For managers and employees alike, being in a role that offers the opportunity to considerably influence or impact the success of a company’s survival, as well as enhance the skills and talents of them as an individual, is the ideal scenario in a workplace. Unfortunately, it does not always turn out this way, leading to one of the most common reasons employees leave a company being dissatisfaction or feeling undervalued. Sound familiar? We have put together a few easy methods that you, as a manager, can utilize today in order to ensure that you are supporting your employees in the workplace.
Eliminate Unnecessary Workloads
Take some time to analyze the day-to-day workload of each person – perhaps even with their assistance – to ensure you collate an accurate representation of what their day looks like. Are there any tasks that could be taken care of by other means, such as with automation tools, thereby freeing up time for your employees to focus on what they were hired to do? Are there any menial tasks that you can outsource? Do your employees spend a lot of their time reporting problems with the IT infrastructure they’re using? If so, why not invest in an IT service management solution where individual user issues can be reported and managed? This type of service desk is focused on enabling business processes and providing combined support for business impact with a focus on more formalized integrated processes.
Provide the Correct Tools for the Job
It is more than likely that the reason you have hired a particular member of staff is down to their specialized knowledge in an area of your production process. Therefore, as a manager, you need to be aware that they are the ones who will know what will be best for their role. A common problem in workplaces for employees is not being able to access the necessary tools that will allow them to complete their job to the best of their ability. While some of these tools may be require an investment of time or finances on your company’s part, thereby possibly making it an undesirable option, you should be aware that this investment will pay off in the long run, as the support you will show to your team member will enhance their engagement with your company, boost their productivity in their role, and thereby improve your overall production flow.
Congratulate and Reward Hard Work
Another simple, and yet often neglected, way of supporting your employees is to ensure that you regularly congratulate and reward the hard work that they put into their jobs. This is crucial for ensuring that your team members know they are valued and that their work is being recognized. An important note with this point to be aware of, however, is that no matter how you choose to deliver this congratulations or the reward you decide to present, it must be genuine and personal. Employees will more than likely respond just as negatively to a phoned-in acknowledgement as they would to no acknowledgement at all. Therefore, if this is a tool you plan to utilize, it is important that you take the time to do it correctly and genuinely.
Listen to their Feedback
Do you currently have any methods in place for your employees to use to deliver feedback to you about how they feel in the workplace? If so, do you listen and respond to this feedback, or is it more about your employees believing that their voice is heard? If the latter is true, it is time to re-evaluate your management style. Listening to your employees is crucial. Often, they are the people on the ground in your company. Therefore, not only will they be able to give you valuable information about how your business is operating and ways of improving it but listening to them also enhances their feeling of value within your team, increasing their engagement with your company and their chances of not looking elsewhere for employment.
