The vast majority of companies can only function because of their employees. While small businesses, start-ups, and side hustles might be a different matter, with only the owner working for the company, once your business grows and becomes more complicated, employees start becoming increasingly essential to your business.
So, how should you treat your employees? Should they all be extensions of your family? Or are they just assets? Let’s explore this below.
Employees Are Human
It seems strange to state that “employees are human”, but as employers become more detached from the business and the people who work for that business, it gets easier to forget that employees are more than just numbers on a page or cogs in a machine.
Humans, unlike AI tools, need breaks. They have hopes and dreams and responsibilities outside of your business. They make mistakes, get unwell, and have full lives. But this isn’t an endorsement of replacing human workers with AI, because humans can also think for themselves, take initiative, and collaborate with others.
The very basics of how to treat employees go back to how you’d treat another human being and how you’d want to be treated. Would you want to be respected? Would you want to be listened to? What would you do if you were in a workplace that didn’t give you any leeway or respect?
The Benefits of Good Morale
Why is it important to treat your employees well? At the end of the day, this will ensure that your company has good morale. This means that people are happy to work at your company.
This is obviously good for your employees, but it’s good for your company as well. If you look at the other side of the coin, where you have a workplace that’s a nightmare to work for, most people won’t want to stay in that environment if they don’t have to. So the only employees you’ll attract and keep are people who have no other choice. Other employees will leave for greener pastures and new talent won’t be interested in your company.
Basically, with a poor reputation and bad morale, you might well be left with bottom-of-the-barrel employees. You’ll also have a high turnover rate, meaning you have to deal with a smaller workforce and the costs of hiring more employees.
On the other hand, high morale reduces turnover massively. So you can retain skilled workers who know how your business works and who can work well together. Your employees will also be better motivated.
At the end of the day, people work for money. Your employees wouldn’t be there if they weren’t being paid to be there. But this doesn’t mean that they can’t also be motivated by loyalty because they’re treated well. People also generally work better when they’re happy and don’t feel overwhelmed.
Protecting Your Employees and Your Business
As an employer, you can’t just hire someone, agree to pay them, and leave it there. Hiring employees involves a lot of legal work, and both parties need to sign a legal contract. As an employer, you also need insurance for your employees.
This protects both the employee and the employer. Workers’ comp makes sure that an employee still has an income if they were injured at work, and it’s a legal requirement for a workplace to offer it.
You can get affordable workers compensation insurance that means both you and your employees are protected financially.
Of course, it’s also important to prevent any injuries or incidents at work. Depending on your industry, your employees might be in danger, especially on a construction site or other potentially hazardous environments.
Make sure that employees are properly trained and that they have the right equipment for the job, including appropriate protective equipment.
Being Flexible With Employees
The first “employees are human” point shows that it’s important to understand that people have limitations and different life circumstances. The best way to treat your employees is to be flexible and to offer help if it’s needed.
For example, if it’s possible for employees to work from home, it might be an idea to offer this as an option if they or their children are unwell and can’t come into the office. Or you could offer more flexible hours for certain jobs.
If employees have additional needs, try to accommodate them as much as possible.
It’s much better to retain skilled, loyal employees who happen to have additional needs to work well than to take a gamble on unproven candidates.
Being Approachable as an Employer
You can’t be flexible and accommodating to employees’ needs if they don’t feel as though they can tell you what they need.
It’s important to encourage employees to communicate openly and honestly with you. As well as helping you to be a better employer, it also allows them to offer up ideas for improvement. More communication means more opportunities for innovation, so make sure employees have a way to share these ideas.
Appreciation and Rewards
As an employer, it’s sometimes easier to spot bad work than good work. After all, the quality of your employees’ work is meant to be good all the time.
People aren’t effectively motivated by the fear of doing bad work. Instead, by showing appreciation for consistent high performance, you give people more of an incentive to work well. Employee appreciation programs and rewards show that you do notice good work and can improve morale.
Should Employees Be Your Friends?
It’s also important to have a sense of balance when it comes to your relationships with your employees.
This isn’t to say that it’s impossible to be friends with your employees. Some businesses have a “family feel” about them, especially if they’re smaller. But this is the exception rather than the rule.
One way to be respectful as an employer is to respect your employees’ boundaries. It’s okay to have a slightly detached, if friendly, relationship with employees. So don’t make the mistake of trying to become overly friendly with every employee, and keep it professional.
