Keeping employees engaged and motivated can be a challenge for any manager. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Americans quitting their jobs has reached a historic high of 4.2 million. As a result, motivation is crucial in rectifying this circumstance.
However, it’s essential for startups that are growing rapidly. Entrepreneurs and managers should focus on developing their employees’ skills and making them feel valued to maintain retention in their company. Here are some creative ways you can keep the workers of your startup business more involved with each other and give their best:
Know Your Employees
As a leader, you need to know your employees. It means understanding their strengths and weaknesses and what they want. You should know their background and even what their hobbies are. You should also be aware of any aspirations or goals the employee might have for their career concerning the company.
Knowing this information will help you communicate effectively with your employees. For example, you’ll learn how best to motivate them based on who they are and whether or not they’re satisfied with certain aspects of the job, i.e., salary. It also helps if you can speak directly about a given issue instead of beating around the bush, your staff will appreciate it.
Let Them Know the “Why” Behind Your Company
There’s a reason why your company is the way it is. The people you hire and work with are part of that reason. So, make sure they know the “why” behind your startup business. It will help them make better decisions and provide reassurance in times of doubt or difficulty.
This information can also help employees understand how their roles fit into the bigger picture, making them feel more invested in what they’re doing for your business. It might even get them thinking about ways to improve things.
The “why” behind any organization exists because it has a purpose or multiple meanings specific to its mission. These purposes help define its values and goals, becoming benchmarks for measuring success or failure at achieving those goals over time.
Have Happy Hour Catering in the Office
Happy hour is a fantastic way to bond as a company and spend quality time with your staff. Furthermore, you get the chance to socialize with your staff members when they are in a relaxed environment.
You can plan an office happy hour at lunch, after work, or even on Fridays or Saturdays when everyone has free time. At this event, everyone has their favorite drinks along with a buffet-style table setup where everyone can choose whatever they like from the different options provided at happy hour.
Office happy hour is a fantastic opportunity to recognize staff members and raise spirits. It reduces stress and fosters a positive workplace atmosphere. It is a great way to get everyone together at the end of a hard day and unwind while savoring delicious food and beverages.
The catering industry is expanding, and its revenue market size is estimated at USD 11 billion in 2022. It is, therefore, not hard to imagine that there are plenty of catering options to choose from that will provide you with your office happy hour services. They will ensure that everything goes according to plan and that everyone can enjoy their cuisine when it comes to a workplace fun time.
Celebrate Birthdays and Work Anniversaries
Celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries is a great way to show appreciation for your employees’ hard work. It also shows that you care about them as people, not just workers. It is especially true if you’re the owner of a small business. Most people in such a situation tend to be more involved with their employees than they might be as part of larger organizations.
To celebrate an employee’s birthday or work anniversary, plan something fun and memorable at a local restaurant where everyone can enjoy dinner together. If you have multiple locations around town, host these occasional parties simultaneously, so no one feels left out.
Give Your Employees a Sense of Ownership
As a startup founder, you want your employees to feel like they are part of the company. You can do this in several ways:
Give them responsibility. Given assignments and responsibilities, employees will feel more like they are contributing to the organization’s success. However, it’s also essential that these assignments be realistic. Otherwise, you could alienate your staff or force them into a position they don’t want or aren’t ready for.
Let them make decisions independently without always needing approval from management or other leadership team members. It will give them confidence in themselves and their abilities. It will also provide an understanding that they have been given autonomy within their role regarding decision-making processes within their department.
Make sure there is room for growth within each employee’s role by offering training opportunities. It allows people to expand their knowledge base around your specific industries. These include marketing or advertising strategies businesses seek to achieve customers with similar demographics.
Give your employees a sense of ownership while emphasizing accountability with the help of technology, such as an online time clock. Both employees and employers can benefit from this tool, eliminating gaps and barriers in employee management. Whether you have remote or in-office employees, an online time clock is a valuable tool that can help empower them to punch and track their hours and view other payroll and related human resource (HR) information. Managers don’t have to call field employees because online time clock apps have a geographical location feature to show employees’ locations every time they punch in or out of the software.
“Make It Personal” Activities
When you engage your employees, they will be more likely to remain with the company and give their best. If you want to do this, there are several ways in which you can go about it. One way is by making your employees feel important in the company’s activities. It is also essential that each individual feels valued and appreciated by others.
Examples of company activities that business owners can initiate effectively engage with employees include after-work team exercises, drinking, or dining out. Involve employees in volunteer work, like visiting charities and participating in tree-planting activities. You can do such activities at least once a month to bond with your employees and help reduce burnout by doing activities with meaningful causes.
It will help them put their best effort into whatever tasks they are assigned to have a greater sense of fulfillment when working on them. Make sure that these activities are a part of your regular schedule. Everyone should be aware of the time so as not to disrupt other plans that may already exist for Saturdays or Sundays.
Give Your Employees Room to Grow and Develop
When you’re running a startup business, your employees will likely have much more room to grow and develop than they would in a larger company. It can be both good and bad. On the one hand, it allows your employees to take on new challenges and feel like part of something bigger than themselves.
But on the other hand, it also means that if they aren’t happy with their current roles or responsibilities, they may feel they have no choice but to leave. The best way to prevent this is by giving them opportunities throughout their time at your company.
Consider implementing an employee development program that includes well-timed training sessions, mentorship opportunities, and professional workshops. You can also find other means to motivate your employees to strive for excellence in their current roles. That includes displaying or showcasing their achievements and recognizing their efforts. Investing in your employees’ development can create a workplace culture that fosters growth, learning, and success for everyone involved
Show your full support to your employees’ personal development and career. Conduct internal hiring for higher positions based on performance and output. Furthermore, conduct regular employee training and seminars to improve their skills and add more to their credentials.
Let Them Know Their Opinion Matters
As a startup business owner, you must remember that your employees are the most critical asset of your company. They are the ones who bring life to your company and make it a success. Therefore, the decision on how you treat them and how much value you place on their input will ultimately determine whether they will stay long-term or not.
Employees need to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves and know that their opinion matters. It’s one thing if an employee comes up with an idea; it’s another thing entirely if they feel like that idea is being ignored by management.
Employee Satisfaction Is the First Step Toward the Success of Your Business
In the United States, there are now over 70,000 active startups. For any startup, employee satisfaction is the first step toward the success of your business. Employees are the most critical asset of any business, and if they are not happy and satisfied, it will be tough for you to keep them engaged in the work.
Employees who are not happy and satisfied will not give their best. They may leave the organization anytime, so keeping them engaged is very important for the survival of any startup company.
