When you are running a small business, it is likely that you are up close and personal with your employees. It is easy to get to know your employees and care about them because you are chatting every day.
However, as a business grows, this can very quickly fade if not kept at the forefront of your mind. Increasing the number of staff means that it is less likely to have that close relationship and a growing business leads to stress, worry, and less time to simply chat.
This can lead to certain mindsets emerging from both yourself and your employees, and these mindsets can cause a cavern to open up between you, making you distant from one another. For instance, you could easily stop seeing your employees as humans with lives outside of work, and simple factors of your business.
However, there are ways you can still care about your employees and prove that you are still the person you started off being by keeping on top of certain issues that arise and keeping your ear to the ground.
Deal with workplace issues swiftly
It is important to deal with workplace issues swiftly and professionally. Issues such as discrimination, bullying, or harassment, amongst others, should not be tolerated. These issues, if left to fester, can cause rifts within a workforce, regardless of its size.
They can be horrendous experiences for those that are victims while providing the culprit an excuse to muster confidence, possibly gain the backing of other members, and feel that they are well-founded in their opinions.
Cases such as these should go through your business’s grievance policy. Nobody should feel that they are above this, nor should a repeat offender be allowed to treat others in this way with just a tap on the wrist, regardless of who they are or what they mean to the business or those in the inner circles of management. As well as giving your employees confidence in you, you will create a healthy work environment where people want to work.
Show compassion to your workers
Being able to show compassion to your workers when it is required is something that, unfortunately, a lot of bosses tend not to do. Workers that find themselves asking for additional time off at short notice or a slight change in working hours or conditions are more than likely doing it because there is no way around the situation that they find themselves in.
In fact, they are probably as frustrated as you that they cannot work as normal. However, it is also likely that there is a trauma being faced within their world, which may or may not is easily overcome.
By remembering that this person has a life outside of work and circumstances outside of their control, you can show a bit of compassion and help them through difficult times – whether that is covering a shift or being more flexible in their hours. They will be grateful and enjoy working hard for your company as it worked for them when they needed it to.
Recognize and praise achievement
From time to time, your employees are going to go beyond their duties, put themselves out, or prove without a doubt that they are loyal to you and your business. In times such as these, it is important to praise them and recognize the effort that they have put in.
There are various ways you can do this other than just saying thank you (which is a response that should not be undermined). You should make sure you go out of your way to praise their efforts and show how much the work they did means to the company. It is also important that you give rewards commensurate to the effort or result involved.
If someone brings in or saves your company a lot of money – a $5 gift voucher is not going to cut it. They will feel completely discounted. Whatever you choose to do should also take the person into consideration – there is no point in paying for a holiday on a wine tour if they are tea-total.
So, in order to make sure that your rewards are well received, you will have to know your employees. There are ways in which you can get to know your employees a little better, and this is to ask them to fill in surveys, provide employee experience feedback, as well as open up communication channels with them.
Platforms such as Simpplr employee experience platform offer the ability to connect with employees so that you will be able to find out which employee value proposition, out of the many available, would suit them and their lifestyle the best before you commit to presenting them with it.
Final thoughts
To come across as a caring business, you are going to have to look after your workers. Prove to them that you have their back and that you will not tolerate any anti-social behavior within your workplace.
Show compassion to your employees when they need help, assistance, or a flexible approach to their work commitments. You should also make sure that you recognize any good work or additional effort that has happened; knowing your employees well, their hobbies, and their interests will help you present them with employee value propositions that they will want, cherish, and make use of.
