Employee Management

The Delicate Art of Managing Employees

The business world is constantly undergoing tectonic changes. One of the most notable developments we have seen over the last decade is the evolving fluidity of the current workforce. Unlike previously when the first employment was hopefully the only employment, these days young and aspiring experts are much more opened to constantly exploring new opportunities until they find the gig they see fit. As a response, HR departments must become more fluid as well. The three main issues that pop into the foreground are retention, satisfaction, and development.

The Importance of Employee Retention

While all of these questions are connected, and arise from each other, employee retention is the most comprehensive and important term. Here are a few reasons why:

  • Hiring is a lengthy and expensive process – Meanwhile, businesses are not able to conduct their operations at full capacity.
  • Employees who have been working longer are more in-tune with the company’s policies – As a result, such employees are able to perform their tasks more efficiently and help out the newcomers.
  • Employees develop relationships within the company – Those relationships can be professional and personal. In either of these cases, departure of a valuable employee causes a temporary turmoil within the team.
  • Former employees usually move over to competition – Even if they sign a clause that prevents them from passing sensitive information, the competition still gets the fully trained and experienced employee.

The Importance of Improving the Employee Satisfaction and Engagement

One of the most efficient ways of preventing crumbling of the workforce is putting more effort into improving employee satisfaction. However, retention is not the only benefit of investing into employee engagement. According to research conducted at the University of Warwick, employees who feel happy with their job are able to increase their productivity by 12%. Also, higher job satisfaction has a very positive influence on the customer service, as well.

The Importance of Employee Development

After the previous two issues are addressed, businesses finally have an opportunity to put their employees through extensive training in order to improve their abilities and make them more productive. Employee development also encourages self-analysis, creates a learning culture in the organization, and has a very positive influence on team-building and building of interpersonal relationships. All of that, in turn, has its effect on retention and satisfaction.

How to Efficiently Manage Your Workforce

Although it’s apparent that all these issues are very important, especially in the light of the fluid workforce we can see today, due to preoccupation with more down-to-earth problems and bureaucratic exercises, most of the businesses don’t pay enough attention to retaining the employees and enabling their in-house development. Here are a few ways to overcome this problem.

  • Offer incentives for progress – The incentives can come in any form such as gift cards. Ask people from Corporate prepaid gift cards for recommendation. Also, there are flexible work hours. What’s most important is that your employees get the feeling that their progress is being monitored, appreciated and rewarded.
  • Be sure that management gets the adequate training – Companies often make the mistake of investing too many resources into leadership training, while giving far less attention to supervisors and middle managers. Don’t make the same mistake and spread your resources evenly.
  • Provide meaningful feedback – There’s nothing worse than keeping your employees, regardless of their position, in dark. If you expect them to develop within your organization, they need to have a very thorough understanding of their current position, what they are doing well, and what they are doing wrong.
  • Accept employees as individuals – As long as they’re able to perform as a part of a team, you shouldn’t impose uniformity on your workers. Respect can be a very powerful motivator, so respect them as they are and do your best to play to their strengths instead of dwelling too much on their weaknesses.
  • Deal with problems directly – In the world of business, there is no pushing problems under the rug. Every problem (especially interpersonal) that is not immediately and publicly addressed will continue poisoning the productivity and only cause more trouble along the way. Just be sure to resolve personal conflicts as evenly as possible.
  • Resist the Urge to Micromanage – This is the only way your employees will be able to develop self-confidence and realize their fullest potential.
  • Encourage Group Activities – Or in other words, help your workers to get to know each other better. Organizing trips, weekends out of the town, and shared family holidays is a good place to start.

Employees are your company’s most valuable resource. Put some effort in their training, improve their satisfaction, and you will ensure their stay in the company. All the money you invest in these two important areas will eventually pay off tenfold.

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