These simple ideas can help make your workplace inspired and productive.
Being a business owner is tough.
There are so many aspects to think about—scaling, profitability, accountability, legalities—the list goes on and on. Just getting your business off the ground and keeping it alive for more than a couple of years is challenging enough.
A very important but sometimes forgotten component of running a successful business is keeping the momentum and excitement going.
Sometimes attention is squarely placed on profits, but how are you going to attain and maintain profitability if your employees are bored and uninspired?
Fortunately, there are several easy ways to show your employees you respect them, and when you have employees who feel valued, it will go a long way.
- Offer perks: Consider adding perks to your workplace. This can come in the form of big perks—health insurance, matching 401k, payment towards continuing education—or, small perks such as allowing pets in the workplace, paying for a team lunch once a month, or a company ping pong table. By providing perks you’re telling your employees you view them as more than just a number—they’re a valuable asset to the team and deserve to feel as such.
- Group events: Nothing says team building like a staff event. For example: Here at RPM Plumbing we often celebrate our staff with a Company Appreciation Party. Our latest event was held at a local bowling where employees got to let loose and enjoy each other’s company outside of the workplace.
- Schedule flexibility: The 9-to-5 structure exists for a reason, but in our current times the model can be a little outdated. Americans have much more hectic lives than they did in the 1950s, which means crap happens. Your children have an unplanned snow day, the DMV appointment took 90 minutes too long, or your flight home from vacation was delayed by a day. Giving your employees flexibility with their schedule not only helps them de-stress, it also tells them that you trust them.
