4 Ways to Inspire Your Workers to be Healthier

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | 4 Ways to Inspire Your Workers to be HealthierWhen you are in a leadership position at your place of work, one of your priorities is to keep your employees engaged and happy with their employment situation. One way in which you can accomplish this goal is to encourage your employees to be healthier in their everyday lives. By promoting a healthier environment for your workers, you can bring about a more positive workplace for everyone.

If you are looking for ways to encourage your workers to be healthier, here are four things that you can promote at your office.

1. The Cycle to Work Scheme

There are many benefits to getting routine exercise on a daily basis. That being said, most people don’t feel as though they have the time to get the recommended amount of exercise every day. One solution is to encourage your workers to take advantage of the ride a bike to work scheme. Cycle Solutions has all the information you need to get your workers started on the scheme.

Not only can anyone who takes part in the scheme get plenty of exercise on a regular basis, but those who choose to cycle to work can also enjoy some financial benefits as well. You can set up the scheme for your workers with ease so that they can get cycling right away.

2. Bring in Healthier Snack Options

One thing that many people find challenging about staying healthy while at the office is the temptation of unhealthy snacks. Most offices have standard snack options like snack cakes and chips in vending machines as well as sodas and sugary beverages. These items can make it difficult for your workers to stay under the recommended daily calorie intake.

Instead of keeping your snack options on the unhealthy side, make a switch to healthier, more wholesome choices for your workers. You can swap out your current vending machines for ones that dispense fruit as well as healthier drink options.

3. Get Everyone on Board

The key to successfully altering the atmosphere at your company to one that is healthier for all is to get everyone on board with the changes. Make sure to check in with your workers about the changes they think would make a positive difference. By encouraging everyone to get involved and voice the changes they think would be the most effective, you can set your workers up for the best chances of success. Moreover, creating an environment where everyone encourages one another will help to bring about a more positive work setting across the board.

4. Don’t Neglect Mental Health

While it is incredibly important to help your employees to be physically healthier, you should also ensure that your workers know that mental health is just as important. You might very well have individuals working for you who are struggling with mental health issues without you knowing it. Those workers need to know that they are in a safe environment and that there are resources available to them when things like anxiety or depression begin to set in.

6 Ways to Increase Your Team’s Productivity

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | 6 Ways to Increase Your Team’s ProductivityLeading a team isn’t simple, no matter the size. Whether you’re in charge of a team of five or a team of 500, there are obstacles you must overcome. Your goal is efficient, hard-working staff that boost the business’ quality and increase profits. To do this, you must be a leader who promotes productivity, and here are six ways you can do that.

1. Communicate Effectively 

A crucial part of leadership is having excellent communication skills. Without them, you run the risk of miscommunication that will lead to errors, frustration, and loss of morale. Provide your staff with constructive feedback, a clearly defined task list, and have an open-door policy. This way, your team will know they can rely on you to be honest and give help where it is needed, which will boost productivity.

2. A Comfortable Environment

Assuming that you and your team work the standard 40-hour week, you are spending a third of your time in the workplace. By creating a bright, comfortable environment, you will cultivate a productive team that enjoys being at work. Add plants, install wide windows, and have an area where your team can hang out and discuss. You could even provide auto sliding doors that use sensors to open, providing your workplace with a brightened, automatic entrance.

3. Give Praise 

Acknowledging a job well done will boost a worker’s productivity. If your team is constantly hearing about where they’ve made errors, they will begin doubting themselves and it will show up in their work. By providing positive feedback, they will feel valued and have pride in their work, and they will carry on doing a great job.

4. Use Incentives 

People work best when they have a goal and a reward. Provide that reward by bringing incentives into the workplace, and you will see a definite uptick in hard work. In study findings written by Harold Stolovich, they found that incentive programs engaged participants, attracted quality employees, and that the employees valued the incentive programs. Some rewards you could employ include lunches out, coupons, and bonuses.

5. Understand Their Strengths

Each team member is an individual with their own strengths and weaknesses. You cannot expect one employee to work in the exact same way as another, so get to know your team and their strengths so that you can take advantage of them. It will benefit both you and the employees, as you get their best work while they are able to enjoy hitting their goals easily.

6. Leave Them to Their Work

Micro-managing results in a quick descent into unhappy employees. You hired them for a reason, so you should trust that they have the business’ best interest at heart and will do a fantastic job each day. Have confidence in your team by showing them freedom in their work and they will show you their appreciation through productivity. Their sense of responsibility will let them shine while allowing you to focus on other areas of the business.

4 Business Tips Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know to Survive During and Post COVID-19

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Survive During Covid|4 Business Tips Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know to Survive During and Post COVID-19Regardless of what kind of business you operate, there are very few industries that haven’t been affected by COVID-19. Since the start of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the UK and beyond, resulting in over one million deaths across the world (and counting). For entrepreneurs, running and operating a healthy business can be challenging during these unprecedented times. So, to keep your operation afloat, here are some useful tips on how to survive the pandemic and keep revenue up.

Encourage Remote Working

If you’re able to do so, you should encourage your team to work remotely. If you operate in an office, many employees will have concerns and fears about being in close proximity to others. The last thing you want is for your team to fall ill with the virus and have to isolate. So, you should encourage working remotely, meaning your staff can operate from their homes which will reduce the risk of them contracting COVID-19.

