Four Mistakes to Avoid with Your Staff Members

Running a successful workplace isn’t merely hiring the right people and giving them the right tools to succeed. Instead, it’s also developing them, encouraging and moving them up within your organization. Is your company guilty of any of these mistakes?

1.     Not Recognizing Employees Properly

One recent study found that over 80% of employers have an employee recognition program in place. However, many of those programs are created with good intentions but not adequately adapted to meet the workplace or carried out consistently. The right recognition program should have set goals, whether they are improved productivity, lower absentee rates or increased retention. What rewards are you giving out? One of the most common mistakes companies make is assuming what employees want instead of asking them. Regular surveys and polls can perfect the benefits for your recognition program.

This benefit has become so important to employee retention that an industry has sprung up around it. Many companies today outsource this function to professional organizations that offers employee incentives as a service for example, FOND in the San Francisco area (https://www.fond.co/)

2.     Overworking Employees

Overworking employees is another one of the leading mistakes companies make. One study from Stanford University found that productivity per hour declines rapidly once a workweek stretches over 50 hours, and, after 55 hours, productivity is so low that working is a waste of time. Instead of increasing a good employee’s workload by piling more work on top, consider changing an employee’s duties, a promotion or a raise to offset the increased expectations you have and limit overwork. When employees are underappreciated and overworked, it’s a recipe for a low retention rate in a very completive employment market.

3.     Not Developing Employee Skills

One of the biggest causes of high turnover is the belief that there are better professional development opportunities elsewhere, The Grass is Greener Syndrome, according to Fast Company. Companies with the highest retention rates recognize talents in their existing employees and find ways to help them strengthen and augment their skills. Expanding skillsets through classes, seminars and upwardly mobile training are effective ways to tap into your employees hidden talent pools offering them greater job satisfaction and your company greater competitive advantages in the market place. Employees that are given an opportunity to learn and grow become career focused instead of transitory.

4.     Ignoring Ideas

The best managers always value creative ideas from their employees. They proactively ask for opinions and feedback to make the workplace better and more efficient. Offering new or out-of-the-box ideas can be intimidating to employees however great managers foster an environment of acceptance and openness to encourage creative thought process. Don’t let your best “thought leaders” prove their effectiveness at a competitor’s business by letting them slip through your organization unnoticed. Inspire greatness and you will in turn be a great leader.

A wise person never stops learning, and a wise business never stops listening.

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