Employees are pretty much always going to be the most important part of any business and you need to make sure that you are treating them as well as possible at all times. In fact, it might be helpful to think in terms of your business having a relationship with your employees. If you can foster a good kind of relationship, that is likely going to help both the business and the employees a great deal.
So how can you do that? Let’s look now at just some of the main ways that you might want to focus on this. You should find that all of the following are necessary to think about, at the very least, and that adopting them can help you out a lot.
Remember the human
Probably the most important rule of thumb in your dealings with your employees is that you ‘remember the human,’ as the early-internet adage goes. In other words, never get into a situation where you are thinking of your employees simply as numbers on a screen or resources to be used. First and foremost, they are human beings, and you need to make sure that you are always treating them as such.
If you do that right, it is going to infect everything else that we will look at here, and every way that you interact with your people. The result will be a happier workforce that feels so much more respected and cared for, which is a really good situation to be in for all.
Respect different working styles
There are a lot of different ways to work, and every one is unique in this regard. There are also ways that this can be divided into types, which is something that you are definitely going to want to do if you are keen to improve your relationship with your employees. This is not a case of classifying people but trying to get closer to an understanding of how they work. That way, you can ensure you are providing them with everything that they need to work properly and enjoy their work as well.
One way to look at employee types is to line them up with personality types. Just doing that can help to give you a much better sense of who they are and how you can deal with them, so it’s a good idea to consider that.
Pay well
Good pay goes a long way. As long as you are paying your people as well as possible, that is going to help them to be a lot happier with their work and enjoy working for your business. Of course, that means both that you are paying handsomely, and that you are paying equally regardless of gender and other factors. Paying well will generally mean that you get a lot more out of your employees, and at the same time, they are going to feel that the nature of the relationship between you is a lot stronger and healthier, too.
Wherever possible, then, you might want to make savings in your business so that you can keep the pay going strong. That might mean cutting corners occasionally, but that’s just what you’ll need to do if you want this to work and for your employees to be happy. You should also make sure that you always keep their pay rising at least in line with inflation so that they are not effectively taking a cut each year. The best way is to have a face-to-face pay review each year.
Work on better communication
Do you think you communicate well with your employees? If this is an area that you think you might need to work on, then it’s perfectly possible to do so, and definitely hugely beneficial as well. The better the communication is, the more likely it is that you are going to keep them happy and that the nature of the relationship will be strong, too. How can you work on better communication with your employees?
Generally, you’ll need to set an example as the manager or boss. As long as you are openly communicative with them, you’ll find that this sets the right precedent and that you get the same thing in response. That is easily the most important way to approach this and the results can be great.
Motivation boosts
Your employees also need good motivation from you, and this is something that you can do in a lot of different ways. It’s wise to make sure that you have a decent reward structure in place, one that you are able to follow to the letter at all times and which is as easy to understand. When your people see that there are real benefits to working hard, that will encourage them to do so a lot more effectively. At the same time, they are going to appreciate working for you a lot better. That is the kind of thing that can help the relationship hugely, so it’s important to focus on it.
Sense of community
In a certain sense, it’s all about community. As long as your people feel like they are part of a community in your business, they are going to be a lot happier and feel much more included and even respected. It’s something that you are always going to want to work on, because it helps to keep people in the business for longer, and that in itself is often enough to keep things moving in the right direction.
So as far as you can, work on building a community in your workplace that people can enjoy being a part of. That is hugely valuable and well worth doing for their sake and your business.
With all those considered, you should be able to create a much better connection between the business and its employees. The benefits of that are considerable and well worth having.
Cover photo by Alexander Suhorucov