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What employees want: 4 ways to give your team a boost
You may have launched your tech startup on your own, but now its success relies on a whole army of expert employees working together.
So you don’t need a PhD in psychology to understand the importance of keeping that team of employees happy.
After all, letting your staff become bored or stressed out, uninspired or demoralised with their jobs is a recipe for disaster.
And yet around 30 per cent of British workers are unhappy at work.
Addressing their needs
One of the biggest problems is that we all like to think we’re already good bosses.
Sure, you’re the one forcing people into the office on dreary Monday mornings and chasing deadlines, but you’re still a laugh, right? You’re just part of the gang, the approachable manager who’s still welcomed at Friday night drinks.
But being friends with your employees isn’t the same as being a good boss.
To keep your staff motivated and engaged, you need to make sure your company looks after their financial, mental and physical wellbeing.
With this in mind, we’re sharing four simple tactics for giving your team a boost that’ll leave your office happily buzzing away again. Take a look.
#1: financial security
At a time when lots of families are struggling to make ends meet, it all comes down to money. Wages are a significant concern for the majority of employees, but it’s frustrating when you simply don’t have the funds to hand out bigger salaries.
At the very least, make sure you follow a strict equal pay policy and offer raises (even small, incremental ones) as and when you can.
And don’t forget about workplace pensions – as well as being a legal obligation, it’s also a great way of showing that you’re invested in the future financial security of your staff. New auto enrolment software from SD Worx will help you get a scheme up and running in no time.
#2: run an incentive scheme
If wage rises all round aren’t an option, look at offering other incentives to keep your staff happy.
Whether it’s reduced local gym memberships or reward schemes involving cinema tickets and gift vouchers, there are several options to explore whatever your budget. Just be creative and have fun, and your team is sure to get on board.
#3: focus on development
Want to attract talented workers? According to Gallup, 87 per cent of millennials say that development is important in a job, so make it clear that there’s plenty of room for growth and progression within your company.
Offer in-house training sessions, hire experts to lead tutorials, try to promote from within and give your staff the opportunity to challenge their own roles and make changes within their departments.
#4: enable a healthy work/life balance
It’s no big secret that nine-to-five office life is dull. It’s the subject of numerous country songs and basically every Friday night rant in the pub – we’re all sick of spending more time with colleagues than we do with our family or friends.
This skewed work/life balance doesn’t have to be the norm at your company, though. Follow the lead of businesses like Netflix (who give new parents a year of leave) and Amazon (who’re testing 30-hour weeks at the moment), and look at embracing a more modern approach to working.
Flexitime contracts, work-from-home arrangements, shorter days – give your staff more freedom with their hours and see for yourself the boost in productivity it results in.
So there you have it, four workplace strategies to boost the morale of your office – give them a go and you’ll soon notice it becomes a much happier, busier place.
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