5 Ways To Ensure That Your Employees Get More Done

Whether you are just in the process of making your first hire or you already run a small team, one thing that every business needs in order to grow is a team of employees who pull in the right direction and get their work done well.

Offices at Google HQ in London

As a business owner or a manager, your job is to ensure that your staff are able to exactly that, and while each employees ability and motivation may vary, there is a lot that you can do to get the most out of your members of staff.

Here are 5 simple tips to do so…

Team Building Is Important

You don’t have to pay thousands for fancy retreats, but having a team who get along is really important. You want your employees to get along with one another and to have a sense of loyalty towards the business.

The simplest way to do this (other than being a nice person and hiring other nice people) is to allow time in the day when you all talk – both about the business and about other things.

One business I once worked with had a policy of eating lunch together every Thursday at the local sandwich shop (paid for by the boss). This was a cheap but effective way to build a social bond and it was also a great way to get the ideas flowing. Here are some other fun team building tips though.

Make Them Comfortable

If your staff are uncomfortable they will feel annoyed and they won’t be focussed on their job. Fortunately keeping them comfortable doesn’t have to cost a lot. Doing things like skimping on the heating or air conditioning, failing to fix the draughty windows or repair a noisy peice of equipment is a great way to dampen moral.

Making the effort with these small items will pay off by keeping your staff happy and content and avoiding a situation where they are quietly dis-satisfied in their job.

Have An Open Door Policy

The worst position you can be in is having an unhappy workforce and not being aware of it. If your staff are unhappy or have grievances you can bet they are telling someone, and if it’s not you it could be other members of staff.

Being an approachable manager is important. You can have a literal open door policy, or just a figurative one. Just make staff aware that you want their feedback and when a member of staff raises a concern or complains, handle it fairly and thank them for bringing it to you.

Give Them More Autonomy

Most members of staff will think that they care most about their salary, but the truth is that job fulfilment is more important and if they feel like they are not being challenged, or they are bored in their job they will soon stop trying.

If you make an effort to give your best employees more responsibilities they will repay you by trying harder and taking more pride in their work. This is also a good way to avoid micro-management, and you never know when a member of staff might come up with a great new idea that you had never thought of.

Give Them More Opportunities

Finally of course, you need to give your employees something to work towards. Most people want to grow and improve, but if they can’t see any opportunities to do so they may become bored and fed-up.

For a small business owner this might be as simple as telling your employees that you are prepared to promote the ones who put in the effort. When you spot a talented employee, encourage them to take on more responsibility and invest in them.

Even if you don’t have any need for a higher level member of staff it can be worth your while to create a position.

The alternative might be losing that talent to one of your competitors!