How to Make Your Employees Feel Valued
One of the most important aspects of building a successful brand is the team behind it. And if you’re the one running the business, it’s up to you to lead that team. Making your employees feel valued is one of the key factors to growth and success within the company. When your team members feel valued, they will be happier and in turn be more productive and less likely to leave your company for another one. In addition to your employees feeling good about themselves and about you, your business will be more likely to thrive when it’s built on a foundation of a satisfied team. So here is a list of how to make your employees feel valued, as well as a list of what you should not do.
1. BRING THEM A COFFEE
This is a classic one. You don’t need to go over the top to show someone that you were thinking about them. Bring your team a coffee, some tea, or whatever their choice of drink is. A quick trip to Starbucks is all it takes.
2. TAKE THEM OUT TO LUNCH
My belief is that if you can’t afford to take your team out to an occasional lunch, you probably shouldn’t even have a team. Once again, this doesn’t need to be anything fancy or expensive. Just a nice lunch break somewhere where you can get away from the office for an hour.
3. ASK THEM FOR ADVICE, AND ACTUALLY LISTEN TO IT
If there is something that a team member specializes in, ask them for their input. Or if they have something to say to you, listen to what they say. However, don’t make the mistake of nodding during the conversation and then disregarding everything they said the minute they leave. If what they had to say was valid, take it into consideration.
4. CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS OR MILESTONES
Make a point out of it if it's someone’s birthday or anniversary. Here are a few things you can do for someone when they are having a special day:
Give them an extra day off
Give them a small gift (or a large one, if it’s appropriate)
Throw a small company party
5. ALLOW YOUR EMPLOYEES TO GIVE ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK
People like to feel like they are heard, so allow your employees to give you their honest opinions about how things are going. Create an anonymous questionnaire every six months or once a year and ask questions like:
Do you feel appreciated at this company?
What is the best part about working here?
Is there anything you don’t like?
What can I/the company improve on?
Don’t forget to actually act on the feedback you receive. If you don’t do anything about what they say, your employees will only feel worse for being ignored. This will create a more negative effect than if you had just not done this at all in the first place.
6. GIVE YOUR TEAM FEEDBACK
In addition to listening to your employees, make sure you give them feedback as well. People want to know how they are doing. Make sure to compliment your employees on their work and point out their strong points when you see them, but also bring up areas that need improvement if you ever see something that could be better. However, don’t make them feel bad when you share this, but say it in a way that makes it clear that you appreciate your team and want to help them get even better at what they do.
7. INVEST INTO YOUR OWN LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Investing in yourself is something that I always tell people they should do. After all, we’re all about PR here at Ace of Spades, and PR is all about investing in yourself. However, Investing into yourself isn’t just about your PR. It’s also about learning how to be a leader in the workplace. There’s a lot more that goes into it that you might not even realize until a coach helps you out. Finding someone that can help you become a better leader is something that will help you in other areas of your life as well, not just in the workplace.
HERE A FEW THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD AVOID
Making your employees feel valued is more than just actively doing something. There are also certain things that you should avoid, because yes, it’s possible to cause more harm than good if you do the wrong thing, or do things the wrong way.
1. BEING INAUTHENTIC OR ACTING FORCED
Acting like it’s a chore to grab an extra coffee in the morning, or giving your employees a boring gift card for their birthday without any other positive acknowledgment can actually make your team members feel really bad about themselves. If they feel like they are a burden to the business, they will only feel bad about themselves as well as you and the company. Feeling like you only got them a birthday gift because you had to is a great way to ruin someone’s day, self esteem, and productivity.
2. MICROMANAGING THEIR JOB
Your team members are there for a reason, and often it’s because they are in charge of doing something that you’re not good at so that you can focus on what you are good at. By micromanaging your employees, you risk limiting their potential, as well as making them feel like they can’t be trusted to do their job right. Don’t make your team feel like they are useless or that their expertise is not valued because you feel the need to control everything they do.
3. EXCESSIVE JOKING
Having the ability to relax and have fun around the office is great, but don’t take it to the extreme. Running a team requires you to stay professional and maintain respect in your employees eyes. By joking around excessively, you risk the environment becoming too relaxed and lowering productivity because of the casual atmosphere.
4. HOLDING MEETINGS THAT DON’T MATTER
It’s important to have meetings with your team, but requiring employees to attend meetings that are useless can actually make things worse. If the meeting does not regard a certain person, do not make them attend. Or if the meeting is only done because you feel like you have to do it, rethink your strategy and plan, and hold the meetings once you have things organized and ready to be productive. Don’t waste your own time or others' time on meetings that have no purpose.
5. GOSSIPING
Gossiping in general is not a good habit to have, but you need to take special care to avoid doing this around the workplace. It’s common knowledge that if your friend gossips to you about someone else, that friend is likely to be gossiping about you behind your back as well. If you gossip about other employees or even just other strangers that your team members don’t know about, your employees will lose their trust in you because there will always be this feeling in the back of their minds that you gossip about them when they aren’t listening. If you’re going to talk about someone behind their back, compliment them about why they are so amazing instead of tearing them down.
WHAT YOU DO IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT YOU DON’T DO
Running a team is an amazing experience, but there is a lot that goes into it, as it’s a position that requires a high level of responsibility. As a team leader, you even have the ability to control your employees emotions to a degree. If you treat them well, they will feel amazing. They will enjoy being around you and working at your company. Feeling appreciated at work will help your team feel happy and fulfilled, and they will return home satisfied and ready for the next day. However, you also have the ability to make your employees hate their job and dread waking up every morning. Being someone's boss is something that needs to be taken seriously because you’re working with actual people, people who matter. Take this responsibility seriously, and your team will love you for it.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHO YOU ARE
The person you come across as is largely influenced by your public image. However, your public image should be a reflection of who you are on a personal level. Pretending to be someone you’re not on the outside is unfortunately a sign that you’re a liar, which is something that your team will recognize. If you need help, guidance, or simply want someone that will help you share who you are and what your story is in an authentic and real way, book a free call here to speak with me and we can get you started on your custom PR journey.
