You want to be the ideal boss your employees look up to. To be that kind of guy, you want to provide your employees with the ideal workplace where they will be happy and satisfied to work in. The problem is that as a small company, the numbers of resources that you can provide to enrich their professional lives are limited.
While other companies are investing in training, you just have to make do with what you have. And though, it is not much, a lot of the small things you do for an employee can make a big difference in the long run.
To help you, here are some tips on how you can make your employees happier:
Help your employees gain new skills
Yup, you don’t have the budget to provide training for your employees. What you failed to remember is that training is not the only way employees learn. I am pretty sure you have heard of the phrase “experience is the best teacher.” Live by that phrase by helping your employees expand their skill sets. Personally mentor them or have some of your senior staff take some of your exceptional employees under their wings. Foster a culture of collaboration where everyone learns from each other.
Through this, your employees get to grow professionally and experience a new function on the job while not worrying about botching it because they are being guided by their peers.
Make their jobs easier through technology
You would have to invest in certain technologies sooner or later, you just have to be smart about it and choose those that will make it easier for your employees to do their jobs. Take QuickBooks for example; the software makes bookkeeping for your company much easier compared to doing it manually. Another example would be VoIP phone systems like RingCentral where each employee can now be assigned their own virtual extension, so they do not have to share a single landline.
Give and take feedbacks
Being in a small business usually also translates to smaller workforce. Get to know them and go out of your way to provide compliments and provide constructive suggestions on how you think they can improve their performance. Provide regular evaluations for your employees and make sure that you recognize accomplishments made.
But feedbacks should not only come from you; be open to suggestions yourself. Open your office doors to let everybody know that they can talk to you. Put up a suggestion box so that employees can give suggestions anonymously.
Create a great work environment
This is easier said than done because you have to strike a balance between being too strict and being too lenient. If you are too strict, you will be labeled as a jerk. If you are too lenient, employees may try to abuse that leniency and production suffers.
Some of the things you can do is set reasonable deadlines and emphasize that you expect them to be met, but give them the freedom to work at their own pace so that they do not feel too pressured to perform their task.
Last, foster friendliness and mutual respect in the workplace so that your employees will look forward to going to work.
9 Comments
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Amanda
May 15, 2012 at 11:14 am
And it’s also very important to have good relations with employees and to have friendly atmosphere in an office. This can inspire people to work harder
Melissa
May 15, 2012 at 6:43 pm
I guess that the majority of employees will be glad to get some new skills and knowledge, and if the employer will provide everyone with these opportunities, then I guess that much agreement will be achieved) and everyone will be happy
Taylor
May 16, 2012 at 8:06 am
Great post. Showing your appreciation does not have to include lavish gifts or expensive company-sponsored trips- especially if there is little money available for such things. As the old saying goes: it’s the thought that counts. But I would add here, the feelings also count. Small business owners need to get the place of truly appreciating the input their employees make. This would motivate them to work more.
TracyAnn0312
May 16, 2012 at 8:26 am
The strategies you have shared in order to make your employees even if you encounter having a tight budget can be a good idea because it can help them not to panic. Maybe I will try all the strategies you have shared to make my employers happy.
Azam
May 17, 2012 at 2:25 am
With good communication with your employees, you can create a strong bond. They will feel satisfaction if you will rate them with good feedback.
Alec Farell
May 18, 2012 at 10:03 am
I think that a friendly atmosphere, a small raise in the employees’ paycheck from time to time and constructive suggestions can make the employees work harder and better even if you’re on a tight budget.
Ethen
May 18, 2012 at 11:18 am
I wish my boss reads this post. Its so encouraging to see so many people are interested in the welfare of their employees. These techniques will not only make them better employees but also will help the company they work in. These ideas can help bridge the gap between the boss and the employee and help them bond more. It will increase the trust and the commitment level of the employee towards the boss.
David
May 28, 2012 at 10:56 am
These are very nice ways to make your employee more happy. Due to recession the competition in the market has increased and bonus is no longer an option that most employee can afford. So these are basic things which would really help the employees as well as help the organization to grow. One can always get things for the employees that they really require and which will help them better their performance.
Eman Chavez
May 29, 2012 at 7:02 am
Having a huge competition in the market really makes a boss more strict at work. Though there are some that gives you the freedom to work but with deadline. Training the employees, will help you on your loads – definitely. The more they learn, the more work they can handle. This is worth reading.