The workplace environment can be stressful, leaving people feeling uncomfortable, unappreciated and unhappy. Your business needs to be like a well-oiled machine and to do that your employees need to feel valued, comfortable and happy.
While money is undoubtedly a big motivator, it is not the be all and end all; giving people the opportunity to flourish in the business can also be a great motivation. Your staff is important and when they feel valued they tend to be a greater asset to their organisation. Here are some ways to ensure that your workers feel valued.
Build relationships
It’s important to have a good relationship with your employees. It’s easy to go to work and keep your head down, it allows you to get your job done, but it is equally as important to work well with the rest of the office.
Building relationships help you to develop your own career if your workers enjoy your company. If you have new employees, make sure that they feel comfortable when they start. It’s easier to start off well with someone than to have to work on your relationship later. If you take the time to get to know the people you work with it will make them feel more appreciated and valued. Generally, the happier people are, the more productive they are.
Build the team
You could try team building exercises to help the team feel motivated, build trust and it can ensure better productivity. Treating everyone equally makes for a happy work environment.
Team building can break down barriers between men and women, different departments and those who are higher up in the business by helping to develop communication skills. It’s best to go outside the office for team building, it will eliminate distractions, and everyone is able to feel more relaxed.
Give constructive feedback
Give employees constructive feedback. It can not only improve their work, but can also help them feel as though you value their induvial skills. The best work is done by people who have learned through their failures.
Feedback can improve performance and help with confusion towards expectations in the work place. Not everyone finds work easy and it can be difficult to start a new job, feedback can make them feel at ease and help build confidence.
Pay equally
Equal pay audits not only ensure that employees feel valued, but it also makes them feel as though they are treated fairly. Both men and women doing equal work in the same organisation should be paid equally to stop employees feeling underappreciated. It stops men and women from feeling as though they are being mistreated and it sends a positive message about the organisations values and ways of working.
Have reward programmes
Reward programmed offer a bonus to staff, they get paid whether it’s weekly or monthly but adding extra rewards to hard workers can increase productivity. If a member of staff reaches all their goals and maybe even exceeds this, then rewarding them can make them feel valued and needed in the work place.
Challenge your employees
If you’re giving staff different projects to work on it shows that you have trust in them to do this activity. This helps them to feel needed in the work place and it can also ensure that the work is being done by the right person to the right specifications.
Have one to ones on the projects you hand out, it gives employees a chance to raise any issues and helps them to progress.