Have you ever been part of a highly motivated, high performing and successful team?
You’d know if you had, because you will remember feeling excited to go into work and collaborate with others. You won’t just be showing up because you want your paycheck at the end of the month, you will genuinely love your job.
There’s no doubt that happy, engaged teams do better work and deliver up to 50% better performance than less engaged teams, according to studies from Gallup and Deloitte. Yet all too often our efforts are focused on other areas of the business and not on the areas that matter most…our people.
As an owner of a small business myself, I know all too well that when my employees are happy, they’ll do good work, so my focus has become less about micro-managing and more about their day-to-day happiness in their jobs and how much they enjoy their role.
Creating engaged team cultures is not as difficult as you might think. It actually starts with engaging people: talking, involving, and listening to what they say.
Not sure where to start? Here are some simple and practical ways you can create a happy workforce and show your employees that you genuinely care:
Your time: Set up regular catchups with each of your team members, but instead of just focusing on their performance. Ask them about their passions outside of work, what makes them tick, and other goals in life.
By spending some time listening to what motivates them (both in and out of work), you will be able to delegate tasks that are more suited to their strengths and natural skill set.
Give them opportunities: Find opportunities that make them feel valued and challenged. These could be attending events in your industry, charity and fundraising ideas for them to get involved with, or even getting them to share their ideas about the re-decoration of the office.
An open door: It’s so easy to get stuck into the daily grind of what tasks need to get done, that it’s easy to lose sight that your employees may just want to offload how their feeling. Always have an open door policy and make it known that however stressed you might seem, there’s always an ear available should anyone ever need it.
Reward: A great way to show appreciation to your team members is little treats, that may seem small to you, but can help create a real sense of camaraderie and achievement. Whether it’s walking in with a box of donuts, a delivery of flowers (if they’re working from home) or pizzas for everyone if they are working late on a project, these things show that you’re paying attention to the work that they’re doing and that you know how much it matters to the business.
Supporting their mental health: With one in four adults experiencing mental ill-health each year, it is very likely that you will come across a colleague who is suffering from mental health issues. Knowing how to recognise that they are struggling and feeling confident about helping and supporting them is key; especially as taking early action can prevent problems escalating and help individuals to recover more quickly.
1850 are able to equip you with the skills to help you spot and support any mental health issues your employees might be facing. We are offering a Mental Health First Aid course (2 days) and Mental Health Aware courses – either half a day or one day.
