When you have a team that cares about what they do and how the company can grow, the benefits are clear and obvious. Issues can be identified more seamlessly, collaboration is easier to streamline, and goals can be met more effectively. The challenge is making sure that you can build a company culture where every employee cares about their role, with the result being that they work harder and more productively. So just how do you tackle the challenge of ensuring that you are building a team that cares about what you do? The good news is that there are some tried and tested ways to hire, develop, and nurture those employees so that those that care about their work have a space where they know they are prioritized.
Appreciate Work Efforts
One of the best ways to ensure that your employees will care more about their work is to make sure that they know how much their efforts are appreciated. There are multiple ways to do this, and you don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to achieve that symbiotic appreciation of effort. One of the most useful strategies is to highlight their achievements publicly. This can be done in-house, which is always a good option, but far more beneficial is to publicly praise them. Social media is a great platform when it comes to employee appreciation for a variety of reasons. The first is the obvious fact that those employees will know that you are proud of their achievements, and they too will gain a new level of pride in their work. However, it’s also a useful brand storytelling strategy, which is great for building brand loyalty.
Reward Key Employees
This is another level of appreciation that has a more tangible effect on productivity. Rewarding your most productive employees can be very useful for improving loyalty while also fostering healthy levels of competition. There is a wide range of rewards that you can choose from too. Consider:
- Paid time off
- Gifts
- Travel costs being paid
- One to one meetings with managers and business owners
You’ll find that by rewarding employees, you will encourage them to take more enjoyment from the work that they do, especially if rewards are given out regularly.
Give Them The Right Tools
One of the fastest ways to stop an employee from caring about their work is to make their workload harder than it needs to be. Frustrating work processes quickly lead to resentment, and the urge to simply get through to the end of the day will become the norm. Everyone has had workplaces where workflow is stilted, and the main problem is often a lack of access to the right tools and resources. Listen to what your team members say that they need. If your HR department is lacking an effective core HR solution, then start taking steps to integrate one. If your accounts team is still manually entering data, then look at automation tools that will free up their days and allow them to work on more productive, profitable, and enjoyable tasks.
Leaders That Care
If your bosses don’t care about the business, then employees will quickly adopt the same attitude. This can be very challenging. The key is to look beyond a resume so that the result is that you hire leaders, not bosses. A boss will sit in their office and only peer out when there’s a problem. A leader will roll their sleeves up and get involved in the workload and will actively encourage employees with enthusiasm. As well as the experience that they have listed on their resumes, also look for those applicants that can showcase their:
- Empathy and compassion
- Confidence
- Dependability
- Commitment
- Proactive approach to problems
- Attention to detail
- Patience
If your leaders don’t care, neither will your employees, so your HR team needs to know exactly what to look for when it comes to recruitment time.
Personal Referrals
One of the most tried and tested ways to hire employees who will care about their work is to listen to referrals from your existing employees. The people that work with you already will know what your workplace is like, and if they’re suggesting a friend or family member, then they must have a good idea that that referral will fit into the culture you have built. A personal recruitment strategy is also useful because both the referral and the person that recommends them will be more invested in the success of the business. That can lead to further referrals and more employees who will be motivated and invested in the business.
Listen to Complaints
If a team member has a problem with the workplace, and there is nobody to listen to or tackle that problem, then dissatisfaction will be quick to settle in. Having a leader who will not only listen to problems but also proactively take steps to address them will make employees feel more valued and that their opinion carries weight in the organization. Those members of the team that see their problems resolved will then work to show that it was the problem that was affecting productivity. Again, praise those employees that highlight potential issues, and you’ll be growing a brand that has a growing number of employees that care about the future of the business.
Have Goals
If your team members know what your business goals are, then they will have something to aim for. It’s a well-known and much-researched area of study that setting goals is a huge motivator. If those goals are achievable, then your employees will work harder to make sure that those goals are met. When they are, celebrations that include all of the most productive team members will only make it more likely that the next set of goals will also be aimed for. Of course, impossible goals are a demotivator. Make sure that your business and departmental goals are realistic at all times.
Finding an employee that cares about their work is like finding free money. They’re a resource that every business should be doing everything in their power to attract. Take the time to build a team that cares about their work and your business, and your chances of rapid growth will be far more likely.
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