Now that your business is growing and going from strength to strength, your team of employees is also getting bigger (it’s impossible to do everything yourself, after all).
But whilst you desperately need their help, looking after your expanding workforce is a time-consuming task.
As if the legal responsibilities that come with being an employer weren’t keeping you busy enough, you’ve also got to figure out how to be a good leader – otherwise, office morale and motivation will come crashing down around you.
It’s tricky to get right. So we’re helping you out by sharing a few tips and strategies for keeping your staff happy and on your side. Take a look.
#1: give them a decent office
Want your employees to actually enjoy spending time at work? Then give them a dream office they can feel happy and at home in.
Even if your budget doesn’t quite cover installing Google-esque nap pods and rooftop gardens, you can still make sure it’s clean, bright and attractive. Start simple and bring in a few mood-boosting plants (it might sound silly, but including natural elements in a workplace is proven to aid concentration).
On top of this, make sure that they are able to work in a tidy and hygienic environment. As your team gets larger and larger, there will be increasingly more mess to tidy up, as well as more people to spread germs. Obviously, ill staff are unhappy staff, and so hiring a professional cleaning service such as Ideal Cleaning to regularly clean the office would be a good idea when looking after your growing team.
#2: invest in HR software
Fail to give your staff what they’re due by paying them wrong or mucking up their holiday allowances and you’ll soon have an uprising on your hands. To take some of the weight off your shoulders, look to an expert company like SD Worx for help.
It offers a range of tech-based solutions for streamlining your growing to-do list, including simple time-tracking programmes and auto enrolment software perfect for keeping up with workplace pension regulations.
#3: focus on teamwork
In an ideal world, your office would have plenty of room for both quiet individual workstations and multifunctional group areas. But with spacious commercial properties so rare and expensive, that’s probably not an option.
You can still encourage teamwork by investing in internal communication and collaborative software (like Slack, for example). Then, even if some of your staff are remote workers or freelancers, they’ll all be able to stay in touch and coordinate on key projects.
#4: put a complaint system in place
Everyone might be getting on like a house on fire right now, but differing opinions or personality clashes are bound to cause grievances at some point. That’s why you’re legally obliged to have a conflict resolution system in place.
Put it in writing (preferably in your company staff handbook) and share it with your team. Then once an issue arises, everyone will know how to air their problems and feel confident that they’ll be handled appropriately.
Watching your business expand and develop is an exciting time, but it can also be incredibly stressful. Follow our top tips for looking after your growing team of employees and at least you’ll have one less responsibility to worry about.
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