Think about a time in your life where you had absolutely no control over a situation. Your opinion wasn't taken into consideration and you felt as if you didn't matter. Were you happy? Or were you angry, resentful, and lethargic? If you are looking to improve employee morale on your team, it's time to make them feel heard.
Rock stars don't take kindly to record labels, managers, or venue representatives telling them how to play their instruments. They thrive on freedom, creativity, and the opportunity to change the status quo. Your business rock stars are the same. If you give them the freedom to step up and take responsibility, listen (and actually hear) their suggestions, and treat them as a part of the team rather than just "staff," you'll be amazed at what they accomplish.
Here are a few ways to utilize your employees to their fullest so you can bring out the best in them for themselves and the company as a whole.
A group interview can be daunting for the potential new hire, but it can also create an element of community among your team. Your current employees know the types of personalities that will (and won't) fit in with your existing team. While you try to be involved as much as possible, chances are that you aren't in the trenches with your team every day. Your employees will spend a large chunk of their waking hours with each other. It would be nice to take their suggestions into account and make sure everyone gets along.
Not every meeting you hold should involve sales numbers and goal setting. Your company is a family and has a culture all its own. Every few weeks, you should be checking in to see how your employees are doing as a team. This also gives the team time to brainstorm on ways to improve procedures and overcome challenges.
"When we get together and rehearse, which is always living with each other, we always talk about what would make it better, what would mean more, what would say more. So we're always improving and growing." - Alice Cooper
Word of advice: Find time to do this during the workday. Requiring your employees to stay after hours for a meeting will not improve employee morale, it will just make them resent you and the time they are wasting.
Or better yet, take some advice from Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, and forego the office entirely. However you do it, make sure that your employees are comfortable coming to you with suggestions, challenges, grievances, and to toot their own horn. Employees spend so much time afraid of doing something wrong. Why not invite them to announce when they've done something right? Not everyone will be comfortable expressing themselves in a large group setting. Opening your office or workspace to one-on-one conversations will ensure that everyone is free to share their opinions.
Look, they aren't all going to be winners. In fact, sometimes you are going to get suggestions so absurd that it will take everything you have not to laugh out loud. But sometimes, you're going to get good suggestions. When you have a problem in the office, your employees are your best bet for solving that problem. Listen to their suggestions and if they are financially feasible, logistically possible, and potentially valuable, take them. If something doesn't work, you can always try something else. Marvelless Mark® tells his clients that when you take your employees' suggestions, it will go a long way toward making them feel heard and appreciated.
You have a font of rock star business brilliance at your fingertips. Listen to your employees and implement their suggestions whenever possible. When they feel heard, they will be happy. When they are happy, they will be productive.
Mark Kamp® aka Marvelless Mark® works with organizations who want their teams to achieve immediate rock star results. A Keynote Speaker/Entertainer/Author, Husband, Father, and child of God, his primary message, “Opportunity Rocks®” gives attendees a fresh new perspective on Sales, Marketing, and Employee Performance. Fun and engaging, Mark combines the success secrets of your favorite rock stars with just the right amount of entertainment to transform your employees into business rockstars. Learn more at www.OpportunityRocks.net.