Your employees have needs. There is no way that you can get around the fact that your employees are going to need things from you, sometimes things that they aren’t going to want to ask for. Sometimes, they’re not even going to know that they are needed until you are standing in front of them offering it. It’s a tough situation to be in when it comes to looking at the needs of your employees, but you have got to remember that they are all people. That’s the most important thing: keeping in mind that they all deserve to be treated with the same level of respect that you do. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you can do to make yourself a better employer, so keep reading if you would like to find out more.
Enough Rest Time
The first thing that your employees need from you is enough rest time throughout the day. This means doing things like ensuring that they all have enough breaks in their day, and that they are long enough. Sometimes, the standard breaks that are offered by businesses simply aren’t enough for the amount that the employee is working, or what they are doing at any given time. You need to try and tailor this to make it work for more people. Of course, we’re not saying that you should give one person a 40 minute break, and another one a 20 minute break. It has got to be fair, we’re just saying that you need to make sure everyone is getting enough of a break.
While it means less time that they are working, it also means that they are more likely to produce fantastic results when they are working. They will work harder than if they feel overworked, and it will benefit your business massively. You need to think about the impacts on how they work, not just when they work.
Shifts That Work For Them
When you are allocating shifts to people, do you often ask if there are any special considerations that need to be made? A lot of businesses keep the same shifts for their employees so there is a feeling of consistency for them. For example, working 11am-7pm would be their shift, so they know that most of the time that is when they would be expected to work. However, if your business doesn’t work like this and you have to juggle people around for shifts and so on, then you need to consider people’s needs.
It might be the case that someone is a single parent and can only get help between certain hours. You should try your best to accommodate them, but if you can’t then don’t beat yourself up too badly. As long as you are trying, that’s all that really matters. You should also be thinking about the negative effects of working night shifts, and hopefully this will stop you from putting the same people on the same night shifts all the time.
Mental Health Support
A very important thing that employers need to be gearing towards is offering mental health support to their employees. People go through things every single day, and they might not want to ask for help, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t need it. Everyone needs a little bit of help from time to time, and if it’s readily available to you then you are more likely to get the help than not. It’s for this reason that we recommend you have a mental health specialist on the team, that your employees can talk to when they need to.
You might be wondering why this is necessary seeing as you are their boss and they are your employees. While this is true, it’s also true that you should be taking care of them, but also true that the way that they feel can impact the way that they work for you. The worse they are feeling, the worse their standard of work is going to be, and this is just something that you cannot afford. Putting help into place means that they are able to feel better, and work better, so it’s a win for everyone.
Encouragement Up The Ladder
It is sometimes difficult to believe in yourself, and to feel like you are actually capable of doing something. We’re sure that you have experienced this yourself at some point in your life, and it would have been nice to have someone come along and help you, right? It would have been nice if someone would have seen your potential and done whatever they could to nurture you and help build you up into something spectacular. You might have done it without their help, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have been appreciated. So, if you know how it feels then you should be wanting to do it for the employees that you have now.
Encouraging your employees to go the extra mile, take those next steps and everything else will really give them a confidence boost. Making them feel good about their work is important, and knowing that they are appreciated will really meet one of their key needs. Employees dedicate a lot of their life to working for someone else, so they need to feel appreciated in order to keep doing this.
Support Of Education
If one of your employees doesn’t currently have the correct qualifications, as a business you can sponsor them to get them. This means that you pay for their course, and they complete it on a part-time basis. So, part of the time they work for you, and part of the time they are at college, learning more and getting the paper qualification. This is going to really help them with their confidence, but also helps them as it will undoubtedly offer them at least some knowledge that they weren’t aware of yet.
It helps you by getting you a qualified employee, and you will also be able to help them move up in the ranks of your business if they have the right qualifications. Again, meeting their needs makes it a win-win for everyone.
Time Off Request
If someone is requesting time off and you don’t need them for that time period, or you could easily find someone to take over in the meantime, then you need to be granting it. The only reason that you should ever deny a time-off request is if you really cannot function as a business without that person in that time period. However, this is very rarely going to happen, even if it means that you have to step in for a few days. The thing that we think a lot of business owners forget is that there is nothing in the world that is more important than the wellbeing of someone, not even your business.
If they feel like they need some time off work, they know themselves better than anyone. They have done the right thing and made the request to give themself some time away from work to relax, and this shouldn’t be an issue for you. We’re sure that you have plenty of staff, and if there is someone else off at the same time, talk to your employee and see if they are happy to move the time off just a little.
Think About When You Were An Employee
When you were an employee, what were your needs? How did you feel when your needs were met vs when they weren’t? These are all important questions that you need to be asking yourself when you are thinking about how you treat your employees. The very last thing that you want to be is a hypocrite, so if you know that someone needs something and you have the power to give it to them, you should. Ask yourself whether or not you would have wanted someone to do the same thing for you, and you then have your answer as to what you should do.
Space In The Business Premises
The final quick point that we want to make is that sometimes, people just need some time away from all the hustle and bustle of the business. That’s why you should have a quiet space on the business premises that employees can use when they are feeling overwhelmed or just need to be away from everyone. No talking, nothing, just pillows and quiet.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you need to think about when it comes to your employees. The more you can understand their needs, the better of an employer that you are, and this is what a lot of people are looking at, especially those who are considering joining your business. Becoming a good employer takes quite a lot of dedication, but the last thing that you need is to get a reputation for being a bad one. So, take your time and get this right, and we promise you that you’re going to thank us for it.
