Keeping employees happy is often something we don’t know how to do. We’ve done everything right up until this point of course: you know who to hire, and you’ve got all of the terms of the contract worked out to make sure any prospective employee does their best work for you. You pay them a good wage, and you give them an official lunch break in the staff room. However, you know there’s still a lot of things you can do better…

Your employees are a big part of your business, and when it comes to making sure they stay a big part, you’re going to have to do a lot to make sure they’re happy. You don’t want to be having to constantly change the rota because people aren’t happy with their shifts or simply don’t want to work altogether (it’s a sign of a very bad boss!). Instead, work with your employees, listen to their needs, and keep them as happy as you can whilst they’re at work. Here’s a couple of tips on how.

They may not smile like this, but at least they’ll be content with their working environment!

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First of All, Set Boundaries

Just because you’re a fun and friendly boss doesn’t have to mean you’re a complete pushover! Being firm but fair is the main way to be a good boss, and that means you need to have boundaries between you and your employees from the beginning. It creates a much more healthy atmosphere to work in, and makes sure no one on either side pushes too far.

The first thing to do is to make sure the person you’ve hired on understands each and everyone of their responsibilities, and they don’t go beyond them. Not only is it unfair on them to take on more work than they get paid for, but it also means you lose an element of control over the work you’re producing.

Then focus on behavior, and what is and isn’t acceptable. Turning up late without a reason is a good example here; if someone can’t justify why they didn’t make it on time for shift, a warning can be given out. Of course you can have plenty of leeway here, but make sure it doesn’t go on and on because of no repercussions. If you’ve just hired someone on, you can monitor how they operate to see what is unacceptable, and what is just something they do to make ends meet by the end of the day.

Be Personal in Your Brand

Being personal means people are allowed to be individual, but still identifiable as someone who works for you. And a good way to do that is to give people plenty of breathing room when it comes to a uniform. You don’t have to have anything official on the cards, as you can just stipulate people have to wear a certain color scheme or something formal each day. People can do a lot with suits when it comes down to it, and that works well for allowing people to express who they are whilst they’re at work.

But if a pencil skirt and a blazer day in and out doesn’t feel enough for you, there are other ways you can make your brand stand out whilst not being intrusive. Use patches to show off your brand or your company name, as having one sewed into an employee’s sleeve or top of their shirt is a surefire away to come off as different to the other shops on your street. It also provides a sense of unity amongst the people who work for you, allowing you to better foster cohesion amongst your workforce. Everybody needs to get on with their colleagues after all, and even though it’s subtle, feeling like you’re part of something helps that.

Delegate Responsibility Out

If you can delegate tasks to employees, you show you’re invested in how well they’re doing, as well as showing you trust them with some of the most important core operations. It also allows your employees to grow in their management skills, which are some of the most useful out there. They can go onto bigger and better positions, either in your company or out of it, and changing someone’s life for the better is what business is all about.

If you allow for work opportunities within your business like this, people will be a lot less likely to go in search for work elsewhere. Ambition is something a lot of people have in the workforce and younger generations these days, and when you’re not catering towards it, you’re not going to have a very successful time of it!

Always Properly Thank Employees for Good Work

Your employees are the people who complete some of the most important tasks day in and out. Without them you wouldn’t have sales, you wouldn’t have a customer service element, and you wouldn’t have anybody to clean up once the day is over. And all those things add up to getting more and more customers. So make sure you congratulate them whenever they do something good, either off of their own initiative or for a job well done in general. You’ll easily show your appreciation here, and there’s a lot of ways you can go above and beyond in this manner.

Thank them with rewards or recognitions, whether it’s a standard employee of the month status or having a happy hour at the end of each business month. This way, you’re going to be able to let your employees have fun with the work they do, and a proper recognition of what they’ve achieved in their career. And that’s something much better than simply saying ‘thank you’ from time to time!

Do You Think Your Employees Are Happy?

Maybe they are, maybe something could be done better. And when it comes to finding out, the best you can do is ask. Also put plenty of measures in place to emphasise your workplace happiness.