Businesses need to do more to support their employees. Not just in the financial sense but in all aspects of their working and personal lives. Most people have a life outside of business and it’s important to be respectful of that. Just because a business leader is working night and day on their business, doesn’t mean the rest of the employees should be following suit.

Everyone has their own lives to lead, their own capacity for workloads, and their own work-life balance boundaries that they want to keep in place. With that being said, finding ways to support your staff will help strengthen retention rates and avoid talented staff from walking out the doors of the business for greener pastures.

Here are some helpful tips that will help your business support your workforce and ultimately provide a more productive and happier working environment as a result.

Be sure to check in with weekly meetings

Weekly meetings are an absolute must-do as a manager or supervisor. It’s important that all managers or supervisors within the business have an organized schedule whereby they discuss work-related problems or challenges that the employee is facing. 

It can be a brief check-in if there’s nothing really that needs discussing but it needs to happen regardless. There can often be some serious underlying problems that aren’t immediately apparent and these 1-2-1 meetings can be helpful to have.

Set aside some time and provide managers with the tools they need to manage their time and support their fellow peers with these regular meetings. Make sure to keep a document of each meeting so that both the manager and the employee can have ongoing evidence of these meetings taking place and what’s being said.

Show your appreciation with employee perks

Employee perks are a great way to keep employees on the side but to also keep them in the company. There are many employees that will walk because they feel undervalued and appreciated within their role and within the workplace.

Showing your appreciation for your employees can come in many ways without even having to part with your cash. As a business, showing appreciation through announcements in company newsletters and rewarding employees with a variety of perks can do wonders for staff morale. 

Try to show your appreciation as often as possible. There’s no excuse not to, even for those businesses that have limited funds and resources. There are always ways to show your appreciation for staff without needing to get out the company card.

Look after their well-being with a day or afternoon off here and there

Your employee’s well-being is something that needs monitoring because everyone has vulnerabilities that can impact their mental and physical health. As an employer, it’s important to show your support beyond just them working for the business. Any impact on well-being employees, after all, is going to have a direct effect on the company’s productivity and success.

We all experience burnout and we all have a habit of procrastinating or needing a day off. As a business, you could always look at offering some additional perks on occasion when an employee needs them for their well-being.

This could be a day off to reset or an afternoon off every so often or during certain periods of the year when it’s often quieter.

Be efficient in offering employee training

Employee training is a critical part of employee and business development. While it’s helpful for the business to garner skillsets, knowledge, and experience, the value of employee training isn’t lost on the employees who’re offered it.

Be efficient with offering employee training and making sure that everyone gets ample and equal opportunities for the training they desire and what could help them in their own roles.

More businesses need to be offering training within the business, rather than simply hiring another staff member. Often enough, more money and financial responsibility can be avoided being spent or taken on if training is offered regularly.

Speak to your employees and understand what staff training opportunities are missing or might be preferred by those who are being offered the chance to learn more.

Offer the flexibility of hybrid working

A lot has changed since the pandemic and that includes the increase in hybrid working. Many more businesses are choosing to balance business between office work and at-home/remote working. 

There are also businesses that decided to go fully remote or new businesses have popped up with remote working solely on the cards. With the digital age and the internet being so important, remote working is here to stay – whether you like it or not.

With that being said, many employees are now expecting this within their workplace and in a business, they move onto. As it’s more common to do remote working or have hybrid workplaces, it’s useful to adapt to this where possible.

Of course, there are workplaces that can’t physically do remote work but if it’s something you can offer, why not? Flexibility for your staff is appreciated, especially when there are some things at home that require the employee to be in.

Be present as a leader or manager

As a leader or manager, being present both online and offline is important. Regardless of the working setup, the leader or manager being absent can have a real impact on productivity. Not only that but staff can often feel neglected when it comes to a lack of superiority in the workplace.

It’s not just about the management you give to your employees but showing up to work when everyone else does. Of course, we all need our time away and days off, but for the most part, purposefully distancing oneself away from the people you’re managing is never a good idea.

Checking in and being present are two core qualities of a leader that will bring plenty of positive change to the workplace. 

Create a positive and non-toxic environment

As a leader, you want to create a great environment that every staff member enjoys coming into. There’s nothing worse than feeling like the work environment you’re in, is highly toxic and uncomfortable.

Positivity is the key and if that workspace doesn’t exist currently, then there’s a lot that needs to change to get it there. Think about why that might not be the case. Is there a workplace bully? A clique that needs addressing or does it further? Is it a company dynamic that needs drastic change?

Creating a positive working environment is important, so change is key.

Find opportunities for career progression and growth

Career progression and growth within a role are different from one person to the next. Some people want to achieve more career progression than others. Some are simply happy in the role they are in from the moment they’re in it, to the moment they retire.

However, for any employee that’s willing to grow and climb that ladder, as an employer, it’s good to find opportunities for them where possible. Not every business will have a role for an employee to work toward but there are certainly learning opportunities that businesses can provide for their staff in more ways than one.

Involve them in business decisions where applicable

To help improve the relationship between the business leaders of the company and the employees, try to get them involved with any decisions that need to be made – where applicable. As a business, having the input of your staff is often a good thing and something that’s well worth doing.

As employees, they spend a lot of time in the business and therefore they may be able to offer input that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to give. It can be an insight that benefits the business and would have otherwise been missed perhaps.

Spot the signs of a burnout 

Burnouts can happen a lot and especially when the employee is overworked and not taking a proper break from the stresses of life itself. It can be a combination of both work and personal life, burning the candle at both ends – something has to give.

A burnout is easy to spot and it’s something to be mindful of when running a business. You don’t want your staff burning out on the job. In some cases, it can be dangerous and in other cases, it can leave a bad impression on any clients or customers that see or experience it.

Know when a burnout is happening and make the right decisions to help the employee. That could be giving them a day off or lightening the workload they currently have.

Offer a great benefits and rewards package

As a business, offering a great benefits and rewards package is crucial. With that in mind, take a look at what you currently offer your staff members. If there’s a way of improving your current benefits or rewards, do it.

Supporting your employees is something that is easy enough to do, so as a business, it’s time to take control and give your employees the support they need this year.