Contributed post –
When it comes to the overall success of your business, your employees are crucial. You might have a fantastic business idea, but you need people to work the various roles within your company and keep things running, and so finding the right people is key. Keeping they happy once you’ve found them helps you to retain your employees, which is beneficial to your business in many ways. Here are some ideas to consider.
Provide training and/ or education
We all want to make progress in life, none of us want to feel like we’re stuck in a rut with our work. So providing employees with education and allow them to work through the ranks in your company will prevent this from happening. Provide education and training which allow them to move onto the next step, it’s a great way to invest in your company (you always have people ready to move up the ranks as older members retire or leave) and workers are happier knowing that they’re not stuck in a dead end role.
Let them work from home
More and more companies are getting on board with letting employees work from home. You might have worries that they’ll be distracted and that workflow and productivity will suffer, however research shows that this isn’t the case, more and more companies are letting employees work from home and others are hiring completely remote workforces as there are some incredible benefits to doing so. The main one is that home based workers tend to be happier than traditional employees, as a result they take less sick days and are more productive. A long commute, a stuffy office and being stuck around colleagues who you have nothing in common with can be stressful for anyone, so consider giving employees the option of working from home- at least some of the time.
Improve your office
If your employees will be working from the office then providing a good place to work from will benefit both you and them. They’ll be happier and therefore do better work. Natural lighting is a mood booster, so one thing to bear in mind when you’re choosing your office premises is to go for something that has large windows (or at least gets plenty of natural light). Move desks close to windows to make the most of the light, and dot around plants which can also improve mood. Regularly have your office deep cleaned, and give it a lick of paint if it needs it. These small things can definitely make a difference overall.
Provide employee extras
As well as paying a fair wage, there are some ways you can treat your employees to make them feel taken care of- this can help them to feel more secure in their job and may even mean they’re less likely to look elsewhere for other jobs. Simple things like occasional free work lunches, their birthday off work, an annual Christmas party and fun team building and singles events are all ideas.
