Category: Leadership

5 Habits of Highly Effective Team Leaders in 2023

Posted on | by root

Managing people can be burdensome but you may never know how complex it is until you take the mantle of leadership. It takes an extra level of resourcefulness and expertise to constantly guide and motivate a set of individuals.

Even when an organization brims with talented and highly motivated employees, the entire workforce could be jeopardized if poor leadership and management practices come into play. In fact, 24% of employees become enthusiastically disengaged as a result of poor leadership.

While there may not be a single right approach to leading a team successfully, leadership is a skill that can be learned and improved on. Most people who have succeeded as team leaders are a product of hard work and consistency.

Whether you’re a business leader aspiring to be more effective in your role or a manager looking to enhance your employee’s leadership skills, here are 5 habits you should learn to be a highly effective manager in 2023.

Why you need an employee management system

The most productive organizations are those that stay updated with the latest technological initiatives. With more hi-tech software coming into the limelight, organizations are moving past the antiquated ways of manually carrying out activities to fully automated processes.

One of these intriguing pieces of technology is the employee training management software which allows team leaders and HR professionals to finesse their employee management activities. What does it do?

This software allows you to seamlessly keep track of employee records, work history, and other valuable employee data which can be used to gain insights that allow you to understand and improve the nature of your workforce.

To become successful in your leadership role, you might want to do away with spreadsheets and adopt employee management software. It’s your first step to becoming a highly effective team leader.

5 Habits of highly effective leaders in 2023

Task delegation If you’ve ever had to work under the supervision of an unskilled team lead, you’ll realize how annoying it can be when duties are spelled out in an unclear manner and you have to make further clarifications.

One of the most important traits of a highly effective team leader is the ability to delegate tasks with clear descriptions. Every assignment you assign should be;

  • Rich in context
  • Purpose oriented and
  • Showcase the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) elements.
  • Avoid any form of ambiguities and inconsistencies that can create even a teeny-weeny bit of confusion.

Decision-making

Leaders are always at the forefront of organizational decision-making processes and oftentimes, you’ll be faced with scenarios that warrant you to make critical decisions that will affect the success of your organization.

As such, your decision-making prowess must be top-grade!

One unique quality that sets an effective leader apart from an ineffective one is your ability to make tenable decisions no matter the weight of its result while having the conviction to stand by your decisions.

While your path will always be laced with setbacks due to decisions that aren’t favourable, a highly effective team leader is one that takes responsibility for his actions while leveraging unfavourable outcomes to ameliorate the decision-making expertise.

Transparency

Maintaining a transparent work culture can help you gain employee trust and loyalty. When employees are kept abreast of organizational goals, wins, and challenges, they become motivated to contribute their all to ensure your company’s overall success.

Additionally, transparency allows your employees to have a deeper understanding of their roles and that eventually translates to higher levels of employee engagement.

But on a broader note, transparency in the workplace is a double-edged sword which can make or mar the productivity of your workforce. Too much transparency can leave employees feeling exposed and vulnerable, according to Bernstein in Harvard Business Review.

As such, employees begin to keep their activities secret even when they have no skeletons in the closet. A highly effective team leader is one that strikes a balance between transparency and privacy while creating boundaries that enhance experimentation and collaboration.

Conflict management

A gathering consisting of people with varying personalities and backgrounds is prone to constant strife. As a matter of fact, the American Management Association has it that managers spend 24% of their day managing conflicts.

When conflicts ensue, oftentimes as a result of difference of opinions, a highly effective team leader should be able to adroitly make resolutions or calm the tense atmosphere to avoid disrupting other business proceedings.

To be successful at this point, you must have the ability to analyse conflict and understanding of how to best manage the situation. A good conflict management offers you more than just peaceful coexistence, but employees tend to bond on a whole new level.

Lead by example

Actions speak louder than voices! A great way to showcase your effectiveness as a leader is to take the lead when carrying out organizational assignments. That singular act motivates your employees to take a giant stride towards organizational success.

Being a leader transcends task delegation and supervising activities, an effective leader gives the employees reasons to do more.

