Ways to Make Employees Feel Included
Creating a fantastic work environment starts from the top. It’s necessary to make your employees feel like they’re part of the family. Otherwise, they will consider looking for other options. It doesn’t matter if you offer a competitive salary. If they don’t feel included, the workplace won’t be comfortable for them. Here are some tips to ensure that no one is left behind.
Avoid exclusive meetings
There’s nothing wrong in inviting only the relevant departments to a meeting. You don’t want to waste other people’s time by asking them to come to a meeting they have no part of. However, it also pays to invite different department members and not only the people on top. You don’t want to make these meetings exclusive and force the rest to follow what was agreed upon. Besides, your new employees might have something good to say to improve the company. You don’t want to waste the opportunity by focusing only on the people on top.
Be transparent
Transparency is also necessary to succeed in leading the business. You want your employees to know what’s going on. If you’re not transparent enough, they will be surprised when you reveal big news. They will also lose trust towards the leadership team and decide not to work well. They know that they’re not valued enough to deserve such transparency.
Host random brainstorm sessions
The good thing about brainstorming is that nothing is final. You want to listen to everyone in the room and ask for advice. You don’t want to dismiss people and say that their ideas are terrible. It doesn’t matter how crazy their ideas are. When you think about what they said, you will realize they’re worth a shot.
Allow feedback
Your employees must also have the chance to provide feedback through different channels. You can even allow them to go straight to you to say what they feel. It’s an excellent way to show that you listen. It doesn’t matter what their position is; they’re important. If you dismiss feedback and only listen to the management team, you will make your employees feel left out. They will also be afraid to discuss positive changes to the company.
Don’t be too strict
Sure, there are rules to follow. You should be consistent in enforcing these rules. However, you must also be reasonable. If someone asks to be absent for a few days, don’t say no. There might be a valid reason. You don’t want your assets to leave the company because of your decision. Others might ask for a reasonable salary bump. If you evaluated the employee and think that the request is good enough, you should say yes.
Remember that your employees will only be loyal if you treat them right. It’s easy for them to jump ship if not heard. Besides, other companies are willing to catch them should you not do the right thing.
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