It doesn’t matter what you’re building or starting. It could be a coffee shop in the middle of town or a bookstore in the middle of the country, it’s important to know that you can’t hope to make a success of any business or startup if the staff you hire to help you isn’t happy. CEO’s around the world realize that it’s the employees that make the company. If you are a leading a start-up, no matter what type of business it is, there are ways to keep your employees happy in their job, which in turn makes them more productive and helps to build your business as well. With that in mind, read on below for a few of the ways startup leaders can keep their employees happy and productive.
Water Cooler or Coffee Machine – It’s All Part of Team Building
Your team is the most valuable asset that will help ramp up your start-up and here comes your job as a leader to invest time and money on team-building efforts. As you and your team work long hours, they’ll need the basics like snacks and coffee to get up and running through the day and evenings. Long hours and little sleep are par for the course for you and your employees in those first months. Your employees will be happy and more productive if they don’t have to send someone on a coffee run constantly throughout the day. Instead, install a quality office coffee machine so that employees can get their caffeine fix when they need it. You have the responsibility of being like a parent taking care of your child’s needs and wants. And don’t forget to throw in regular lunches now and then. These are not just perks, it becomes part of a healthy work culture where teams can bond over such social gatherings and feel part of your start-up family.
Never underestimate the importance of such small perks, in the long run that’s how your team will build stronger bonds and strengthen your start-up.
The Ability to Work Remotely
Working from home a few days a week is becoming more and more popular as the internet takes hold and the possibilities to work remotely become nearly endless. If you give your employees the ability to work remotely for even a couple of days a week or when the kids are sick, you will have much happier and much more productive employees in the grand scheme of things.
Be Generous on the Vacation Policy
There are quite a few companies, usually small than large, which are offering generous vacations to their employees. In addition to letting your employees take off for weeks make sure they are taking off on a regular basis. After all, these people are working hard to help grow your business. They deserve a break. And continuous grueling long hours for weeks together could only harm your company’s productivity in the long run. To make your loyal and hard-working employees stay long, give them the freedom to take off, to unwind, relax or just be with family. It matters, a lot.
Relax that Dress Code
Dress codes are getting nixed or at least relaxed in many places. This isn’t to say that you should let your employees come to work wearing whatever they want, there are some things that every business shouldn’t allow. However, it is a good idea to shy away from the uniforms that are now a thing of the past. Let your employees be individuals and dress like themselves.
Work Together Instead of Assigning
While everyone knows you have to assign projects and tasks to get them done, collaborating works well too. Every individual is different. Some work better alone, others work well with others, and some even enjoy a challenge. Let your team players decide what works for them instead of assigning them what you think they should do. Working together is the best way to grow a business and have happy employees at the same time.
These are just a few tips for keeping your employees happy and productive during your startup. Starting a new business is hard and takes long hours. Keeping your employees happy is the first step on the path to success in your business.
On the aesthetics of the office space, you can get some tips here: A greener office space