You must make them see how vital their individual contributions are to ensure the overall success of your organization and how far you’ll go to ensure that they succeed in their respective roles.

Embrace the burden

The path to becoming a successful and effective leader isn’t always a smooth one and it doesn’t happen overnight. Every successful leader who has left their marks in the hearts of their followers has an untold story of hardwork, disappointment, resilience and consistency.

With that said, it’s about time you get rid of negativities that will cripple your determination, feed your focus and take your business to that great feat you’ve always yearned for. The world is your oyster!

Work Culture

Proactively Addressing Employee Mental Wellbeing to Drive High Performance and Happiness

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Author: Cedric Bru, CEO of Taulia

Not long ago, mental health was a fringe consideration for business leaders, but recently it has become clear that a happy, cognitively healthy workforce is increasingly important to productivity. For companies to succeed, they must take responsibility for employee mental health in the workplace and ensure they are contributing all they can towards their wellbeing.  Inputting the right processes and people to identify poor mental health in the workforce is, therefore, a business imperative for the leadership of today. While there is not yet a firm handbook for how to do this, removing barriers for accessibility to mental health support and leaning on performance data to understand employee productivity patterns are great first steps that CEOs can take to improve employee wellness.

 

Hiring a Chief Wellness Officer

Hiring a Chief Wellness Officer (CWO) is one way in which employers can be reassured that employees are looked after. A CWO’s primary role is to support staff and help them maximize their professional performance and development, whilst forming a culture of wellness within the workplace.

A good CWO is a trusted point of contact for every employee within the organization, but they should also work closely with human resources to develop a tailored approach to people management and career development. Satisfied, motivated, and purposeful employees tend to have better mental health.

Removing any barriers of accessibility to mental health support is the greatest first step any business can make in improving employee wellness. Whilst a relatively new position, CWOs have already proven themselves to be an important and necessary addition to any organization. Taulia has certainly seen and felt the benefits throughout the organization since bringing our Chief Wellbeing Officer, Todd Musselman, on board.

 

Open feedback culture is critical to improving mental wellbeing

While productivity and purpose are not the only elements of good mental health, they can be great motivators in a workplace. In order to ensure that productivity and purpose are on track – both organizationally and individually – it is critical to foster a constructive feedback culture.

At Taulia, we have found that it is critical to provide many channels of authentic feedback to give each employee, with their own unique personality and style, an avenue to express themselves. This includes initiatives such as a regular cadence of departmental and regional fireside conversations; anonymous feedback surveys, and departure surveys.  Delving into some details, employee engagement surveys have helped provide us with an honest – and anonymous – insight into how employees feel about their work, the company culture more broadly.  This helps to make sure we are reacting to their feedback by moving in the right direction and making the necessary changes, as well as continuously tracking employee satisfaction and wellbeing.

The second is a more personal approach – actively asking colleagues if they would welcome our feedback has created a culture in which feedback is considered, not kneejerk and thoughtless, while recipients are far more receptive to getting feedback. I make a point of leading by example here: if a colleague gives a presentation and I want to provide a perspective, I will ask them if they are happy to receive feedback before giving it. It is a subtle change, but the difference felt by individuals can be enormous.

 

Use performance metrics to identify poor mental health

For all the efforts leaders can go to to create the right culture, having the processes in place to identify poor mental health is perhaps the most important thing you can do to safeguard employee wellbeing.

Where motivation and purpose are great ways to keep mental well-being strong, it is usually true that a lack of motivation and purpose can either be a cause or symptom of poor mental health. The question is, how do we identify changes in motivation and purpose? This is a hard question to answer exactly, but there is usually a tangible result on employee outputs that are either empirical, observed by colleagues, or acknowledged by the sufferer when asked.

Where Taulia has its employee survey, we also make sure that regular face-to-face check-ins with line managers are diarised and attended. These are opportunities to discuss wellbeing and workload, and on their own they can be enough to improve employee mood and stimulate better results.  For those who might not wish to talk openly, it is an opportunity for managers to recognize the cues of body language.

