We all know by now that employees are one of the greatest assets that a business has. As such, it is in everyone’s best interests to help them achieve their full potential. Below are some simple ways that you can aid this process without having to make any large changes to how your business operates.
Start with Trust
Letting your employees know that you trust in their ability to carry out their role will make them want to work and develop themselves for you. Do they really need such close supervision? This can sometimes come across as mistrust and won’t exactly fill your workers with confidence. Are there any extra responsibilities that you think they might be ready for? This would certainly be a big statement of trust and gives them room to grow into them. Your employees will also trust you more if you are not too critical of them if they make a mistake. Mistakes are a natural part of life, in particular, when taking on new responsibilities. If you are too critical, they may become fearful of taking on any new responsibilities in the future, causing them to stagnate. If you do need to give some negative feedback, make sure it is done in a constructive manner. You can find more information on how to do that here.
Listen to Them
Their feedback is one of the biggest free resources of information on how you can improve your operations. They work there every day and are therefore best placed to see what your business does well and what it could be doing better. Any time they feel listened to, they will engage with their work more as they feel like they are really part of the business. This can be as simple as getting them to complete a survey. Although sometimes the personal, face-to-face touch can be even more effective. Again, this will make them feel genuinely respected in the workplace and will encourage them to look out for room for improvement in the future.
Find Them a Mentor
Who better for them to learn from than people who have direct experience of being where they have been? To see how their mentor has developed will also give your employee something to aim for, knowing that any hard work they put into their own development can pay off. It may be worth looking to someone who can provide a specialized service in providing mentoring in the workplace to maximize the benefits that your employee receives. This means that you can keep the rest of your workforce focused on their role.
Helping your employees to achieve their full potential is all about you placing the foundations for them to do it themselves. Adhering to the tips above, plus exploring some of your own, will help to make them engage and take the majority of the steps themselves. This healthy relationship between employer and employee should see improvements across the board, both in productivity and also in employee satisfaction.
