Here at Investors in People towers we’ve been thinking about what we could suggest as our advice, or top tips, to help businesses to grow.
As it’s in our DNA to look at the role employees can play in making businesses more successful, the following list is unashamedly focused on how an organisation’s people can make a difference
1. Take a step back from the day to day running of your business
Often it is all too easy for business owners to be sucked in to the day to day fire fighting going on in their business. It’s not that these tasks aren’t important, because of course they are. But if those leading the business have to spend time sorting these problems out, then this is time away from them looking at the longer term future of the company.
Empowering staff to take on more responsibly and ownership of their work, and to tackle these problems themselves, will allow those running the business to spend more time thinking about how the company can grow, or even survive. (And avoid having a nervous breakdown with it!)
2. Unleash hidden talent.
How many people in your business are underemployed? Quite often we naturally focus on those who are not performing well, or who need help and training to get them to the required level of competence. But how many of us look at what skills or expertise our employees have from previous jobs, or from outside work, that we could tap into.
Finding out what your people are good at, could unlock a latent talent which is vital to your business success.
3. Engage your people for ideas
The best innovation often comes from the most unlikely of places…! Look at how you engage with your staff and how often you ask for them to come up with ideas for improvements to the way they do their job.
Those on the front line are far more in tune with what your customers think of your business, and given the chance will come up with ways to improve that service. You only need ask for their views and opinions and you could get a wealth of ideas that you might never have thought of.
4. Inspire your employees
Are you passionate about what your company is there to achieve? Do you share this sense of enthusiasm with your staff?
How many of us have come out of a meeting with a colleague who was both interested and enthused about the work they’re doing, and felt this sense of enthusiasm rub off on us? Not every day is exciting; we’re not naive enough to pretend that it is, but every now and then having someone talk to you in an animated way about why they believe the work you do is important, makes employees feel valued and more productive.
5. Celebrate your success!
If you don’t listen to the doom mongers too much, then even in these tough economic conditions successes DO happen!
Don’t just look at success on the macro level though – did the company make a profit this year..? Look at success on a local level too – has a team continued to give excellent customer service when IT systems let them down? Did someone go out of their way to ensure an order was delivered to your customer? Did someone implement a new system which made the team’s life easier?
These chances to celebrate will motivate staff & build stronger team relationships. Financial remuneration is not always possible, but sometimes all it takes is recognition and thanks for a job well done.
These are just our views and a selection of options for what employers could do. But what do you think?
Is there anything you would add to this list?
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I would also add have a succession plan, especially important if you are a family business …………………………”keeping the success in succession planning”.
Hi, I would like to add to the list that employers should ensure that their managers are competent and have the skills and attitudes required to manage and know how to achieve those options previously listed. So recruitment of managers with good people skills and a positive attitude is a first step, as well as ongoing coaching, learning and development.