Employees are the most important asset to any business. Engaging your workforce, providing them with purpose, and giving them the tools to provide feedback and excel are critical to their wellbeing, and the success of the business. Good mental health does not come about by chance; it is the product of well-thought-out processes and thoughtful, highly skilled individuals whose responsibility it is to ensure employee wellbeing. Actively caring for your workforce by putting the right systems and people in place is one of the most valuable things you can do.

Cedric Bru
Cedric Bru
Three people having a business meeting about their finances, with papers and graphs scattered on the table

7 Ways To Save Money On Company Costs Without Compromising Quality

Posted on | by root

If your business costs are exceeding the mean line, you must keep an eye on where your finances are going. You must start doing some serious budgeting. Otherwise, you may end up cutting into your company’s profitability. Although it is more difficult to reduce costs without compromising the quality of your goods or services, a company’s reputation may be affected by even seemingly little details, such as the quality of its packaging. Before making any cutbacks, think about how they will influence your customers. Fortunately, there are ways to save costs that don’t mean sacrificing quality. Let’s get the ball rolling.

Tips To Cut Business Costs

We’ve bent over backwards to provide you with ways to cut business costs without sacrificing the quality of services or products that you offer to your customers. So, without wasting a moment, let’s get started. 

Use Solar Panels One great technique to identify where you may make savings without sacrificing quality is to examine your company’s energy bills. Changing from a gas supplier to having rooftop solar panels can be a cost-effective option as compared to electricity costs. Investing in energy-efficient lighting for your workplace may be a more manageable option. It may seem counterintuitive to spend more money at first, but in the long run, these adjustments will save you money and help the environment.

Make Bulk Purchases

Some companies make bulk purchases to save money. This is a smart strategy for cutting corporate expenses without compromising product quality. Your company may save money if you switch to biannual rather than monthly procurement of needs since many vendors provide deeper discounts for larger orders. Space for storing items and dividing up responsibilities for any overflow delivery should be taken into account.

Cut Down on Waste

The potential for waste exists in every facet of a company.   Printing papers instead of storing them digitally results in unnecessary paper usage and the potential loss of data due to loss or theft. Reducing waste begins with raising awareness among workers about the need of conserving resources. Stressing the negative effects of trash on the environment might motivate workers to be more frugal. As an example, if you want to cut down on theft, you might beef up your security measures and keep an eye on your raw material waste to see where you could save costs.

Assess the Efficiency of the Staff

In today’s cutthroat business environment, efficiency is key. As a result, you will be unable to affordably transport people. Examine the work being done by personnel and their output. An employee who is not doing their weight should be given a warning before being disciplined. If a warning doesn’t get the job done, firing the worker is the next logical step. See how much work each employee has. Think about how reorganizing the workload may affect the workforce size.

Change Your Vendor

Not many businesses can do this since switching suppliers might scare off clients; but, if your company utilizes services or goods that have no connection with what it sells or provides, you may be able to switch to a cheaper provider. You may be overpaying for office supplies that don’t affect the quality of production.b So, why waste money when you could get by with cheaper materials that don’t change the quality of the final product in any meaningful way?

Automate processes

If you automate your operations, you can save expenses without lowering service standards. Tasks like data entry, payroll, inventory management, and employee scheduling fall under this category. You may save money in a variety of ways by automating some of the routine operations you conduct by hand every day. One tool that can support your trading business and lower business operating costs is Bitcoin Trader. 

Automating repetitive tasks not only saves time but also money by reducing the likelihood of a human mistake. Companies might lose hundreds, if not millions, due to data input and communication errors. Several of these mistakes may be avoided by delegating the task to a machine.

Let’s Conclude!

Cost control in the company should always be a priority. The aforementioned cost-cutting measures need not be one-time events. These tips will allow you to reduce expenses and boost profits. But if you don’t keep an eye on factors like productivity, waste, and vendor pricing, those expenses will start to rise again. We wish you a profitable and productive business ahead!

