Category: Growth Strategies

Running a company is not just about sales and profits but also about proper human resource management. When it comes to successful organization there is no task more important than developing a solid employee structure. Your employees are your most valuable asset and an integral and vital part of your business. Therefore, you should know how to get the best out of them.

Your staff must be motivated to do what they are required to do. Following are some ways in which you can get the best out of your staff:

1. Communication

Good business owners will always make sure that the communication between them and their employees remain open. A manager/leader who talks to staff on regular basis will always be respected more as opposed to the one who rarely communicates with his staff. The relationship between an employee and a business owner needs to be developed and cultivated over time. Ensuring good communication is the way to become a better leader.

2. Criticism

While criticizing your employees openly in front of others may give you a feeling of power or authority, it won’t do nothing for the self-esteem and credibility of the employees. Criticism should be constructive and it should be delivered in private and in such a way that your employees have a chance to respond.

3. Respect

Respect for your employees means acknowledging their presence, disregarding their status or position, realizing their personal worth, and accepting their individuality. You and your employees are still human. If you expect your staff to be like robots in carrying out every task, then you will soon realize that it’s a very poor method of management. Treating your staff right will result in your employees respecting you in return and getting motivated to perform the required tasks more efficiently.

4. Empowerment

If you want your staff to perform well, then you must provide them with the expertise, training, tools, knowledge, and confidence so they can carry out the required work to a competent level. Employees who are not empowered to perform are likely to end up stressed out as there is no clear direction. As a result, their performance will suffer. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to make sure that all your employees are knowledgeable and confident to carry out their tasks.

5. Incentive

Every employee has deadlines or targets to meet. To get your staff to perform better, it is recommended that you put some incentives in place to reward effort and hard work. This will result in your employees exceeding the required targets.

6. Flexibility

When it comes to accommodating the needs of his staff, a good business owner should be flexible. Flexibility can become a great attribute which you can use to get the best out of your staff, as long as your employees do not abuse this.

Recognition

An employee must be recognized if he performs well, especially on a challenging or difficult task and where he has gone above and beyond what was expected of him. When consistent effort of an employee is not praised or recognized, it is discouraging and deflating for him. The employee will feel that there’s no point in putting more effort than his colleagues if the team leader is not going to acknowledge it.

8. Trust

A good leader/manager trusts his employees to carry out their duties without constant monitoring and supervision. As long as the staff does not betray this trust, the relationship between the employees and the manager will be productive. The staff must also trust the manager/team leader for their best interests and proactively find ways of further improving the relationship.

9. Care

The relationship between an employee and a manager should not be limited to just the working environment. It will not hurt to find out about your staff’s interests outside of work. You can use this to develop a personal connection with your employees. It will show that you are approachable and you care about your employees.

The Bottom Line

A motivated staff will be a productive staff. It is far better to have motivated, empowered, and happy employees than it is to have demoralized, unhappy, and bored employees. This goes far beyond how your staff perceives you. It encapsulates how they perform and how it will be perceived by people in general, both internally and externally.

The Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) 2015 is a complicated piece of legislation that applies to various different circumstances throughout New Zealand. The act and all its related regulations were introduced to ensure highest level of protection for workers and others from workplace health and safety risks. These include the risks to both physical and mental health. So far, the act is reasonably practicable.

 

Why Was HSWA Introduced?

The HSWA was introduced due to degrading workplace injury stats. At the time its regulations started being written, New Zealand was seeing 70+ people die at work every year. 600-900 workers were dying due to work-related incidents a year and a massive 10% of workers were harmed annually. The goal of Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 is to see a 25% drop in these figures by 2020.

 

Who Does HSWA Make Responsible?

The regulations and laws introduced in HSWA target any ‘person conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBU). These may include:

• School principles
• Self-employed people
• Company directors
• Property managers or landlords

 

What Do You Need to Know?

Without going into the individual laws under this act, following are some key things you need to know as a PCBU:

 

PCBUs Can Be Held Responsible of Care for Employees

Unless you haven’t heard, you probably already know by now that persons conducting a business or undertaking can now be held personally responsible in the event of a workplace injury. It has been well-publicized that the penalties for not taking this act seriously are severe. Organizations can be fined up to $600,000 and individuals can receive up to 5 years of jail time.

 

“Primary Duty of Care” Covers a Wide Variety of Issues

This is another important regulation under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. According to this regulation, employers and individuals are responsible for:

• Providing a safe work environment without any risk of physical or mental health and safety.
• Allowing for safe use and storage of substances and plant.
• Maintaining a safe plant, structures, equipment, and work systems.
• Monitoring of the health of workers (both physical and mental).
• Monitoring the conditions at the workplace to prevent illness or injury as a result of workplace activities.
• Providing information and training necessary to protect against workplace health incidents.
• Providing the facilities that are necessary for wellbeing of the staff.

 

There is other related stuff. You should read the legislation for more details.

 

Building a Safety Culture in Your Business is Now More Crucial Than Ever

Managing the health and safety of workplace shouldn’t just be the responsibility of a few team leaders. This is because if someone gets injured, it has a ripple effect. Not only does it affect the worker, but also their family, co-workers, and the business. “Safety Culture” is not just a slogan, it means encouraging everyone to take control of safety. Whether it is through technology, training, or reporting, if everyone is part of the subject then there will be maximum visibility and a much better time.