This is a contributor’s blogpost …

 

If you run a business, you need every person to be firing on all cylinders to achieve the best possible results. Whether you employ five or five hundred people, it’s important to understand the value of keeping your star players happy and boosting morale. Here are some tips to help you optimize performance and reach your goals.

 

Organization and clarity

Being organized is incredibly beneficial in business. If you’ve got an office full of people who don’t really know what they’re doing or what they’re working towards, you have systems that are outdated or slow, or you have a lax approach to steering the ship, your business is not going to be as productive as it could and should be. Make sure you set clear directives, use systems and procedures to keep projects on track and encourage your employees to manage their time effectively. You want to run a slick operation, so give instructions and ensure that you have effective ways of running the office in place.

 

Perks and rewards

To get the best out of your employees, you have to give back. You can’t expect your workforce to give you everything and put in the hours if there’s no recognition of their hard work and effort. If you’ve been working towards a deadline, for example, and your team has worked around the clock for the last few days, make sure they know that you’re grateful. You could offer financial bonuses, but this is not the only way of rewarding people. There are lots of other things you can do from hosting a party or booking a table at a restaurant to giving everyone an extra day off. As well as rewarding outstanding work, it’s also important to ensure that your employees have perks that may be offered as standard at rival firms, such as access to business health plans. If you can’t compete with the employee benefits package available at other companies, you may find that your best employees start to look elsewhere.

 

Technology and tools

To do the best job, sometimes, you have to have access to technology and tools. As the boss, you can’t expect people to do jobs faster or produce a higher standard of work if your employees don’t have access to the resources or equipment they need to elevate their performance. If you use dated software systems or computers that keep crashing, for example, it’s beneficial to try and stay ahead of the curve. Technology evolves at lightning speed, so if you dawdle, you’ll soon find that you’re lagging behind.

If you manage a team of people, to achieve the best results, you need those individuals to be on top form. As the boss, it’s your duty to motivate them, give them clear instructions and make sure that they feel valued by the company. Invest in technology and equipment, prioritize staff morale, and set a good example. Make sure that you’re organized, you know what everyone is doing and what you want to achieve and you are able to compete with other employers.