A good business owner is always looking to improve, and making a few choice changes can revolutionize your company. These three tips are designed to help you increase camaraderie among your employees and make office-mates feel like a team. By evaluating your current departments and making some adjustments, you can optimize productivity and make your business more efficient and enjoyable for employees. Follow these three tips to take a closer look at your current business and gain some helpful insight.
Foster Good Communication
Cubicles quickly become cells to employees who spend their work days staring at a computer screen in silence. People do better in stimulating environments, and you can make your workplace more welcoming by doing away with the traditional cubicles and adopting a modern layout. Think long tables with iMacs or lounge areas with cozy couches and beanbags.
These types of environments give way to more conversation, which naturally brings people closer together. When employees trust each other more, they’ll be more likely to share ideas and help each other out. People who are happy to be at work and socializing with others will also put more effort into what they do, which only benefits your company. Good communication between coworkers will encourage a good line of communication all the way up through your business.
Outsource Underused Skill Sets
A lot of employers tend to hire people to perform multiple tasks that they aren’t particularly skilled in. If your intern is practically running accounting or you find yourself turning to a non-designer for their Photoshop skills, consider outsourcing your work instead.
Outsourcing will help decrease stress, free up resources and reduce the margin of error by entrusting important aspects of your business with professionals. For example, if your business and employees rely on computers to do your work, hiring a managed IT operation service to keep your equipment up and running could be a great option for you. Otherwise, you could be relying on hasty Google searches and inaccurate theories to patch your systems together.
Make Meetings Memorable
No one wants to sit through another hour-long lecture about the company outlook or latest project developments. Even the most dedicated employees grow tired of the same old routine.
Add meaning to your meetings by making them interactive. Some employees may dread the idea of having to stand up and give a presentation in front of the whole office, so consider going casual and hold a round-house style get-together that allows people to pitch ideas, soundboard off one another and exchange vital feedback.
The important thing is to remember to keep your employees in mind. Focus on helping your people with your meetings and you’ll soon find a method that’s right for everyone involved. Meetings won’t always be the most thrilling part of a job, but you can certainly enhance their experience and make them something your employees see more as an opportunity than an obligation.
Listen to Your Workers to Improve the Most
The best way to enhance your business is by asking for feedback from the people who make every day possible. Your workers spend the most time hands-on with your day-to-day operations, so send out a survey or just ask them directly what changes they’d like to see in the future. Setting up a suggestion box or email process could help with this.
When you incorporate employee feedback into your company’s growth, you boost morale by expressing appreciation and active listening. When you remember that a business is always about people no matter the industry, work culture can grow alongside your profit.