by Sharon Jones

Working hard on your business and bringing it from nothing and turning it into something has been your vision and life, I’m sure of it. To get to the stage where you have employees of your own to think of is a success worth celebrating. It may be difficult to even begin the recruitment process, but once you are done with that the world is your oyster, right? You can get everything right on paper, the salary, the location, asking the right questions during the interview stage, but keeping them can be tricky if you don’t put in some level of effort. I wanted to share with you some of the ways you can bring out the best in your employees, which will ultimately mean a happy workforce aiming for a lower rate of staff turnover. Which is a win-win situation, if you ask me.

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Incentives for increased sales or work ethic

Everyone loves an incentive, especially when it is in some form of a sales environment. So why not consider regular incentives for your business and your employees. This could be something you on a particular day, a weekly thing, or simply a personal incentive derived for each team member. It could be lunch paid for, a works night out, cash incentive or spot prizes. Rewards come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes even the reward or recognition goes a long way with your employees. This might mean considering that old fashioned concept of employee of the month. But it can be a huge motivator for staff to work hard and feel appreciated in their job role. Under-appreciation and lack of recognition are some of the top reasons employees leave companies.

Training and skills on a different level

Of course you off in-house training on products and systems. Most companies do that, but how can you differentiate yourself from the norm while still thinking about bringing out the best in your employees? You could consider supporting other training needs or enable staff to learn different skills within the business environment. There may also be a language barrier between staff and overseas counterparts or contacts, which could mean that they feel alienated in their job. Using services from companies like International Language Services could help ease the strain.  This could work exceptionally well if you find yourself branching out into international waters and wanting to recruit staff in different countries. Other options could be skills in sales or marketing, financial aspects or anything that perhaps doesn’t remotely have anything to do with their job role, but could substantially help the business in the future.

Regular communication

Finally, regular communication between you and your team members will enable you to highlight areas that need work or encouragement. Everyone likes to have feedback and want to improve in some way, especially if they enjoy their job. So why not encourage that by having regular one to one chats and working together on action plans for your team to succeed. This helps them, but it also helps your business thrive.

I hope that this has encouraged you to bring out the best in your employees.