If you are interested in improving your company’s internal working environment and ensuring your employees are consistently happy and healthy whilst at work, it may be worth taking the time to find out how you can become a better employer. It might seem like a relatively simple and straightforward process, but with a growing number of employers struggling to attract and retain top talent within their field, it may require a great deal of planning and foresight ahead of time. To familiarise yourself with steps to becoming a better employer, continue reading.
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1. Listen to your employees
If you only tend to communicate with your employees when you absolutely must or when it relates to work matters, they may see you as distant, withdrawn, and indifferent. This can lead to your greatest assets potentially seeking suitable employment elsewhere or with an organisation that focuses on internal communication both between employers and employees and amongst employees. In recent years, communication has also become a fundamental priority for a growing number of employees with this possible through the implementation of personal development plans, suggestion boxes, and regular feedback sessions.
2. Provide competitive benefits
If you have previously strayed from providing employee benefits, it may be time to provide your employees with a reason to resume their employment with your organisation as opposed to with any of your closest competitors. This can be done manually, by hiring an internal HR manager or assistant, or automatically, by investing in the Zest employee benefits portal. It can boost productivity, morale, loyalty, focus, and even attendance across your workforce with employees more likely to stay if they are rewarded for their hard work and dedicated to the growth and development of the business.
3. Create an inclusive environment
It can be easy to lump your employees together when it comes to catering to their collective needs and wants but by failing to consider their individual requirements, you run the risk of alienating a substantial portion of your workforce and, as a result, forcing them to seek greater employment elsewhere with an inclusive environment needed. This can be done by installing internal and external ramps for employees with reduced mobility, introducing an internal multi-faith prayer room for employees of different faiths and religions, and providing one-to-one meetings for employees with learning difficulties to monitor progress and deliver much-needed support.
4. Remain open to flexible working arrangements
In today’s modern era, flexibility is key when it comes to catering to the individual needs and wants of every employee working under your management. It may, therefore, benefit you to remain open to flexible working arrangements with employees with no immediate family or dependents perhaps preferring to work during non-sociable hours and employees that are parents potentially requiring an earlier or later start to the set hours stated within the job description. By giving your employees the freedom to choose how they want to work, as long as they work a specified number of hours per week, they are more likely to stay put and continue to progress within your company.
If you are interested in becoming a better employer, there are a number of steps you can take to ensure your employees are happy and healthy whilst at work and, as a result, unlikely to seek greater employment elsewhere or with any of your closest competitors. This includes listening to your employees through personal development plans, suggestion boxes, and regular feedback sessions, providing competitive benefits, creating an inclusive environment, and, last but not least, remaining open to providing flexible working arrangements at the behest of your employees.
