June
A lot of business owners have a tendency to become so wrapped up in their business that they usually forget about the rest of the team that helped him or her get to where they’re going. Plenty of them would probably admit that they tend to forget about their employees until they desperately need them to pull them through. The seasonal gift or bonus is highly recommended, but something greater is built over time by reminding the rest of your team what they’re accomplishing.
Here I offer a few tips and tricks to boost company morale that you can try out tomorrow:
Make it policy to further careers
Always send your hardest worker to trade shows, enroll them in educational seminars, or some other business related event that you’re willing to throw some money at, not only for your business, but for your people. When someone has the chance to learn something new about the company they work for, it’s seen as something tremendous.
Let them know what they’re doing right
Who doesn’t love to hear poetic anthems from their boss that they’re doing something right, right? You should always make this a part of your persona by reminding those who get it. I believe it’s a necessity to make it a daily routine to give praise for the people who make your life easier.
Embrace failing
You want your work environment to be a failure-friendly culture, but as the same time you don’t want everyone to collectively sink your business battleship. If you really want to do something like this, you need to encourage the results that aren’t really up to par to your standards. When something bad happens, don’t blame anyone. Clearly explain what they’re doing wrong, and how to do it right the next time. By showing your team what they can learn from their mistakes, you’ll create a path for long-term longevity.
Review your team every quarter
A lot of businesses never bother to review their employees because they think it’s just a waste of precious time or they’re worried they’ll run into legal woes. Everyone needs to break through their breaking point. Have your managers in your company check up on each employee every quarter. It doesn’t have to be this month-long process or some highly documented 500 page report. This routine will paint a better picture for your team as well as raising expectation levels to new highs.
Encourage the right decisions
Have your team come to the conclusion of their own decisions within their scope of responsibility. It’s their job to make most of the decisions throughout the day without crying to upper management. Also, provide lots of room for them to learn their own system and even welcome any ideas to smooth out the process in the future for someone else. When people learn to see problems and think of solutions, these small shifts in thinking will greatly increase the value of your business as a whole.
