It can be challenging to forge a cohesive team when you are first starting out in the business world. As a female entrepreneur, sometimes there can be more barriers to success, but your team needn’t be one of them! To facilitate exceptional levels of productivity, you need a happy and motivated workforce. This needs to be founded upon mutual respect where you value your team and they are onboard with your vision and ethos. Let’s look at how you can foster a workplace of mutual respect by following these three simple steps!
The Basics
Your team need to feel cared for. This doesn’t mean wrapping them up in cotton wool or giving out hugs at meetings. This means ensuring that they are paid a fair salary, on time and without any issues. The easiest way to ensure this is to outsource payroll to a company like Cloudpay, who utilize the most advanced templates and features to ensure that every tax obligation and contribution is accounted for. While getting paid on time is important, so is the day to day value that you place on your team. Ensure that you are out on the office floor, chatting and interacting with your team. While you are the boss, you need to remain approachable and engaged. Don’t lock yourself away in your office, as this can create resentment and shows a level of aloofness that doesn’t foster respect.
Communication
To really keep morale high, you need to communicate effectively with your team. Inform them of targets, but also tell them how well you are doing as a company. Have a quick 5-10 minute catch up every morning and ask for their views and ideas about tasks and pitches. Send out an email every Friday afternoon giving a shout out to those team members who have gone above and beyond that week. By recognizing hard work and effort, you are showing that you value their contribution. You will find that by showing respect, you will gain it, it’s a 2 way street. This can be seen through a low turnover of staff and a happy, buzzing working environment full of smiling faces.
Work space decor
While it may seem like not the most important apsect, the decor of your office is crucial in fostering respect. If you expect your team to work well with beige carpet tiles, scuffed walls and drafty, damp windows the truth is it will effect their mood and overall productivity. Create a workplace that is inspiring and fits with your business and brand. Whip out the white paint, add touches of greenery and install some collaborative working pods. You want to create a happy environment that everyone looks forward to being in! Ask your team how they want their office decorated. Give each team member a choice about what desk or chair they have and order it for them. By making sure that they are content and comfortable, you can be certain of a more productive and motivated team.
Fostering mutual respect is crucial for new businesses who want to succeed in a challenging twenty-first century economic climate.
TDP x
