Strategic Discipline Blog

COVID, and the increase in working from home dramatically changed how to deal with our employees. Regina Wheeler, an e-learning consultant for Academic Brits, shares ideas to help your team love their work whether it’s for returning to your office or working from home.

A leader should strive to help employees perform at their best every day. Are you seeing some staff members struggle to deliver the same quality they once could? That's a sign they're not engaged in their job, or worse, are approaching burnout. Here's how you can help your team fall in love with their job again.

Encourage Taking Breaks

While work is important, it shouldn't be everything. Are your staff spending longer in the office, not taking breaks, or failing to take vacations? That's a fast track to burnout. You want to avoid it.

Ensure your staff takes the breaks they're entitled to. They should receive short breaks during the day, as well as a good lunch break. It's a good idea to encourage them to step away from their desks and get some space from work.

Make sure everyone is using their holiday entitlement. While they may not have a vacation planned, they will still need that time away from work to recharge.

Ensure you're leading by example here. If you're taking breaks as needed, then your team will be happy to follow your lead.

Listen

'It's so important for an employer to listen to employees' says business writer Adrienne Wilkinson, from Next Coursework and Ph.D. Kingdom. 'You can't catch everything as it happens. If you're listening to your staff, you can solve problems before they become insurmountable.'

Show your staff you're open to listening to them and their needs. Set time aside to talk to them. If they do come to you with problems, ensure you act on them. For example, if someone is struggling under their workload, help them find solutions such as delegating to others, or changing up their workflow. If you're paying attention to their needs, your staff know they can come to you if needed.

Invest in Their Skills

If you want your employees to fall in love with their work again, you'll need them to see they're appreciated. Discover where their skills are. Give them opportunities to develop themselves.

Example: Do you have a writer on your team? They’re already excellent since that's why you hired them. Help them develop further by enrolling them in writing workshops. Show them you want to invest in their skills, and how important they are to your business. Feeling valued is incredibly important.

Help Staff Set Goals

In your career, have you ever felt as though you were stuck in a rut? It's easy to feel powerless at work when you don't have anything to work towards. As an employer, you want your employees to have clear goals to work towards. This can be done in performance meetings. Discuss what the next step might be for your employee’s advancement.

'Help your employee set goals by working with them' says writer Gary King, from Origin Writings and Brit Student. 'Focus on what appeals to them about their role, and what strengths they want to work on.' By doing this, you'll be able to help them advance in their career and see a way forward.

Update the Workspace.

It's true the surroundings at work influence your employees. Look around your office. Does it feel gray and washed out? It's hard to feel happy about coming to work if the office is dreary or outdated.

Consider painting with brighter colors or adding plant life to add some life to space. Look at the lighting too. Is there enough natural light coming into space? Are there enough lights to brighten things when needed? Making some small changes will make working at your business more invigorating.

It's easier than you'd think, to help employees fall back in love with the role they have. Make these small changes and make working at your business an exciting and invigorating prospect once more. Help keep your best talent and show your employees you value them.

(Regina Wheeler is an e-learning consultant for Academic Brits. Her interests include business management, marketing, and finances. Her interests have led her to get involved in many projects, improving business management for several companies.)

To create an environment where everyone is inspired to give their best, contact us today to schedule a free exploratory meeting.

Growth demands Strategic Discipline.

Building an enduring great organization requires disciplined people, disciplined thought, disciplined action, superior results, producing a distinctive impact in the world.

Discipline sustains momentum, over a long period of time, laying the foundations for lasting endurance.

A winning habit starts with 3 Strategic Disciplines: Priority, Metrics, and Meeting Rhythms.   Forecasting, accountability, individual, and team performance improve dramatically.

Meeting Rhythms achieve a disciplined focus on performance metrics to drive growth.

Let Positioning Systems help your business achieve these outcomes on the Four most Important Decisions your business faces:

Positioning Systems helps mid-sized ($5M - $250M) business Scale-UP. We align your business to focus on Your One Thing! Contact dwick@positioningsystems.com to Scale Up your business! Take our Four Decisions Needs Assessment to discover how your business measures against other Scaled Up companies. We’ll contact you.

NEXT BLOG – Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company

Jim Collins' first book ever, Beyond Entrepreneurship has been updated with a dedication to co-author Bill Lazier. Chapter 2 is GREAT VISION WITHOUT GREAT PEOPLE IS IRRELEVANT. We share reminders and essential ideas on why building a great company starts with the right people, next blog.