Keep in Touch with Employees and Customers

No matter what kind of business you run, regularly communicating with your employees and customers is key to success. If you have had to shut your physical premises for the time being and your team are working remotely, you need to head online and use video conferencing software like Skype or Zoom to hold meetings and training. Your customers may feel out of the loop during these strange times, so make sure you have social media business pages that can be used to keep your audience in the know.

Coronavirus-Proof Your Premises

If your business has been allowed to reopen, you need to take precautionary action to keep staff and customers safe. You can use screens to reduce the spread of covid which can be useful in all kinds of environments, including offices, restaurants, and retail stores. As well as covid screens you can use queue barriers and face masks which are key measures that you can use to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Encourage Hand Washing

If you employ others in your business and they’re back at work, you must encourage hand washing. While we should all wash our hands regularly with soap and water, you will be surprised at how many people forget to do so. In the unprecedented times we are currently living in, it’s more important than ever to wash your hands. There are hand sanitiser stations that can be installed in your business which will serve as a constant reminder for employees to clean their hands.

Whether you hire office space, run your own restaurant, or operate a retail store, your employees and customers are at the heart of your company. To keep your business thriving and on track, all the tips above will ensure you have all bases covered, helping to boost morale, productivity and ensure staff and customers are kept safe and protected during and post COVID-19.

Have You Strategised How Productive Your Business Is? Time To Focus

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Productive Business|Have You Strategised How Productive Your Business Is? Time To FocusWhen you start a business, no one can really prepare you for the steps that you may need to take. It can consume you in those early days, and you may put all of your efforts into it. But as your business progresses you find that you spin too many plates and are not able to focus on the priorities. This is when you need to strategize to ensure that your business is more productive. So here are some of the things to consider.

Placing a value on your time

One of the first things to think about would be placing a value on your time more effectively. The issue that so many business owners and entrepreneurs have is that they tend to want to do everything themselves, but as their business progresses and thrives, there simply isn’t enough hours in the day. This is when outsourcing certain aspects of your business can help you get more out of it. You might also want to think about things such as Information management services to help with IT things and such. Placing a value on your time enables you to focus on the areas of the business where you can make the most difference.

Is your business productive when it comes to marketing?

The next thing to think about would be whether or not you think that your business is productive when it comes to marketing opportunities. Often it is more to do with analyzing things like social media platforms and working out the times in which to post and also what platform gets the most engagement and reach for you. The mainstream platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter would be beneficial if you came up with a strategy to remain consistent to beat the algorithm.

Happy employees means productive staff

As businesses progresses, you get to the point where you need to have staff and employees. The issue is that you then become responsibility for their productivity. This is when happy employees make productive staff. Think about the working environment and the atmosphere, make sure that you look at how you communicate with your staff members and keep things professional while ensuring that you do all you can to get the best out of the people that work for you.

Making use of technology and shortcuts

The next thing you might want to think about would be the use of technology and shortcuts that are available to you. Customer relationship management systems to stay in touch with clients and customers, scheduling tools so that you can always be present online.

Gap in the market and jumping on the opportunities

Finally it is always going to be worth keeping an eye on the business trends and ensuring that you spot the gaps in the market. Jumping at these opportunities makes you productive as a business owner, as you seek out the next step to take to make your business the success you dreamed it would become.

Let’s hope these tips help you when it comes to being productive in your business.

When Is The Right Time To Hire Your First Employee?

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Hiring Employees|When Is The Right Time To Hire Your First Employee?Although it’s entirely possible to run your business by yourself for as long as you want to – maybe even forever – that’s not what every business and every business owner needs. In fact, for some businesses, not taking on staff can be detrimental and reduce growth, or even cause the business to stagnate.

Knowing when it’s the right time to hire your first employee, however, can be difficult to determine, especially if you are nervous about doing so. Move too soon, and you won’t be able to afford it, wait too long, and you’ll have missed too many opportunities. Read on to get a better idea of when to start the hiring process.

You’ll Make More Money

It is an expensive time when you hire someone. Not only will you be taking time away from the business to read through resumes and interview candidates, but you’ll suddenly need to be paying someone a regular amount of money each week or month. If you are unable to do that, your employees won’t stay around, and they might even take the matter further and sue you for their money. Plus you’ll need to pay taxes, insurance, and maybe contribute to pensions schemes.

You will need to add this all up and determine whether or not you can afford to take someone on. You will also need to work out how much additional revenue you can bring in by hiring someone. It might be that they can pay for themselves and then some. You should wait until you are financially stable, however, as it is a gamble that might not pay off.

You Can Do It Right

When we say do it right, we don’t mean all the admin and other exercises that need to be done when you hire someone. You can outsource much of this and TriNet’s payroll services can take on what you cannot such as managing your payroll for you or simplifying your taxes.

What we mean is that you need to be able to find the right person for your business, and, when they are hired, you need to be able to ensure that they are looked after. Getting these aspects right will help you immensely. You’ll have someone you can trust who, because they feel happy and satisfied in their work, will be loyal. Loyal employees are wonderful as they will mean you don’t have to start all over again and spend more money looking for other workers.

You Need Something Specific

As noted above, outsourcing can be a wonderful way to ensure that work is done accurately and professionally. You can do this with many aspects of your business, and it will mean that anything specific that needs to be done and requires a certain skill set can be completed.

In time, however, you may find that it would be easier to hire someone to do the work in-house. Some business owners prefer to have someone working just for them, and if this is the case and you no longer want to outsource yet can’t do the work yourself, it could be time to hire your first employee.