People find that they often spend more time in their place of employment than they spend in their own homes. As the workday becomes elongated, the time spent working for an employer begins to merge and mingle with our personal time. Just as students and school age children are given homework to bring in for the teacher, your staff members may spend a large part of their waking hours thinking about how to make your business a success.
Encouraging a high level of morale between employees is one way to make the workplace a pleasant place. Employees enjoy coming into work when they know that management understands and appreciates the work that they do. While it may not be easy to thank each employee on a daily basis for their company involvement, there are things that you can do to make sure they know your deep appreciation for their special skills.
Small businesses should spend some extra finances to let their employees know that they care. This can be a catered luncheon for the group once in a while or an individual one-on-one lunch break with the boss. During these lunch meetings, you can ascertain how your staff feels about the workplace and learn more about their input in a casual setting. Just providing beverages like coffee, tea and soft drinks is a way to show you care. Snacks and condiments kept in a refrigerator or work place kitchen may seem quite small, but your staff will appreciate the effort just the same.
Holidays and company anniversaries are a wonderful time to have an off-site special event. For small businesses this may be something that their regular finances can not handle. If you need to obtain a business loan for that special party or company picnic, seeking the additional funds can be a wonderful “return on investment.” Planning and financing these events is a perfect way to get to know employees and their families. It presents a kinder and gentler style of management. The time and effort you show now can manifest itself in your employees adding extra vigor to conquer their workload in the future.
Plan to give out awards and reward those employees that have made a great impact on your business. The presentation of a trophy is something that employees remember long after they have retired from their working days. Not only are these awards and trophies nice to display at your place of business, but they make for good public relations on your social media and company website.
Nurturing Business, Cultivating Hope
