In order for a business to succeed, it has to be people-focused. This means focusing on your customers and understanding them as people first and customers second. It also means focusing on your employees and understanding them as people first and employees second.
Unfortunately, most workplaces are set up in a hierarchical way which might make it hard for an employer to connect with employees. Still, it’s a good idea to develop open channels of communication in your business as far as possible. Here are some tips:
Take the Time
You may not always be able to make casual chit-chat with employees. But it does help when you take the time to ask them how they’re doing or at least include one question or comment which is more of a personal nature in your conversations. Ask them about their health, their spouses, their interests—whatever comes to mind. Most people like this because it makes them feel like you’re treating them as human beings and not just machines.
In the long run, being in touch with your employees as human beings will help create greater employee loyalty. Just as you’re being considerate of their needs, they’ll also be considerate of yours and put in their 100% when it comes to working for you.
Most people are like elephants—they remember when they’re being shown kindness and when they’re being taken advantage of. So it’s always a good idea to do the former, in order to run a successful business if nothing else.
Doing Little Things
Let’s say you’ve started a business and you’d love to give your employees health and dental benefits. But it’s just not possible, given the state of your finances right now. Or maybe you’d love to give them all raises, if they’ve been working for you for some time. But once again, it might just not be possible for you. What do you do?
The truth is that although people will appreciate it when you do big things for them, they’ll also appreciate it when you do the little things. Get them a welcome mug when they join the firm. Throw them a little birthday party in the break room, with a cake and a few streamers. Take your team out to lunch when you land a big client.
People love bonding. They love feeling that others appreciate them. And sometimes, the little things help to convince them of this more than the bigger things.