It’s well-known that a happy worker is a productive one. A happy worker is also more likely to be a loyal one, which is crucial in a job market where everyone seems to be on the lookout for the next best thing.
As a business owner, it’s important that you offer very specific incentives for your team. What’s just as important is that you don’t wait for an employer to ask for these incentives, but offer them from the very beginning. If you don’t, you could end up in a situation where you lose a valued staff member because they were simply too hesitant or shy to ask for the things they need to make their job more fulfilling.
So, here are five things we think you should offer on the first day of employment…
1. A clear path to progression
No matter how close you are to your team, as a business owner it’s impossible to keep track, and be sensitive to, each individual’s career aspirations. In the same breath, employees themselves can be reluctant to ask for greater responsibility for fear of looking presumptuous or ‘too big for their boots’.
The solution? Make it clear that you encourage and support personal development, and lay out what criteria the ambitious team member needs to work towards fulfilling in order to get that promotion. Then, most importantly, play your part by following through and giving them that position without hesitance or negotiation.
2. The right tools
There are few things more frustrating for an employee than not having the right (and best) tools to do their job as proficiently as they desire. Even worse is when that employee is told they’re not doing a good enough job!
As a business owner, you should be aware of the latest software trends (or at least your manager should be), and offer them to your team if you think they’ll make their jobs easier and better. Not only that, in-line with our point above, you should be offering opportunities to attend online course and/or seminars so that each individual feels they are equipped with the best resources for their role.
3. Thoughtful benefits
Over and above offering the usual ‘boring’ benefits such as pension, healthcare and maternity leave, think of other bonuses that will make your team member feel valued.
Giving them the day off on their birthday is an easy one, but what about offering a day out for everyone once a month? Or encouraging those active employees to bring their running shoes or bike to work every Wednesday so they can go for a run or a ride during their lunch break? The four-day week is something that is becoming very prevalent, too, and is a massive incentive for those looking to escape the five-day routine and have more time to themselves.
4. A respectful and accountable environment
Because you can’t always be hands-on and ‘there’ as the business owner, there is the potential for toxic behaviour to creep into your company without you being aware of it. Make it clear to your team that disrespectful behaviour is not tolerated in your company, no matter who it comes from. Provide clear channels through which complaints can be made, without there being any negative consequences for the complainant. And if disciplinary action is deemed necessary, make it swift and fair.
5. Switch off ‘always-on’
For all its benefits, remote work has unfortunately also encouraged a culture of employees feeling the need to be available beyond the usual 9-to-5. And while your team might not complain about this directly, or even consciously be all that perturbed by it, this sort of culture can easily lead to burn-out.
As much as possible, set clear boundaries for when work emails and phone calls are off limits. Let your team know that you value their downtime just as much as your value their worktime, and that you want them to have that work-life balance.