If you have a business that has staff, then the chances are you taking care of the basics. A 401(k), a retirement plan, annual holidays, health insurance – simple things that make a job attractive in the first place. But, are you taking care of your staff in other ways?
Beer Friday tends to go down really well, but apart from a few pints, it doesn’t really add that much to their lives. What else could you be doing as an employer to ensure that your staff are taken care of, and you are getting the best from them?
You would be hard pushed to find a country that isn’t a multicultural melting pot, and aside from that being part of what makes life so exciting, it also makes the working environment interesting too. If you have staff that has set prayer times, or religious food requirements, make sure that you cater to them.
It might be as simple as letting them shuffle their personal work day around a little but staying later – so they get to fulfill all of their duties. It might be as simple as ensuring everything is kosher. The fact, that respecting a person’s beliefs and making room in your working environment for that will ensure that your employees aren’t going anywhere any time soon.
Sometimes, through no fault of their own, an employee might have a family emergency and need to leave to take care of it. In many companies that is still frowned upon and in fact rather than just give them the time and arranging a way to make up the contracted hours, they instead refuse altogether.
More and more people are opening their own businesses and working with smaller companies to avoid having such strict restrictions. While people are working a standard 9-5, and many places like the tax offices, doctors, and even the DMV aren’t much different in terms of opening hours. Employees are trying to fit life into a few hours after work or the weekend. It’s a difficult thing to do.
So, while no one is suggesting you twist the working day into something unrecognizable – have an open-door policy where employees can come to you and talk about what is going on. That way you are both informed and can come to a guilt-free arrangement.
Make sure they have what they need to do the job to the best of their ability. Whether is a travel pass, some steel toe work boots, a laptop loaded with the correct software or just a coffee machine – give them what they need. It’s a small thing really in the scale of things, but when it comes to feeling valued, it isn’t always about the bigger things in life. Keep yourself up to date with any training that comes up, offer it out to your staff, and when things like mental health awareness comes up, make sure you are all taking those courses.
Taking care of your staff means they take better care of your business and you in return.