Whether you’re an entrepreneur just getting started with an exciting new business venture, or you’re the owner of an already-established small business, it's important you’re constantly mindful of ways to get the most out of your staff. In order to keep things ticking along, managing the level of wellbeing in your business is essential.
When all is said and done, it’s virtually impossible to overstate the importance of the “human capital” in any business. If you, as an entrepreneur, aren’t emotionally sustained and fulfilled by the work you do, or if your staff are chronically resentful or discouraged, it's unlikely the business has an exciting future.
If, on the other hand, you can keep morale and well being high for both yourself and anyone who works for you, the prospects become a lot brighter.
Here are a few tips for maintaining wellbeing in your business:
Be prepared for the worst
Workplace accidents rank pretty highly on the list of things that can diminish morale. Even worse, though, is when accident hasn’t been planned and accounted for, and when there are not sufficient solutions and tools in place to deal with it.
Not only is this negligence likely to land you in serious legal trouble, but it also sends a very clear message to anyone and everyone involved that you don’t really have things well put together, and that the business is not a safe, organised, or conscientious environment.
If you run a workshop or facility where chemical spills, for example, might be an issue — keep a spill kit handy. If you run a business that involves corrosive substances generally, issue appropriate PPC and keep first aid kits accessible. Know your responsibilities by heading to a government website such as WorkSafe.
Plan ahead, and avoid accidents on your watch.
Encourage creativity
In any business which involves a strong creative component — whether that means coming up with slick marketing campaigns, or innovating new flavour combinations in food products — encouraging your employees to participate openly and creatively is going to do a lot of good for morale and wellbeing.
Understand that acceptance and encouragement of creative expression allows people to put more of their “souls” into their work. This, in turn, makes the work that much more meaningful and fulfilling.
Design thinking is an incredible method of problem solving that is human centric and encourages creativity.
Strike the right balance between targets and freedom
Every business needs to have a certain degree of structure in place in order for it to thrive. You need, for example, to ensure that there are clear targets to aim for and achieve, and systems in place for tracking metrics to ensure that those targets are being achieved — or at least, effectively pursued.
That being said, however, it's equally important for you to recognise the value of freedom in your business — both your own and that of your staff.
Allowing for remote working, or, as Google famously did in the past, having your employees spend 20% of their time working on projects of their own initiative, can do a world of good for boosting well being and encouraging balance.
