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employees

People Power: Your Employees

Posted on June 7, 2017January 4, 2019 by ben

Something that can be easily overlooked, especially in the small business world is how important people are to your success. I’m not just talking about the people that follow you on Instagram or your customers here. But the people that contribute every day to your business- your employees. But how can you look after your employees and truly get the best out of them when you are a small business? Read on to find out.

Praise In Public

One of the best ways that you can get the best out of your employees is to use the rule: ‘praise in public, criticize in private.’ It’s pretty basic, and you don’t have to be a PR genius to put it into practice in your own business. But it can truly make a lot of difference, especially in a small company.

employees praise

After all, we are all human, aren’t we? Which means we like to be told we are doing things well, as well as being given a chance to improve things that aren’t going so well, without everyone and their uncle knowing that we messed up.

In particular, following this rule about feedback can work well in a small company, because it can help to keep motivation up. As no one wants to see others that they are working closely with pulled up and embarrassed in front of everyone.

Incentivise

You can also get some great increases in productivity and accuracy in a small business setting if you incentivise your employees.

To do this, you could choose to use a bonus structure or a reward scheme. A bonus structure usually entails setting certain targets and then offering additional financial rewards for meeting and superseding them.

Whereas a reward scheme might be something that is less money originated and more fun. For example, offering places on team trips to the theater, cinema, or bowling when you have achieved a certain goal.

Obviously, the precise method that you use will depend on the people working for you and what will be most suitable and motivating to them. Creatives type might favor a day out to a gallery, while your sale team may respond better to a percentage commission on the numbers that they have achieved.

Autonomy

One of the biggest things that you can do to get the best out of your employees is to encourage autonomy in the workplace. This is a factor that is often linked to job satisfaction and good performance. But what exactly is it?

Well, autonomy is the sense of being in charge of yourself and having ownership of what you are doing. In a small business environment that means abolishing micromanaging and getting much better at delegation.

Also, it means truly honoring the way in which the individuals in your company work. Whether they are introvert or extrovert and allowing them to define their own best working conditions. It is this sense of self-control that can greatly help to keep people happy and productive in the workplace.  

Emotional Well-Being

Now, as many a boss is aware it’s not always what is happening inside the office that is causing your employees to not work to their full potential. It can be outside emotional factors as well. Such as relationship problems, money worries, and the like.

employees emotional

While it’s pretty traditional to expect employees to leave their emotional problems at the door as best they can, this is often tough to do, especially if something is really bothering them.

That is why it can be a good idea to give your workers access to an employee counseling services like the one offered by Health Assured. As this provides a place in which they can express their issues and get advice on how to handle them. Hopefully helping them to focus on their work better during office hours.

Relationships

Lastly, in small business relationships between your employees are everything. This is because people have to work closely together, and any falling out can send shock waves around the office very quickly.

But what can you do to manage these relationships as best as possible? Well, firstly lead by example and ensure that you keep your work interactions as positive and professional as possible. It can also be a good idea to lay down the ground rules in people’s contracts and the company handbook as to what is, and it’s not acceptable.

employees relationships

But what can you do to manage these relationships as best as possible? Well, firstly lead by example and ensure that you keep your work interactions as positive and professional as possible. It can also be a good idea to lay down the ground rules in people’s contracts and the company handbook as to what is, and it’s not acceptable.

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About Us

My good friend Ben started this site many years ago.  Ben said this about himself, “am a follower of Christ, a rabid computer geek, small business owner, and breaker of things. He is married way above his station in life and has three wonderful children who have made driving him insane their mission in life.”

Well back in 2019, Ben suddenly passed away from cancer and he asked me to continue the site. I like Ben, am a follower, a computer geek, a small business owner, and the father of 5 great children.

I miss Ben everyday but run this site in his honor. Thanks for visiting and enjoy!

-Larry S.

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