19 April 2022
By Roger Kennedy
roger@TheCork.ie
Have you been noticing that your employees are not working as well for your business as you would have expected? Or, they used to work well but that seems to have dropped right through the floor recently? You’ve got to ask yourself why this has happened, but you’ve got to do it in such a way that you understand it probably has something to do with you. You should always be treating everyone who works with you well, and if you’re not this is going to push them away. In this article, we’re going to be looking at how you can get your employees to work better for your business, so keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.
Treat Them With Respect
First, you need to make sure that you are treating them with respect. You have got to be giving your employees the respect that they deserve simply because they are people. You are not somehow better than anyone else simply because they work for you, and you employ them. It might mean that you are higher up in the hierarchy for the business model, but nothing else. As such, you have got to be treating them with respect at all times. Of course, we all have bad days so they will likely expect you to snap at them sometimes, but you still need to be respectful.
Some employers seem to find this extremely difficult and this is where they lose a lot of employees. If you don’t respect your employees, they are going to turn up, do the bare minimum and then leave again. Nothing more than just scraping by is going to happen which will have a really negative impact on your business as a whole.
Listen To Their Requests
If your employees are making requests to you, it might have taken a lot of guts for them to do so. It can often be hard to ask the person who employs you for something when they already give you a lot by employing you in the first place. Your employees feeling comfortable enough to come and make requests is a really good sign and shows that you are a boss that they feel they can approach. When they do this, make sure that you are considering them and seeing how many you can put in place. For example, if they want a break room with a fridge and other appliances, this is something that you can accommodate for sure.
However, sometimes holiday requests and time-off requests are a little trickier. See if you can accommodate them as much as you can as your employees deserve it, but if you can’t see if you can work out a compromise with them. If you do your best to get them what they want, they will know that you are listening, even if your hands are tied.
Help Them When Needed
When it looks like your employees need help, or when they tell you that they need help, make sure that you are going to help them. There is no reason why you can’t or shouldn’t do this, so ensure that you are when you can. We understand that you are busy and have your own things to be doing, but if your employees need to be helped then this is going to have to take priority. Of course, there are times where you shouldn’t intervene and you should see how it plays out, see if they are ready for the next step in their career or not. If things get too bad or chaotic though, this is where you need to step in.
It is often difficult to know when to help and when not to. You don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but you also want things to go smoothly. It’s a super fine line, and one that you need to learn to walk well. Try asking your employees if they would like you to help, and if they say no, leave them to it. Keep an eye on the situation though, and insert yourself if it becomes necessary.
Be Supportive Of Them
If you want your employees to work better, then you have got to be supportive of them. They need to know that they have done a good job and what they could do to improve and become even better. They need to know that you want to help them be the best that they could be, whether this is through encouraging them, or offering to sponsor their education if this is necessary.
You also need to think about their mental state and wellbeing. The last thing that you want is to be responsible for anyone feeling less than they should be. This means that you need to make sure they are not working too many hours and are getting rest. There is nothing wrong with overtime, but that doesn’t mean they should be working their fingers to the bone until they are ready to drop. You can easily calculate work hours with a number of tools online, so think about this carefully.
Acknowledge The Good, Not Just The Bad
There are some employers out there who will only acknowledge the bad things that their employees do. They sit up in their office, they hand out threats and punishments like they are candy and they enjoy the power. However, these are the bosses who are going to get nothing from their employees other than the bare minimum. Instead of doing this, you need to be able to acknowledge the good that your employees are doing. Let them know that something specific about their work was fantastic and you are proud of them. Thank them for being so consistent and amazing for your business.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t reprimand where it’s necessary, of course you can. But, you just need to make sure that this is balanced. Don’t only pick up on the negatives, and forget how much these people actually do for your business.
Don’t Be Afraid To Talk To Them
The final thing that we are going to say is that you should not be afraid to talk to them. Sometimes talking to your employees will give you more of an insight to them than anything else. As such, getting to know your employees is actually a pretty good idea. Take the time to talk to them, sit down with them and eat lunch with them if they don’t mind you doing so. Speak to as many employees as you can, as often as possible. Don’t be a figurehead boss that they always see but don’t really know, as nobody really wants to put in all their effort for one of these.
Communication is key in life, and it doesn’t matter if this is business or personal relationships, but if you are able to always maintain conversations, this is a good sign for the relationships.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you are going to need to do if you want to get your employees to work better for your business. One of the things that a lot of business owners tend to forget is that when it comes to people, you get what you give. If you are constantly talking down to them and acting as though they are below you, then no matter what, they are not going to respect you enough, in turn, not giving you their all.