How to get the best out of your workforce

May 21 2021 - These days it is more important than ever to keep your workforce happy and loyal. You may think that with the job situation as it is (with so many people looking for work due to a lot of businesses closing down) that workers can be replaced easily. This may very well be the case when it comes to unskilled jobs or quickly trained jobs, though in reality there are very few such positions out there. However, looking after the fully skilled members of your team has never been so important to employers and as the pandemic has shown people what their life priorities are, employers may find that they need to be more accommodating to their employees.

#1 Train your staff regularly

Be sure to get the best out of your staff by training them and update their training regularly. Use a professional trainer for teaching whether you have your own in-house trainer, hire a subcontractor or an outside company to come in and do the training for you.

Give your staff certificates for their training, if it is not a recognized qualification then issue an inhouse certificate (templates can be found on the internet) which will help your members of staff feel that they have accomplished something. Make sure to keep an updated training matrix on your computer system so you can see who requires what training and when. You can also make sure that they have access to information relevant in their field, such as ways on improving sustainability in a print shop.

#2 Give regular incentives and advice

Giving incentives for work completed to high quality and ahead of schedule is a good idea particularly if extra work is required to get a project out the door. This can give a real boost to staff morale and will get them wanting to do more for the company, especially if the incentive is a worthwhile reward and not just a small cube of chocolate or a pat on the back.

Give advice to all members of staff, such as when to get their eyes tested or information on legal help and benefits. You should also provide information on the longer term questions, such as 'What are my pension options' or 'Are there will writing services near me' to any members of staff who may not know or be aware.

#3 Hold regular meetings

Keep the information flowing within your company from the top all the way down to the bottom. When information is withheld, it creates a 'them and us' situation, which is not a helpful or happy one in any industry. It also opens doors to rumours which will generally be negative and can damage worker morale, production rates, and even quality of work.

Regular meetings can be flowed down through the company from directors to managers to supervisors and team leaders and then to the workers. This gives everybody the information, everybody feels involved, and nobody feels left out or 'too low to know'

Having meetings like this also gives everyone a chance to ask questions or have their ideas or opinions heard and is much better than just leaving notes on a notice board or sending details in an email that require staff to see or notice the written information.

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