Without a doubt, one of the most helpful departments in a large business is human resources. Most organisations assign at least one person to deal with employee relations so that the business can continue to run smoothly. A single dispute or argument could have lasting consequences that might severely hinder your business’s ability to grow and provide services and products to your customers.
Unfortunately, a small startup cannot afford to hire a professional to deal with human resource issues. Most of the time another employee is given the task as an additional job to coincide with their regular duties. However, this might severely hinder their ability to perform regular work and they might end up becoming a HR staff member full-time, meaning you’re back to square one and facing the possibility of hiring someone for a HR role.
Take it into your own hands
As the boss, you’re one of the most influential members of the office. You pay salaries, you’re the visionary and you’re in control. Don’t abuse that control, but don’t neglect it either. Your presence alone in the office could become a motivational force that drives employees to work better, make fewer errors and procrastinate less. Because of this, you should be making regular appearances around the office instead of staying locked up in your own office or going out on business meetings unless absolutely necessary.
Take it a step further by interacting with employees and handling their problems on your own. Although you might have a lot of work to do as well, you can’t ignore the power and influence you have on your employees. If they see you interacting with employees and taking their concerns on board, then you’re establishing a trust bond between boss and staff member that can do wonders for the productivity of your business. There’s nothing better than a member of staff that’d go the extra mile for a boss they actually enjoy working for. They’re less likely to call in sick, they’re more likely to do overtime and they’ll be loyal to your business and stay for the long term.
Managing your employees
So how do you start managing your employees? You can use time-tracking software such as the one found at www.Avaza.com/online-timesheets so you know what their tasks are and when they need to be done, and you could also monitor them from your office and take regular walks around the workplace to interact with and check up on your employees. It’s important that you understand the role of each and every member of staff you have employed so that you know what new staff members to hire, what areas of your business need more work and how to improve productivity in your office.
You should always have some kind of spreadsheet or employee reports folder so you can continuously manage and monitor each employee, understand their tendencies and take note of any concerns they may have. A notepad also works because you can quickly jot down notes about each employee, but you could just as well use an application on your smartphone to record your thoughts.
Settle disputes and encourage teamwork
A dispute can be extremely disruptive to your workplace and it can even dishearten other employees that aren’t directly involved. You never want it to reach a stage where a fight breaks out in the office that could leave your staff members injured or your office equipment damage. If you notice tension in the air between two members of staff, take them aside and let them settle their differences in front of you by talking. It might feel like you’re treating them like school children, but it’s necessary because you need to make them come to their senses and work together instead of being at each other’s throats.
Take teamwork seriously in the office. You want to promote teamwork among your staff members so they can get along and cooperate instead of being in competitive with each other all the time. Some competition in the workplace is great and can foster good results and a productive environment, but it’s important to manage it so that it doesn’t become a race to see who can make sales or finish their work fastest. You should give your employees incentive to work harder, but don’t make it materialistic things such as “employee of the month” awards or a pack of chocolates.
For example, if your employees have worked hard as a team and they’ve successfully helped you grow your business this year, then treat them to a team-building holiday someplace nice. It’ll make a dent in your budget, but the cost of team bonding is priceless if you want to create a long-term business plan.
Empower your employees with important decision-making
Deep down, every employee wants something more than just a salary: they want the satisfaction of knowing they did a good job. An employee wants to hear that they’ve just made a decision or completed a piece of work that has grown your business exponentially. They want to hear that they’re making a difference and affecting more lives than just their own. Because of this, it’s important to empower your employees with some degree of freedom as opposed to pigeon-holing them down a set path.
Don’t micromanage your employees to a point that they’re just sheep listening to your orders. They don’t want to be ordered around—they want to have freedom to make decisions they think will benefit your company. You can start easy with this type of thinking and move up as they gain your trust.
For example, when ordering supplies for the office, allow your employees to pick what each of them needs at their desk. One employee might order a few pens and pencils, some might order nothing, and someone might order a backrest for their chair. Instead of asking them what they need and making a decision, let them decide for themselves what they need to make their time at work more productive. From here, you can move on and let them make design decisions, how to communicate with clients and how to approach potential business partners.
Nibletz Staff
