By: Ken Tyler, Sr. Laundry Industry Consultant
Last week in Part 1 we explored why we should treat employees just as good – or better – than customers. This week we’ll take a look at specific actions you can take to make your employees feel respected. We’ll also explore the importance of your team’s mental health and what you, as their employer can do to support them in that area. View Part 1 here.
So, let’s dig into how you should be treating your employees.
Be Honest and Have Full Transparency
It’s difficult to build a brand image, but easy to destroy. Not having full transparency isn’t the best for a long-term, thriving relationship.
If you want your employees to trust you, it’s important to have an open and honest relationship with them. When you withhold information unethically or deceive your own team, they’ll quickly lose respect for you.
No Prejudice, Bias, or Favoritism
Good leaders will show equal respect to those who deserve it, i.e. your employees.
While you should aim to create a fun work environment where you enjoy what you do and genuinely desire to carry out your tasks, there should be a policy where prejudice, bias, or favoritism are not tolerable.
It can lead to conflict between your co-workers. If you favor one person over another it can cause an abrupt and negative commotion in your organization.
Others may also become unmotivated since their efforts aren’t being recognized. As a result, it may cause less diversity in your work culture and lower team morale.
Listen To Your Employees
Everyone should be treated fairly. It’s great if your employees are listening to your input and taking action using your feedback. But, you should also be doing the same thing.
That means paying attention to your employees and reciprocating by listening to them when they share ideas. It’s a good opportunity for gaining new insights from their creativity which could improve your approach for future activities.
If you want positive results and better productivity, their input is just as important as your customers.
Give Credit Where It’s Due
We all want to feel appreciated, yet not everyone is acknowledged for their work.
Workers won’t feel valued if their efforts aren’t being recognized, which can be demotivating. So, make sure you give credits where they’re due. Acknowledge an employee’s efforts when they’ve done a commendable job.
Acknowledge Everyone not just a few.
Never leave a single employee out. When your employees are being left out, it’s your job to read the situation and try to get them involved.
Sharing accomplishments and acknowledging the presence of each of your employees makes them feel valued. When you praise and award them too, not only does it feel great. But, it can improve the attitude of everyone else in your company by motivating and encouraging them to step up.
This is another effective way to instill enthusiasm and self-esteem in your employees.
Maintain Professional Conduct
It’s good practice to maintain professional conduct and behavior in the work environment.
That means not doing anything uncalled for and unnecessary, e.g. gossiping about colleagues or getting too involved in their personal lives via social media. Unless it’s appropriate, you should also try to avoid using profanity.
By practicing these values in your company culture, it makes boundaries clear. This ensures you maintain your position of respect and authority.
Be Kind and Polite
Your employees are not robots designed to work 24/7. They’re human beings, just like you or I.
Set your ego aside in the workplace and practice the qualities of a good team player. In general, you should always be kind to others because you never know what they might be going through in their own lives. If you want them to be loyal and continue working for you, job and workplace satisfaction are key.
They have other things going on in their day aside from work. Take this into consideration. You never know what may happen once they put their real effort in when they’re comfortable to communicate and work with you.
Give Your Employees Perks
Something as simple as providing a small gift or buying your team lunch. this can go a long way in developing trust and a strong relationship. Whenever you treat your colleagues and employees, it implies that you appreciate them which makes them feel valued.
Another quote by Sir Richard Branson states:
“Train your employees well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”
Job security and company benefits are one of the main concerns for employees. Making them happier and showing regular appreciation will lead to lower employee turnover rates. The pay won’t be the only thing that motivates them when deciding what company to work with. Their happiness is also a decisive factor.
Practice What You Preach
Good leaders will take ownership and accountability for themselves and for the mistakes of their team.
Don’t be a hypocrite. Despite being the employer or manager, you don’t have the privilege to do whatever you want. You can quickly lose the trust of your team when you don’t abide by your own principles. This will have a negative influence on your workers and can lead to a bad reputation.
If employees have to deal with several discourteous situations, eventually they’ll change workplaces, pursue other options and job opportunities where they are respected.
How Can Employers Support Mental Health?
This should be one of your main concerns – without taking care of each employee, it leads to an unfulfilled role and poor productivity.
As an employer, it’s important to be checking up on each and every person on your team. It’s also key to raise mental health awareness in the workplace and to ensure the well-being of your employees.
One way to help is by being someone they can trust and talk to. That’s another reason why communication and treating your employees with respect is important. Try to be flexible for your employees and prioritize them first.
The pandemic is a prime example of why mental health awareness is important. In times like this, we need to be there for each other.
Other things you can do to support mental health include:
- Schedule 1-to-1 meetings on a regular basis with all employees
- Listen and empathize with them
- Provide appropriate education and in-house training
- Encourage physical activity and exercise, e.g. offer gym memberships
- Consider getting professional help and support
- Make sure you publish labor and safety rules so all employees can view.
The well-being of every employee is important. When this isn’t taken care of, you won’t retain your teams of skilled employees.
Overall, poor mental health leads to less effective human resources and management. Even after spending hours in the office, when collaboration is poor and there are regular conflicts, the quality of work completed won’t be the best it could be.
Final Thoughts
Work becomes a lot easier when you have a team of satisfied, talented employees who are motivated to succeed in your company.
Despite the benefits of recruiting software, it won’t mean much when employees don’t find their contributions meaningful and aren’t engaged with their jobs. The net worth of your organization is directly linked to the performance of each and every employee.
Plus, there’s a good chance they know something about your business that you don’t.
They can offer valuable insights which can lead to better service. Yet, not all companies and managers are making the most out of it.
Start building a happy community by first taking genuine care of your partners and employees. They’re the ones who can take care of your clients and build a better performing business for you.
————————————-
About the Author: Ken Tyler has been active in laundry and textile programs for over 53 years. Between his position as Chief of the VA Laundry program and the Chief of Laundry Operations at the DOD he managed the modernization, and construction of over 100 healthcare laundry operations valued in excess of 200 million dollars. Tyler received numerous commendations including the GSA Excellence award, Department of Energy awards for energy conservation and the Presidential Award for Performance. During his time with VA, he was selected in the VA Leadership program and continues as a member of that Alumni program.
Tyler managed US Marine Corps and Department of the Navy laundry programs for 10 years, Department of Veterans Affairs textile care and laundry programs for 27 years and managed government programs for Encompass LLC for 16 years. He retired from the US Marine Corps after 30 years of service and received over 30 decorations for his military service.Tyler consults laundry manufacturers and textile/chemical groups. He is also the recipient of numerous industry and government awards and has served numerous organizations such as AHA, TRSA, JCAHO, ALM and ARTA.
