Every business owner knows how important it is for their employees to feel engaged and inspired. It can be tough during periods when things are as tough as they are right now, when you know that the people who you work with are facing a lot of worries outside of the workplace, which are inevitably going to trickle through. Costs keep creeping up everywhere you look, as energy bills, food prices and petrol prices continue to increase. You want them to know that they are valued, and you want to make things as easy for them as possible once they clock on.
It is also a fact that every business owner is looking for ways that they can ensure that their business continues running smoothly over the next several months. The current cost of living crisis is a huge cause for concern, as customers and clients will be thinking more carefully than ever about how they are spending their money and where they are going to be spending it. This means that it is more important than ever that you are finding the best ways to motive your staff, to give them the support they need, and to improve your own management skills. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Consider Where The Workplace Is
It seems like a long time ago now that debate was raging about whether working from home was going to be a sustainable option. Now, most companies have committed to one of three options. The first is bringing everyone back to the office full-time and putting the emphasis on the idea that the best way to work is to have everyone in one place. The second is to work from home and embrace the flexibility that brings. The third is hybrid working, which seems to be most popular and offers workers the option. If you have yet to commit to one style of working, make this a priority. Ask your team which solution would suit them best and make it clear that they have a real say in your final decision. And remember, having a little certainty is so important in these uncertain times.
Think About What The Workplace Feels Like
If you are operating out of an office or central workplace, then it is important to think about what that space is like to work in. One of the most important things for mood and productivity, for example, is natural light. But you also need to think about whether the office space that you have set up is conducive to good communication. Are there places that your team can go to bounce ideas around? Is there room enough that they can take a break and walk around? Try to take a step back and really think about what it is like for your employees to work where they do. And if your team is working from home, think about passing on some tips for creating a good working environment. Talk to them about the importance of having a proper home office set up instead of working at the kitchen table. Encourage them to take regular breaks, and to share any helpful steps that they have learned.
Help Them To Stay Engaged During Meetings
One of the hardest parts about working remotely or having some employees who are working from home is making sure that everyone is on the same page at any given time. This is particularly important if you are giving a seminar on a new piece of technology you are using for example or breaking down your goals and targets for the next month. With the market as unsteady as it has been recently, you need to know that you are not going to lose any time because there has been a misunderstanding in an important briefing, or that someone has tuned out and stopped paying attention. When you are all in the same room, it can be a little easier to gauge if people are following or getting left behind. This is where live polling can come in handy. With live audience polling, you can ask your employees if everyone understands a certain point or keep them engaged by asking a question and getting instant feedback. This platform from Vevox offers a range of live polling types for instant feedback and engagement, and you can create polls in seconds.
Show Them That Health Matters
We have all learned a lot about how mental health issues affect everyone in recent months. There have been endless stories about burnout and other stress and anxiety-related issues that have forced everyone to take a good long look at themselves and the environment that they create. If you want to be a better boss and if you want your team to feel happy and motivated, then mental health must be a priority. Stress the importance of mental health days and make sure that people feel comfortable taking them. Think about how you can make people feel more confident coming forward with mental health-related issues. You should also think about how you could include mental health support in your benefits packages. There are a lot of ways that you can show your team that their health matters and they will reward you for it.
Provide Opportunities For Employee Growth
One of the biggest stories of the last couple of years (and there have certainly been a lot of those) was the Great Resignation. Employees across a wide range of different sectors were leaving their jobs, and there were a lot of different reasons given for why this was happening. One of the most persuasive was that people were realising that there was nowhere for them to go in their current roles and that recent events had forced them to ask whether they were really happy or if they wanted to pursue new horizons somewhere else. Now, experts are warning that it may come back. If you are thinking about expanding into new areas or prioritising different services, think carefully about whether you could train your employees to take on that role instead. Encourage your team members to shadow people further up the chain than them and offer to pay for new skills training. These are the kind of things which make people feel like they are helping to build something.
Improve Your Communication
Communication is one of the main cornerstones of any successful company, and when it is not working properly, you are going to run into trouble very quickly. If you have noticed that things are getting missed, or if it is taking too long for issues to be brought to the right person, then you need to have a careful look at the communication structures in your business. Streamlining is important but be sure to talk to your department heads before you make any big changes to avoid leaving anyone important out. Think about how you can give more responsibility to your individual team members without overloading them with pressure. You should also think about how often you are having meetings. If you find that you are unable to get through a single day without at least one meeting, think about the effect that this is having on your employees’ productivity.