Three people having a business meeting about their finances, with papers and graphs scattered on the table
modern company or startup listening to African American woman presentation about business

In the Midst of ‘Loud and Quiet Quitting’, Here’s How Senior Leaders Can Open up Communication With Their Employees

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Making its way into Collins Dictionary’s ‘Word of the Year’ list for 2022, ‘quiet quitting’ refers to an employee actively deciding to do the bare minimum within their role and no longer going above and beyond with tasks not directly related to their job role. Gallup’s global workplace report for 2022 showed that only 9% of workers in the UK were engaged or enthusiastic about their work, ranking 33rd out of 38 European countries.

2023 has since seen this workplace trend being joined by its polar-opposite cousin ‘loud quitting’. This is the negotiation tactic employees are now adopting which involves making their boss very aware that they are unsatisfied in their job role and are actively looking for a new job – with the hope that they respond with promises of a more fulfilling job role within the company and a payrise.

With these trends highlighting a serious issue of how employees truly feel about their job role and how much of these feelings they choose to reveal to their boss, leadership, cultural transformation and performance intervention specialists FirstHuman are offering advice to senior leaders on how to encourage communication that truly engages with employees.

Oddi Aasheim, Performance Intervention Partner at FirstHuman said: “The rise of quiet and loud quitting within the workplace has mostly been discussed from the point of view of the employee, but it puts the spotlight on senior leaders and how well, if at all, they are connected to what really matters to their employees.

“Whilst there can be a number of factors in the workplace which accumulate to job dissatisfaction, senior leaders can consider the following to open up communication with their employees.”  

 

Listen for what’s important to them

For anyone to be engaged and motivated by what they do, it must be linked to something that matters to them, something that is important in their life. It may be about professional aspirations, community and connection to others, growth as a leader or financial security for the family. The key for any leader to unlock drive and motivation in the workplace is to engage with their people and show a genuine interest in what matters to them. Then find the connection between this and the job that they do. 

Oddi said: “Coming to work and seeing how your job directly contributes to your goal is a powerful motivator.”

 

Open doors and be accessible 

Open your office door, make your email and number known, do walk-abouts and have town halls. Ask in your team meetings what your direct reports have learnt about what is important to their people to set the expectation that this is something that is expected of them to engage in. Demonstrating to employees that you are genuinely interested in listening to them and make time for this will have an immediate impact. One of the main drivers of dissatisfaction in the workplace is ‘not being listened to’.

Once the leadership has opened their doors and taken a genuine interest in listening to what their employees find important, a safe space has been created that will vastly improve communication, allow creativity to flow, increase transparency, and build trust between employees and management.

 

Practise authenticity and impartiality

Being a leader and allowing yourself to bring your authentic self to work has benefits at work no matter what your role is, but for senior leaders it is an effective way of nurturing open communication between management and employees. Making authentic connections that truly mean something deeper to employees will allow them to feel completely comfortable expressing any concerns or bringing new ideas to the table.

Impartiality is a learned skill as we all have biases based on environments and previous situations. Because of this, it’s vital that senior leaders notice their strongly held opinions and biases by actively self-reflecting on their leadership. Being able to spot when these cloud our listening and how we see things, and being willing to put them aside is a critical element of authentic and impartial leadership.

Finally, “Good leadership takes a holistic approach to ensure employees feel part of the bigger picture and not just a pawn employed to do a job, Oddi added, “as this plays a big part in employees feeling valued and respected. By senior leaders recognising that their employees have aspirations for their future self and career as a whole, deepening the communication means they can be supported and nurtured and a Potent Environment can be created where extraordinary results are possible.”

Employee Expenses

9 Things Employers Can Do to Look After Their Staff During the Cost of Living Crisis

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

As the cost of living crisis continues, employers must recognise the importance of supporting their employees during these challenging times. From both a business and human perspective. Financial stress can significantly impact employee wellbeing, job satisfaction, and productivity. As a result, many organisations are taking steps to provide support and alleviate some of the financial concerns faced by their staff. Beyond being morally right to support employees during times of economic hardship, there are also business benefits.

