With new employees, there will be a novelty factor. They will initially bounce into the office bright eyed and bushy tailed, but you can’t rely on this to last. You need to be proactive in ensuring that you can facilitate an environment and an atmosphere that will keep your employees happy, enthused and willing to be productive for the good of your business. Take a look at these ways you can keep your employees content to keep your startup successful.
Hardware
All too often offices are full of old hat pieces of kit that could probably do with a refresh. Ancient desk top computers, photocopiers and printers that constantly break down, are slow, and unreliable and do nothing but frustrate even the most productive of employees. You need to ensure that you provide your team with technology that is fit for purpose.
If you are heading out to pitch to a client, you will want to keep your audience engaged with this presentation software. AI powered slide shows are so much more engaging than Powerpoint. If you are using the software, give your staff access to the same gadgetry. This shows that you value your team and your willing to spread the wealth. Ensure that they have decent laptops, that are speedy and fit for purpose. Your WiFi servers should also be top notch with limited downtime.
Even furniture can make a difference to the productivity of a staff member. If you have an incredible ergonomically designed chair, make sure that your staff has access to the same. You don't want to create a them and us mentality, so ensure that you create a more even playing field. Anything within your control that you can make better, more efficient or require less effort needs to be honed to make your team happier and far more productive for the good of your business.
Environment
Those beige and stained carpet tiles alongside chipped paint and drafty window seals simply won’t do. In the twenty first century offices need to be slick, modern and fashionable. They need to inspire your team, and help focus your staff on their work. The office needs to be an environment that promotes dynamism and makes your team want to work their hardest. Working for a company that has a swanky white walled office with splashes of greenery and achingly cool collaborative working pods brings kudos. You want your employees to be proud of where they work.
As well as promoting positive well being, your workplace needs to be a productive environment. Ensure that you foster those water cooler moments and promote the gentle hum of ideas bouncing across the office. You need people to offer up their ideas freely. By creating an open plan forum-like space for your office, you are encouraging the sharing and development of business ideas.
Communicate
As an employer you need to lead by example and master the art of communication. Don’t be one of those bosses that holes themselves inside their office never to emerge. Instead, get out there and talk to your team. Set up a Monday morning briefing where your staff can voice their ideas and share their concerns. Send out a weekly email every Friday detailing the week’s successes and things that could have gone better. Always namecheck individuals who have worked particularly hard that week and give praise where it is due. This shows your staff that you appreciate their efforts and value their hard work. This makes your staff care about your startup and buy into your business vision. They’ll be happier and be more productive.
If you want your business to be successful, you need to ensure that your staff team are happy. These are the cogs of your well oiled machine, so you need to ensure that they are working without drama, efficiently and productively.
