Becoming a business owner may not have been an easy ride for you. It often starts with an idea, and idea that takes control and it sometimes is something that you can’t shift and move on until you implement some action towards it. You may start your business in your spare time, it may be ran from home with just you at the helm for a while before it moves forward, but taking that leap of faith to go from employed to business owner and working for yourself can be quite scary and liberating all at the same time.

However, once you get to the stage where you business has been thriving for sometime you may look at ways of expansion. It might involve hiring people, it might be looking at outsourcing, expansion in the products or services you provide or moving premises. Many business owners recruit people to take on roles within their business once they get to a certain point in success, however, this means that you have responsibility of others as well as yourself. You may find that your employees become the very foundation of your business, and so it is important to make them feel like valued members of your team. But how can you do that? I wanted to share with you some of the ways that you can do it.

Think About Their Working Environment

First of all, one of the biggest factors to consider would be the working environment and how that is for them. It is simple things really, but they can make the biggest difference to staff morale and motivation. To start with, think about the office or place that they work. Is it warm enough in the winter? Is it cool enough in the summer? A comfortable environment to work in makes a big difference. Also things like a place to make a drink, having water accessible, a fridge to keep food cool or a microwave or kitchen facility to warm things up. These are simple things, but if the environment is a happy place to be then you can be sure to have happy employees.

Make Sure You Take Health and Safety Seriously

You also need to take the time to think and consider the business environment from a health and safety aspect., Having regular risk assessments and putting together a health and safety guide ensures that staff feel valued and cared for. It helps to manage expectations as well as keep people safe and secure while in your workplace.

Consider Team Building Sessions

You may start off with one employee, but that can certainly escalate over time to then see you managing a whole team of people functioning in different ways to help move your business forward. A team is going to be filled with different personalities and people, and so you want to ensure that they all get on. This is when team building sessions or days can really have a positive effect on this. Whether you book something like an escape room which has a team of people working together to help solidify relationships, or whether you choose or organise days or nights out to help people bond, it can really help merge a team together.

Have Regular Incentives to Keep Motivation Levels High

It is hard to manage expectations of people, and often, a business requires people to perform and reach targets. But, in some classes these might not be met. It doesn’t mean that it is impossible to do it, it just means that you might need to incentivise staff to keep motivation levels high. In the end, it benefits you and your business so this can be a worthwhile option to consider. For example, you may want to think about putting on spot prizes or extra cash incentives if certain targets are met.

Be Approachable as a Boss

It is not easy being the boss, but when you have people working for you it is so important for you to be approachable. They need to be able to speak to you, communicate their ideas without fear or worry about how you might react. Everyone has bad days, but when managing a team of people they can’t really see that. There will always be chances to brush up on your people and management skills, and so you could look at ways that you can be more approachable, and a great way to start is to talk to your employees more often.

Take Time to Get to Know the Employees and a Bit About Them

A great tip is to take the time to get to know the people who are working for you. It might be simple things like what they want to be called such as a shortened version of their name, or a name they use daily. Maybe it is their family situation, are they married? Do they have children? It could even be things like their career aspirations or what they like to do in their spare time. Whether you follow the same sports teams. It helps to build up a rapport which in turn helps you to be approachable as a manager.

Regular Communication Will Help Build up Confidence

Communication is such an important aspect of business. You might do it everyday when it comes to securing business and contracts into your firm, but it is also good to have regular communication in terms of performance with your employees. Appraisals and regular meetings reviewing performance and targets will help you keep a drift of how your business is performing, and also help employees and staff to improve. It builds confidence, and it can also help you strategically plan for the future in terms of targets and staff promotion.

Show Understanding with Their Personal Career Journeys

Many people will be ambitious in some way shape or from, and a lot of people do have ambition to do the very best they can in their jobs and chosen careers. Which means that they may be looking for the next step in their career. As a manager and/or business owner, it is important for you to understand what career journey these people are on. It helps you to make future plans, as well as manage expectations of the people around you.

Think of Your Own Attitude and Mindset

Sometimes we don’t realise that our own mindset and attitude can have an adverse effect on people. If you happen to be angry, grumpy, negative, and then you portray that around or near others, then they are likely to pick up on that vibe and it could change the way they act or their behaviour. Be mindful with how you are, your mindset, the language you use and your approach to the business and to life. You want to be an inspiration not a hunderence, especially if you are wanting the best out of people.

Make Staff Retention a Priority

Finally, you will want to make staff retention a priority to ensure your business keeps moving, so make sure you do that as best you can. Keeping in mind that you need to keep your business moving, at this stage you may need certain key team members to help keep that going. No one wants to have people come and go, it costs money to recruit. So keeping the good people you have should be a priority for you.

I hope that these tips help you to ensure that your employees feel like valued members of your team.