All employers know and recognise the business importance of having productive employees. Yet, not all employers truly understand how to get the most out of their employees and in turn. To help you as a business owner or employer to maximise the output of your employees all the while ensuring they remain valued and content members of the team here are some strategies to consider implementing into the workplace.
Focus on the individual
Yes, your staff make up a collective team but it is important to remember that each individual member of that team has value and needs to be treated as an individual. As such it is imperative that you get to know your employees on a personal level. Not only will taking an interest in them make them feel valued and good about themselves, but it will also enable you to better understand how to get the most out of that member of staff. Getting to know the individual better will allow you to understand what motivates them and what doesn’t. It will also enable you to identify how they perform best in their working environment, for example are they better working as part of a team or under pressure? Or perhaps they thrive in a quiet and solitary environment. Understanding all of the factors at play on a personal level will help you devise the best working environment for your member of staff to flourish.
Offer up autonomy
Employees want to feel respected and one of the best ways to do this is to give a degree of autonomy and flexibility to their work schedule. Better yet, instil trust in your workforce by giving them the opportunity to work flexibly where possible and to devise a work schedule that suits them just as much as it suits your business. This can be easily achieved and tracked by utilising workforce management software that allows employees to instantly request and plan their accrued time off, manage their hours, schedules and even pay. Adopting a flexible approach and handing over a degree of workplace autonomy and flexibility to your employees can make a huge difference in their overall job satisfaction in turn performance.
Reward performance
If your staff are constantly performing and meeting goals then recognizing and rewarding these achievements are crucial. Failure to recognise high performing members of staff will see them become disengaged in their work and unmotivated to continue performing. It may even result in them seeking employment elsewhere. You can recognise performance with financial incentives, additional time off, gifts and always by way of positive praise and a thank you. Appreciation goes a long way in business so never forget to thank your employees for a job well done.
Keep the workplace positive
It may seem like a daunting task but you want to try and ensure that the workplace is somewhere your employees want to be. Where you can try to make the working environment a fun and positive place. Simple initiatives like a relaxed dress code, company breakfasts or an early finish from time to time can do wonders for keeping up staff morale on a day to day basis.
