If you were to ask all of your employees if you are a fair employer and have their best interests at heart, what would they say?
More than 40% of people say they have quit because of a “bad boss.” In terms of turnover, this can have a massive impact on your productivity and bottom line.
No longer are people accepting working for employers who treat them as anything less than a person, and workplace culture plays a big part in how long people stay with your company and how attractive you are to new talent. To succeed in business, you need to balance the company’s needs against those of employees to bring out the best and elevate your business. After all, if you can’t run your company without employees, you need to ensure you value their input and express it accordingly.
So how can you be a better boss, and what does it mean to be a better boss?
Benefits of Being A Better Boss
Good management in a company can have numerous benefits. From garnering more respect from employers to having greater control of what happens, improved performance, and a healthier working environment, you can change how your business operates by simply addressing how you treat those who work for you. By treating others with compassion and fairness, you can foster creativity and improved performance while guiding those who work for you to achieve improved career satisfaction.
But getting there doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Many people and GlassDoor reviews can attest to the impact poor management and horrible bosses can have on a person and the company.
Read on to find out how you can improve how you manage your workforce and be a leader people look up to, not run away from.
Be Courteous
Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself. Failing that, treat them how you want people to treat your family members. Would you like someone speaking to your parents, grandparents, and children the way you talk to your employees? If the answer is no, you must address how you interact with those in your employment. Employees are people first and foremost, and all employees will respond better when treated with dignity and respect and, in turn, will treat you the same way.
Constructive Criticism
As an employer, you, your management team, and your employees must know how to give and receive constructive criticism. Critical and constructive feedback that has a purpose and is delivered to only highlight issues and concerns but to help improve them is better than simply pointing out people’s shortcomings and leaving it at that. Know how best to talk to someone about their performance in a way that benefits the recipient. It should be clear, concise, and actionable to improve performance and change things around, not simply doll out because you dislike something.
You also need to know how to accept this personally and company-wide. Employees should also be allowed to deliver constructive feedback on any aspects impacting them. Knowing how to get this can strengthen your relationships within the workplace.
Be Considerate
Sure, employees are there to perform a job role for you; however, as mentioned above, they are people first and foremost, and people have lives to live outside the workplace. It isn’t realistic or fair to expect them to dedicate their life to your company, especially if you offer anything in return.
There is a high expectation, especially for the older generation in the US, that you must be committed to your work and devote your free time to the company even if you aren’t getting paid. You can easily find several Reddit threads from both sides attesting to this.
But to be a better boss, you need to appreciate that people will have things going on outside of work, and from time to time, they will get sick, they will have emergencies, and things outside of their control will crop up and impact their ability to work or perform as they usually do. Be considerate of what they have on their plate if they approach you with issues or you notice something is amiss with them. This doesn’t mean allowing them to walk all over you, but be mindful that they may have things going on in their personal life, and chastising them for this will be detrimental to your workplace culture.
Offer The Right Benefits
What benefits are you offering employees? Suppose you are offering minimum wage and no benefits. In that case, you won’t exactly be looked upon favorably as a good boss by employees, especially if you’re expecting them to go the extra mile for you. You need an enhanced compensation package to make working with you attractive.
It would be best to start with a competitive pay rate for the job roles, a comprehensive dental healthcare package, bonuses, overtime rates, and even double pay. On top of this, you can include company days out, perks, vouchers, health incentives, and more to show your employees how much you care. This, coupled with a healthy workplace culture, can be an attractive proposition for new hires and an excellent reason for current employees to want to stay.
Improve Admin
Suppose you’re the kind of boss to let things slide and are unorganized when organizing payslips, PTO, schedule changes, or processing necessary paperwork. In that case, this will not work in your favor, but you probably already know this. Improve how things run behind the scenes to ensure employees have fewer things to worry about and can be confident they are getting paid on time and correctly. From understanding double time pay and overtime pay correctly to reasonably and efficiently processing time off requests and handling employee schedules to ensure you have the right level of cover at the correct times. Whether you employ a dedicated admin, outsource these tasks to a VA or third-party admin company, or automate these details by investing in software, ensure you don’t let this aspect of your business slip and are on top of everything.
Invest In The Workplace
Investing in the workplace can mean one of a few things. It can ensure your premise is fit for purpose and can handle the work you do and support your business. It can also be investing in the right technology and equipment, and lastly, it is investing in your employees.
You must ensure your employees have the tools to carry out their job roles effectively, from up-to-date machinery to interacting systems that allow for easier collation of data and resources to software that can automate repetitive tasks and lighten their job role. Whatever technology is available for your industry to make the job role easier and improve the standards, you need to be investing in it as a standard.
You also need to be investing in your employees too. From ongoing training to ensuring you meet OSHA guidelines for health and safety and offering career development options, the more your employees feel you are investing in them and their future, the more likely they will stick with you for the journey.
Conclusion
Good bosses aren’t myths, and neither should they be either. In a society that places more emphasis on quality of life over financial compensation, you need to make sure you are an employer people want to work for and stick with. And to do this, you need to be booking at who you are as a person and how you treat those around you. This post is a great starting point for becoming a better boss.