Employee performance experts at Weekly10 summated their 9 tips so that businesses can support their employees during tough economic times:

  1. Focus on employee engagement
  2. Prioritise employee wellbeing
  3. Be transparent with employees
  4. Look to build resilience
  5. Foster a future focus
  6. Develop healthy relationships
  7. Support physical wellbeing
  8. Provide personal and professional development
  9. Learn and strategise afterwards

 

Focus on employee engagement

Why employee engagement matters

Employee engagement is the foundation for any successful business – whether there’s a cost of living crisis or not. When employees feel connected to their work, peers, and company mission, they’re more likely to find meaning in their work. They feel like they are contributing to a bigger purpose, which can boost their sense of fulfilment and satisfaction. Engaged employees are also more likely to be motivated and productive, leading to a sense of achievement and personal growth.

High levels of engagement can lead to greater job security. Engaged employees are more committed to their work and company, which can make them more likely to stay with the organisation. This, in turn, can provide greater stability and a sense of security.

 

How to build employee engagement

To build an engagement-focused culture, it’s crucial that we understand more about the specific elements of engagement. There’s a simple 10 step model for management based on what HR best practice and behavioural science tells us are the key elements underpinning employee engagement. Let’s assume you’re already getting the basics right like fair pay, and competent managers. Others things you can do are:

  1. Be open and honest about the ups and downs. Transparency is critical to having engaged staff.  
  2. Set clear goals so everyone knows what’s expected, and check progress regularly.
  3. Recognise when people go above and beyond. Everyone likes a pat on the back every now and then.

 

Prioritise employee wellbeing

Why employee wellbeing needs attention during a cost of living crisis

Managers, leaders, and HR have a moral responsibility to look out for their employees. This is especially true during the cost-of-living crisis because they’re likely to be facing higher levels of stress at work and at home.

Unsurprisingly, job losses, financial uncertainty, falling engagement, and increased productivity are a bad recipe for employee wellbeing. But wellbeing is more than just how happy someone seems. It’s about finding a good balance because healthy employees = healthy business.

 

How to offer wellbeing support to employees in cost of living crisis

Managers can help their staff feel supported and valued by offering support, being flexible, providing fair compensation, fostering a positive work environment, and providing opportunities for development. A simple “how are you?” goes a long way.

Jim Hartner, Chief Scientist of Workplace and Wellbeing, Gallup summarised the link between wellbeing and bottom line: “When your employees’ wellbeing is thriving, your organisation directly benefits — they take fewer sick days, deliver higher performance, and have lower rates of burnout and turnover. But when your employees’ wellbeing suffers, so does your organisation’s bottom line.”

 

Be transparent with employees

Why transparency matters during a cost of living crisis

Honesty and openness create a sense of psychological safety that is essential during times of crisis. That’s why, during the cost of living crisis, it’s important for leaders and managers to be transparent at work. When leaders admit to negative situations or acknowledge uncertainty, employees feel safer and more secure. If you can’t afford to give the usual bonus or annual pay rise, be honest. Tell employees how you do plan to support them in cost of living crisis.

Frequent communication is key to building trust and transparency between managers and employees. 86% of employees feel a lack of effective and open communication is the main cause of workplace issues.

Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines, emphasies the importance of being visible, authentic, and transparent in communication during difficult times. By acknowledging what is known and what is unknown, employees are more likely to trust and respect their managers.

 

How to be more transparent with your staff

Holding regular one-on-one meetings, town halls, and sending weekly email updates from the CEO are all effective ways to ensure that employees have ample opportunity to communicate and share their thoughts and concerns. It’s important to avoid talking at employees and instead actively listen and engage with them.

A culture of honesty and openness can positively impact employee engagement, morale, and productivity. Especially when you include clear goal-setting as part of being transparent. It may seem odd but setting clear goals will keep your entire organisation on track. Everyone is focused on the same destination, just via different routes.

Setting goals during a crisis helps to motivate and align individual, team, and department work. In uncertain times, collaborating to set goals can help to ease stress and provide much-needed support and clarity.

But beware. During tough times, goals need frequent reviews as priorities and objectives adapt to the situation. An outdated goal can have a negative impact on engagement, performance, and wellbeing.

