Tips For Keeping Employees More Productive and Involved in a Small Business
Having a small business is not easy. It takes hard work and dedication to keep it running smoothly, but it can be even harder when you have to do everything independently. However, this doesn’t mean that you should put all of your focus on the business itself and ignore the people who are working for you. On the contrary, taking care of your employees will ultimately benefit both sides in several ways:
Arrange Office Happy Hours to Lighten the Mood
There are many benefits to keeping your employees happy. Their mood can impact their productivity and ability to excel at their job. Happy employees will also be more engaged with the business, which means they’ll do everything they can to help it succeed, whether with customers or other tasks.
If you’re in a tight budget situation and can’t afford office happy hours, there are still ways of keeping your employees’ spirits up. Maybe set aside some money for lunch once a week and let them choose where they want to go out for lunch together as a team. Maybe you could all get together after work and go bowling or play darts at the local pub? Plenty of inexpensive happy hour ideas don’t require a huge budget but still provide an environment where everyone feels comfortable.
An office happy hour is a smart strategy for companies to motivate and encourage their employees and keep them happy. However, among employees in the US, about 38% say that happy hour should be at least 3 hours long.
Schedule Regular Team Building Activities
When you hear the word “team,” your mind automatically defines it as a group of individuals working together toward a common goal. However, the word can have a more specific meaning when it comes to business teams. It is because when you’re talking about a company’s employees, what makes them a team is how they work together and support each other in achieving goals.
Therefore, one way to ensure your small business has an effective and productive workforce is by scheduling regular activities that bring everyone closer as coworkers and friends outside office hours. These activities should also be designed to help boost morale while encouraging employee engagement with their jobs. It can happen through almost any kind of activity.
Set Clear Work Expectations
When you set clear expectations for your employees, they will know what is expected of them. You can also explain how they expect to be treated by you due to their performance and work ethic. Setting these expectations early on in the process will help foster a culture of trust and mutual respect between both parties that will benefit everyone involved.
For example, if employees know that they have one week to complete a project but have not yet started it because they are waiting for approval from someone else, it may become difficult for them to complete this task within the allotted time frame. To avoid this situation, ensure everyone understands their expectations before projects begin. It will avoid unexpected delays later down the line when deadlines are approaching quickly.
Keep the Workplace Clean and Well Organized
A clean, well-organized workplace is a sign of respect for your employees. It shows that you value their time and effort and want them to have the opportunity to do their best work. A dirty or disorganized office can decrease productivity by putting stress on employees. It can significantly hinder their ability to focus on their jobs.
Cleanliness is also beneficial for employee morale, as it shows that you care about your business and its success as much as they do. In addition, it helps create a more positive work environment where everyone feels valued, appreciated, and motivated by what they do each day at the office.
Be Open to Ideas and Suggestions
As a manager, it’s necessary to be open to new ideas. You never know when your employees will devise a solution for a problem plaguing your business. Thus be sure to listen to their suggestions and take them seriously. The more involved they are in the decision-making process, the greater chance they’ll feel like part of the team and want to help make things work out.
If you already know how to tackle something, encourage others’ input by asking questions like “How do you think we should handle this?” or “What do you think?” If someone comes up with an idea that differs from yours, don’t be afraid to change yours; let them know how much it means to you that their opinion matters. Finally, make sure everyone knows about it. Recognition goes a long way in keeping people motivated.
Give Employees a Chance to Work Remotely
One of the best ways to keep employees engaged and motivated is by giving them some freedom to work remotely. Small businesses can be an excellent way to help employees cope with stress, achieve a better work-life balance, and even retain more employees.
Remote work is an option that many companies are starting to offer their employees, especially when they realize how much happier it makes people. Many companies don’t offer this option out of fear that it will result in lower productivity levels or increased absenteeism rates, but studies show that both are unfounded. As long as you have clear guidelines about appropriate remote working behavior, you shouldn’t have any trouble if your employees feel comfortable working from home whenever they feel so.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, most employees worked remotely or from their homes. It has become a working culture since then. Even after the pandemic, employees are interested in working from home because it has its benefits. According to a survey in 2021, around 97% of employees don’t want to join the office full-time.
Offer Flexible Schedules for Employees Who Want Them
Setting up a flexible schedule for your employees benefits them and you. For example, some employees may have family commitments that require them to work from home or take time off during the day to pick up children from school. These types of schedules can help with employee morale, as well as employee retention, which is always an important issue for small businesses.
Flexibility to work is a sought-after perk for employees coming back to work after the covid-19 pandemic. In fact, according to a survey, 55% of employees in the US believe that the flexibility to work from home and choose their working hours is more important for them now after the pandemic than it was earlier. While some employers may be reluctant to offer flexible schedules because they worry about losing productivity levels, this isn’t always the case.
Invest in Your Employees, and They Will Invest in Your Business
People are your most valuable resource. It is especially true in small businesses where the owner or manager may be the only employee.
Employees who feel valued and respected will take pride in their work, be more productive and engaged, and stay with your company longer. They’ll also help you attract new customers through word-of-mouth advertising. You should do everything you can to make sure they feel valued by giving them positive feedback when they do good work, listening to their ideas for improving efficiency or process improvement, etc.
What’s the best way to keep employees happy, productive, and invested in your business? Treat them right. After all, employees don’t work for free. It may sound silly, but it’s true; if you invest in your employees, they will invest in your business. Offer flexible schedules and remote work options, treat everyone equally regardless of their role, give them opportunities to grow within their positions, and reward those who go above regularly. By doing this consistently over time, you will see the positive impact on both sides.
