Are you a business owner about to post some job openings? If the answer is yes, we recommend putting a halt on the next step right now; there’s a few things you need to go over first! Mainly, whether or not your business is a great place to work.
This is the kind of question all business owners should ask themselves from time to time, but it’s much more of a pressing question when you’re actively looking for new employees.
Maybe you need to fill a role ASAP, after your previous hire left during their trial period? Or maybe you’re trying to grow and scale your business right now, and that’s coinciding with an increased need for manpower? Either way, you’re in need of skilled employees and a team that knows what they’re doing!
And the best way to ensure you can build such a team? Focus on making your business the best place to work.
Attractive job roles aren’t just about the salary range included in the bottom of the job description. They’re also made from your company background, working policies, workplace culture, and the various benefits available through being your employee.
These are the things to think about before putting your next hiring campaign into action. Because of that, we’ve listed below a few of the main elements involved in creating a desirable workplace. If you can make sure none are missing from your offerings, you’ll have a much stronger chance of bagging the best talent currently in the job market.
You Expect Too Much
You’re the expert on your business. You’re the expert on your product. You’re the expert in your field. These are all true statements you should be proud of. However, as the boss, you need to understand how this expertise can influence the expectations you hold for any new employee that comes through the door.
It’s often said that experts forget what it means to be an expert. Often known as ‘the curse of knowledge’, it’s very easy to forget that what you’re capable of is specific only to you. Any new employee you hire isn’t going to have this same level of knowledge and insight, even when they hold qualifications and expertise in the capacity you’ve hired them for.
They need to have time to get used to working for you, and keeping up with the specific demands of your business. If they request support, you need to be there to give it to them. This is why probation periods and employee onboarding is so crucial; they’re very unlikely to know how to handle all of this when they first start!
By letting yourself operate with unchecked expectations, you’re far more likely to reject perfectly good candidates for long term positions. You’re also far more likely to see a high rate of employee turnover. You probably won’t even be aware that this is what’s going on, and that’s what makes this such a pervasive issue in the workplace.
There’s a Sense of Micromanagement
On the other side of the above issue, there comes the problem of micromanagement. This is when you hover over an employee as they go about their work day, making comments, pulling them up on little things, and generally being a nuisance as they try to get the job done.
Again, you may not realize this is what’s going on, but it can be a killer of workplace motivation! People don’t do their best work when they’re being monitored, especially if they cannot have the space to explain what it is they’re doing and why they’re going about it in their chosen way. Micromanagers don’t often listen more than they talk!
Benefits aren’t as Good as They Could Be
We live in a very competitive world. If you want to attract the top talent and make sure they stick around for years to come, you’re going to need to offer them the best benefits possible. Every business has their own budget, of course, but make sure you’re stretching to use it properly in this manner.
Good benefits like health insurance, bonuses, guaranteed pay rises, and even the chance to own shares in the business can all be put on the table here. While it’s fun to offer things like gym membership and the chance to wear casual clothing on a regular basis, make sure you get these big hitters down on paper and out of the way first.
You want your employees to know they have a strong sense of advantage when they work for you, even if your salary is less competitive than others you’ve seen in the industry. Sometimes the benefits package can more than make up for not being able to pay what you’d really like to!
There’s a Lack of Security
A lack of security is a big problem. In the modern workplace, there’s a lot that can go wrong when you don’t pay attention to who’s on site and/or who’s in your system. Both sides of the equation can spell disaster for your business in a variety of areas.
For one, it could impact how well you can pay your employees, and it can also allow third parties into the private details your employees have trusted you to safeguard for them.
As such, make sure you review your current on site security practices and your current cybersecurity practices.
How often do you patch your network? How often do you double check who has access to it? What’s your password policy? Do all employees follow it? Do you let your devices go offsite, even if they have access to your own company server and all the data it contains? These are the policy questions to go over periodically.
In terms of physical security, a modern upgrade will never go amiss. Indeed, you may want to invest in access control systems to ensure only the right people are on site at any time. If your premises are located in a very busy, high traffic location, access control can help you to keep an eye on the crowd and where it goes.
After all, you don’t want your employees constantly having to check to see if their bag is still in the cloak room! That won’t lead to a satisfying working setup at all.
No Options to Grow
Finally, it’s best to ensure you have training programs in place for your employees to take advantage of. If someone joins your business and finds there’s very little room to grow from here, they’re likely to go elsewhere within a few months.
You don’t want them to only give their all for a limited time, so give back to them by promising them an opportunity for the future.
Let’s Make Your Business the Best Place to Work
Your business can become an incredible place to work with just a bit of forward planning and attention to detail. Make sure you keep this in mind when you’re trying to bring in new staff. The more you care about the employee experience, the more they’re going to enjoy working for you, and the lower your turnover is going to be.
Start with your own actions and behavior, then focus on what you can do to open up the working world for your team. You should also think about day to day safety, common problems that can crop up in the workplace, and how you can help your employees to feel their best when they’re on the job.
