business, so every member is supportive of the next.
Recognize Success
Acknowledging your employee’s success will help them feel valued and appreciated. Just like in any sport, educational pursuit or general goal, positive affirmation reinforces the worker’s desire to continue making their best effort in every task. Make it a priority to highlight the successes and progress of your employees, work and otherwise! Plus, the positive pride that recognition provides is a great way to create excitement in your workplace. Keep company morale high by offering praise for work well done!
Offer Attractive Perks
Make the workplace itself an enjoyable place to be! Creative, stocked break rooms or lounges for casual conversation and relief from work stresses are an attractive perk for employees. Make sure these spaces are relaxing and offer some sort of simple distraction or outlet for fostering creativity. Design will be an important aspect for achieving the functional and aesthetic purposes of break rooms. (Keep in mind, for outside lounges, you should avoid leaving wood furniture in the sun. Constant exposure to sun will damage the furniture, warping and bleaching it so that the lifespan of the furniture is decreased significantly and the look becomes unappealing.) In addition, the occasional company-paid lunch or party are great “perks” for workers!
Create Incentives for Work
Tie together “perks” and recognition of success with specific incentives that provide a little more motivation for your employees to go above and beyond in their daily tasks and special projects. Incentives may make business owners nervous, but these rewards can be very simple and don’t have to look like a major raise in salary or monetary bonus. Create a special office with a great view, an upgrade in office furniture or technology, or special access to the office intern to help them with the more monotonous tasks of their day. You can also invest a little bit of extra cash into incentivized rewards, offering things like movie tickets or massage vouchers or car washes. Anything that provides a unique, relaxing or exciting experience for the worker is a great way to keep them enjoying their work!
Build Personal Relationships
Developing personal relationships with your employees constructs a bond between employee and business. As the leader of your company you are also the face of it to your workers! Showing that you are invested in them as individuals furthers the feeling that they are a part of a team, where each part is an important contributor to the whole. Station yourself in the breakroom every once in a while! Take advantage of opportunities to get to know the people who work for you. Having low stress, casual conversations will make your presence less intimidating—then, in future situations, your employees will feel more comfortable and open about discussing things the company is struggling with.
Pick Good Leadership
Of course, you aren’t the only leadership in your business! Choose strong leadership to run the various departments of your company. Each leader should act as an approachable middle-man between employee and company, to problem solve the variety of issues that can (and will) pop up. Effective leaders will demonstrate a dedication to your company, an openness with every worker, will be able to make difficult decisions, and are especially good communicators. Each of these qualities encourages a healthy and productive environment for your employees!
Strive for Flexibility
Rigid schedules are a huge reason employees leave their jobs. If you want your employees to feel like their job is truly a means of supporting their life and thereby enjoy their lives more fully, allow them as much flexibility as is plausible for your company to maintain success. Technology now allows for easy communication, including face-to-face interactions. Where an employee works is one element of flexible work that is a huge pull for employees. The most important thing on your end is that deadlines are met and the work is quality. Flexibility allows your employees to pick the hours that they will be able to work most effectively in—it’s a win-win!
If you want to keep your strong employees loyal to your company, try implementing these tips to create an environment they feel comfortable, valued, motivated and effective in. They, and your business successes, will thank you!
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