ALT-1 How to Make everyone Feel Valued in the Workplace
Making everyone feel valued in the workplace is incredibly important, regardless of the size of your business, and there are numerous benefits to making sure employees feel like they matter as a person, and not just as a worker.
Dissatisfied people in the workplace can easily drag a business down; fostering a demotivated and apathetic workplaces means employees are bound to under-perform. Workers who feel like they are not valued cost businesses money, not only due to poor productivity, but also through taking an increased amount of time away from work. Thankfully, however, there are many ways to make everyone feel valued in the workplace.
- Wages -
Believe it or not, but money is not always the sole reason for people taking a job, but it is a very large one. Businesses need to make sure that their employees are fairly compensated for the work they put into a job. Workers know when they are being undervalued and underpaid for their efforts, so companies need to make sure that the wages offered are fair and generous. Unfair wages will lead employees to look for a new position where they don't feel like they are being cheated!
- Work / Life balance -
Some people live to work, but the vast majority of us work to live, and recognising that employees are people with their own lives outside of work is crucial. Employees have families, social lives and love lives which they need to have time for, and this needs taking into consideration by employers. From allowing parents to start work early in order to finish in time to pick up their children from school, to running a daycare scheme for employees, a little flexibility goes a long way and makes workers feel valued. Ultimately, most people love their families more than their jobs, and being pushed too hard will result in staff leaving to work in a place with a better attitude to the balance between work and life.
- Working environment -
Employees are entitled to work in a clean, tidy environment which suits their job and encourages motivation. In comfortable working areas, everyone in the workplace feels better and as a result will be more productive.
- Recognition -
When employees have done a good job, they like to be told it; everyone likes to be praised for doing a good job, and this morale-boosting practice costs nothing but a few words. Thanking employees for their efforts with a smile will go a long way to ensuring they feel valued in the workplace. Recognising the work of good employees will inspire them and others to work harder, upping productivity.
- Teamwork -
Team building makes employees feel closer to their fellow workers and managers, and creates a chain between company members which encourages better communication and teamwork. Staff which work as a team are far more likely to stick together, forging stronger ties and encouraging both loyalty and productivity.
- Job assignment -
Giving workers the correct role within a company is key to having a happy workplace. Take into account people's individual styles a personalities and help them fit to a role where their skills are put to the greatest use. Don't lock your creative employees in offices crunching numbers and don't put the analytical workers in an overly artistic environment! Make sure your employees are in areas of the company that they are interested in.
- Listening & Responding -
Taking feedback from employees is crucial, particularly if staff have a problem. Listening to issues and, most importantly, following up with action will boost moral and make employees feel like they matter. Remembering to be attentive to your employees needs will go a long way to making everyone feel valued in the workplace.
Making everyone in the workplace feel valued is not always easy, but by listening to the concerns of your employees, acting on issues, recognising and rewarding good work and being flexible will help a business to function well, generate more income and stop it's important members of staff from turning elsewhere.
