If you’ve ever had a job, you know how important it is to feel valued. Let’s be honest; no one wants to feel underappreciated at a place they spend so much of their time.
As an employer, it’s your responsibility to manage your staff. Not only should you keep track of their progress, but you should make sure they’re happy. In this article, we discuss five ways you can make your employees feel valued and the tools that can help:
1 Pay Your Employees on Time (or Even Early)
Whether you work for a big or small business, paying your employees on time is crucial. Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily a snap.
Some tiny businesses and startups don’t have a payroll system set up for their workers. Instead of automating payroll, they have to cut checks or make direct deposits manually.
Not only is this time-consuming for the individual in charge, but it can drastically slow down the process for employees. For one thing, manual processes open the door to errors that can keep employees from getting paid the right amount promptly.
To streamline the payment process, consider using an automated payroll system that does the work for you. For example, Gusto is a payroll software for small businesses that handle payroll in just a few clicks. It even takes on the role of HR manager by handling payroll taxes and answering employee questions.
An added benefit of the system is Gusto Cashout. With this feature, employees can get an advance on their paycheck should a financial need arise between paydays. It’s one meaningful way you can let team members know you have their back.
2 Show Your Employees Appreciation
According to research, the more employees feel valued; the more productive they are at work. Showing appreciation doesn’t have to mean throwing your employees a party every time they reach a goal. It could mean something as simple as sending well-performing employees a handwritten thank-you note or a gift card to their favorite retailer.
WeGift is an incentive marketing platform that partners with brands and lets companies distribute e-gift cards from those brands. With this tool, you can send your employees a gift card to Amazon, Nike, and other popular retailers.
Showing appreciation to your employees for all they do is a great way to create a positive company culture. The happier employees are at work, the better they’ll perform, and the more likely they stay with the company long-term. Not only does this benefit the employee, but it also benefits your company.
3 Enable Your Employees to Grow
Chances are, your employees don’t want to stay at the same level forever. They want to grow in their career, increase their salaries, and learn everything they can. So make sure your company offers growth opportunities.
There are several ways to help employees improve their performance. One way is by providing tailored training opportunities. Luckily, that doesn’t have to be difficult if you integrate the right tool.
Absorb LMS, for example, is a learning platform that lets employees search for and access in-person or virtual instructor-led courses. You offer the educational content that’s most suited to your business, and users can search for the systems that provide the training they need. Absorb’s mobile app means team members can also learn where and when it makes the most sense for them.
As an employer, you benefit from a better-trained staff. And your team members know you value their professional development.
4 Ensures Organizational Transparency
Transparency is key to running a successful business. When goals are clear, and responsibilities are defined, everyone can pull in the same direction. When a team is hazy on what needs doing and who’s supposed to do it, balls get dropped. Instead of waiting for that to happen and dealing with the fallout, get ahead by maintaining transparency.
Enlist technology to ensure all your employees know what’s going on within the company and different teams. A project management tool can help keep team members informed and up-to-date. For example, Asana lets users create tasks, assign them, and track the progress of those tasks in real-time. With Asana, employees can see exactly what everyone is working on — even if they aren’t directly involved.
One key benefit of project management software like Asana is that it helps leaders manage employee capacity. When task assignments are visible to all, it’s easy to see an overburdened team member and take steps to relieve. Employees feel valued when they know that the workload is being fairly shared.
5 Observe Personal Milestones
It would help if you didn’t pry into your employees’ personal lives, of course, but you do want to make them feel seen and supported. While you’re in charge of these people, you don’t want to appear unapproachable or cold. So engage your workers on a personal level when appropriate. To do so, consider using Google Calendar to keep track of employees’ birthdays, time off, and other important milestones.
For example, you can send an employee a happy birthday message and a small gift on their special day. If an employee is about to take PTO (which you should encourage), send them home an hour early to finish their packing. When an employee gets married or has a child, offer your hearty congratulations and deliver something from their registry. Knowing their lives matter to you outside of business hours will make employees feel appreciated for themselves.
Do you want your company to be successful? Make sure your employees feel valued. With these five tips, showing your appreciation for your team members couldn’t be easier.
