It’s often said that you and your business are only as good as the team that you have around you. We certainly believe that and agree that investing time and money into growing and developing a loyal and dedicated team is invaluable. As such, we have come up with 4 ways to look after your team and recommend that you deliver on all of them to keep your team happy and satisfied in their work.
Meet their basic needs
This seems like such an obvious one, but it can often be overlooked. Work environments need to be made as safe and comfortable for your team as possible. Make your office a pleasant place to work in, ensure that you keep your business supplied using companies such as Premier Hygiene and all facilities should be kept clean and in good working order.
Value them
Feeling undervalued is amongst the top reasons that people leave their jobs. This is not surprising as there is little incentive to keep on working hard day after day if no-one seems to appreciate it. Every member of your team needs to understand the role that they play in it and how important they are to the running of your business. It needs to be made clear to them so that they know that they are recognised.
Reward where it is warranted
Granted, this can be a difficult one to get right, but putting an appropriate reward and benefits system in place will actually pay for itself. As long as you can get that balance right. Those people who go above and beyond in their roles should be rewarded for doing so as it will benefit your business. You might want to look into either individual or team bonus schemes for recognition payments as they can be motivational.
Rewards do not have to always be so formal or cash payouts, as sometimes it might be that you give some time off, an extra long lunch break when needed, a thoughtful gift as a thank you or a box of donuts after a week of working hard. It is often these little things that people really appreciate and remember and keep that good team spirit riding high.
Ensure a fair workload
There is nothing worse than working in an understaffed department, most of us have been there at some point. We know that sometimes it simply cannot be helped, and if you have ticked the above boxes, your team should understand and manage to handle the extra weight for a little while for you. However, they also need to see that you are doing all that is possible to alleviate their work and rectify the situation.
Outside or extraordinary circumstances, you need to make sure that you are asking individuals to deliver an achievable amount of work in the time that they have. If you need to work alongside them to assess this, then do so, it will show them that you are trying to understand their challenges. In any case, you will want to allot an amount of work that is challenging whilst also being deliverable.
