As a boss, it’s hugely important that you have a good relationship with your staff. Nobody’s saying that you should meet them on a Friday night at the bar for some beers – in fact, that would be a pretty bad idea – but one of the best things for your company is for your staff to be working for you happily and doing their best because they want to. Here are some tips that will help ensure that you are trusted by your employees…
Do What You Say You’re Going To Do
First of all, reliability is absolutely key in your relationships with your employees. The workplace should feel like a safe environment for everyone there. Most people have had jobs with difficult bosses and feeling as though they don’t quite know where they stand, and everyone knows that that breeds discontent in no time, and that people become very unhappy under those circumstances. And of course, unhappy employees won’t stay at the company long, and will be unable to produce their best work. So if you implement a rewards scheme, make sure that you keep to it. Make sure that the rules are the same for everybody – if you allow one person to work flexibly because of childcare arrangements, make sure that other people have the same opportunities. If your employees know exactly where they are with you, they’ll trust you far more.
Demonstrate That You Value Them
Showing that you have recognised the immense worth that your team provides to the success of your business is crucially important. You want them to feel appreciated and that their hard work has been acknowledged. If someone has done a particularly good job, make sure that they know that you have noticed it – depending on what it is, you can offer praise or bonuses, or even gift cards as rewards for great work or high figures. It’s also a good idea to offer great benefits. This can get expensive but it will be worth it – people will want to work for you, so you’ll get the best possible staff, and they will want to work for you for a long time so you won’t have to train too many new starters and you’ll increase productivity. It will also hugely increase goodwill – everyone wants to feel as though their boss cares about them, and knowing that they don’t have to worry about their health is a great way to start. Keep your eyes open at work for things that people do that you can reward and thank them for. A sincere ‘thank you’ goes a long way.
Encourage Thinking Outside The Box
It’s important to remember that your ideas are not the only ones that matter. Even as the boss it’s important to make sure that you listen to everyone else – the people you work with will have different life experiences from you so will be coming at everything from a different angle, meaning that they will be able to provide insights that you’re unable to. Stop talking, start listening, and work with the valued people around you to improve your business. This will also help to improve their sense of ownership around your product and business, meaning that they’ll work harder and with more sincere enjoyment of what they do.
Note The Regulations
It’s important that you’re fully aware of all legal regulations and that you keep to them absolutely scrupulously. It’s a great idea to hire a lawyer so you can ensure that you’re being legally correct about every topic, from overtime to salary to benefits to driver’s hours regulations. Being completely transparent and above board in everything that goes on in your company means that if someone complains, you will know that you’re in the right, and that you can ensure that you’re doing the best thing for the people who work hard for you.
Keep That Professional Distance
Finally, it’s important to make sure that you maintain that professional distance from the people you work with, no matter how great they are or how well you get along with them. Being the boss might not always be fun or easy but going out and drinking with your employees or revealing too much about your personal life is a great way to ensure that they lose a little respect for you and that they might not listen to you as carefully as they might otherwise do. Reach out, be kind, but make sure that distance stays there.
It’s very easy to run a business in a way that ensures that people are as happy as possible and that your employees respect and trust you as a boss. Hopefully these tips will help you build a team that’s happy, healthy, and ready to succeed.
