Alongside maintaining your own positivity, wellbeing and resilience, it can be tricky to support your staff’s wellbeing too. It is however extremely important to address if you want your business to flourish. Employees are nearly twice as likely to be motivated and therefore productive if they are resilient. So, I’ve been talking to local business leaders who have provided some tips on maintaining a motivated, focused and resilient workforce.
- Provide an open and trusting environment for your employees and have honest, regular conversations with them (particularly if they are on the Furlough scheme).
- Work collaboratively with the team to set shared goals for the month/quarter/year. This will help them to feel recognised and gain a sense of belonging.
- Allow employees to take ownership of their work. Work together to set projects that each are responsible for (however short, long, easy or complex), all working toward the shared goal. This gives a sense of worth and provides something they are able to control and develop (at a time when so many things are out of our control).
- Discuss and set career goals with individuals and access relevant training. Training is a great way to plug skills gaps and boost your business capabilities but is also a helpful way to encourage optimism and a sense of accomplishment. This can be especially beneficial to staff on the Furlough scheme (yes, they’re allowed to undertake training!) Access funded training for your employees via the Accelerate Programme.
- If possible, allow them to work flexibly around new commitments and challenges they may be facing at home.
- Schedule regular virtual team catch ups or socials to make up for the social interaction they might now be missing. This is a great way to break down any perceived barriers and talk about something other than work.
- If your business is struggling (and even if it’s not), ask for your employees’ input and ideas to help it survive and grow. Collaboration is key to resilience, managing change and innovation and they might provide some genius solutions!
- Ensure your employees feel safe and supported and that their wellbeing is of paramount importance to you and the business.
Bryony Salter
Business Development Manager