 

Build employee resilience to help them adapt during hard times

Why resilience is critical to supporting employees during a cost of living crisis

Your people are a business’ secret weapon to thriving in tough times. Support your people and they will support you. But bosses must do the groundwork to help their employees learn healthy mechanisms to develop their own resilience.

Resilience is how you handle difficult situations. Often described as the ability to bounce back and carry-on during adversity. Resilience measures how effectively you regulate your thoughts and emotions, as well as perceiving challenging situations as an opportunity, not a personal threat.

Having a resilient workforce has huge benefits. Your people can deal with change and are less susceptible to burnout. It drives motivation and improves employees’ overall health. That’s because resilience and workplace wellbeing are linked.

 

How to build employee resilience

Building resilience is very much a personal journey that takes self-reflection, time, and practice. However, team leaders and managers can support an individual’s development by providing the right tools and training.

Employees and managers need to understand the basic elements that create resilience at work. A workplace culture with opportunities for social interactions, good wellbeing, and personal development will instinctively create the right environment to build resilience.

 

Foster a future focus

Why looking forward will help support your employees after the cost of living crisis

A growth mindset helps employees to future-gaze constructively. This promotes openness to change and adaptation and enables healthy responses to challenges and problems. This is linked closely to being resilient.

Critical thinking and accountability are important here. It requires stopping and thinking logically, rather than being swayed by emotions. It also means being human: admit you don’t know everything and ask questions to learn more.

 

How to foster a future focus

Employers can help their employees develop a growth mindset by providing opportunities for learning and development. Encouraging employees to take on new challenges and providing them with the necessary training and resources can help them build resilience and adapt to changing circumstances.

Leaders should foster a culture of continuous learning, emphasising the importance of taking risks, learning from failures, and celebrating successes. They can also provide regular feedback and recognition to help employees see their progress and feel motivated to continue their growth.

Another way to support employees in developing a growth mindset is to encourage them to seek out mentors or coaches who can provide guidance and support. Mentors can offer insights and advice based on their own experiences, while coaches can help employees identify their strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies for improvement.

Employers can also promote a growth mindset by setting challenging but achievable goals and providing employees with opportunities to collaborate and share their knowledge and skills with others. By creating an environment that values learning and growth, employers can help employees build resilience and adaptability, which can be particularly important during a cost of living crisis.

 

Develop healthy relationships for moral support

Why having a good support network at work matters during the cost of living crisis

During the cost of living crisis, employees may feel stressed and isolated, which can negatively impact their mental health and overall wellbeing. By developing healthy work relationships, employers can create a supportive and collaborative environment that helps employees feel more connected and engaged in their work.

When employees have positive relationships with their colleagues, they are more likely to feel motivated and engaged in their work, which can lead to increased productivity and better job satisfaction. Additionally, having people to talk to and offer support can help employees manage stress and navigate difficult situations, such as financial uncertainty, during a cost of living crisis.

 

How to build healthy employee relationships in cost of living crisis

Relationships take time and can’t be forced. Developing healthy relationships at work is essential for both your personal and professional growth. And Leadership can support employees to foster healthy workplace relationships by encouraging them to focus on things like:

  • – Building genuine connections by expressing real interest in others, including their differences, and being mindful of their views and values. Being open to other’s viewpoints can expand your own perceptions and expectations.
  • Confiding in a mentor. They provide a safe space outside your immediate team to express and challenge yourself. Encourage your employees to learn from those around them. This could be as simple as observing from a distance or having more formal arrangements.
  • – Calling out negative behaviours. If there are people who bring you and others down at work, think about what can be done. Often, people don’t realise what they’re doing and how it affects others until someone else challenges it. Honest, empathetic feedback can help with this.
  • – Respecting your colleagues’ boundaries. Being mindful of their time and workload, as well as out-of-work responsibilities.
  • Practice gratitude: Show appreciation for your colleagues’ contributions, celebrate their achievements, and thank them for their support.
  • – Communicate to be understood, not heard. Communication is key to building healthy relationships at work. Be clear and concise when you communicate, listen actively, and be open to feedback.
  • – Build trust: Trust is crucial for any relationship, especially in the workplace. Keep your promises, be reliable and consistent, and show that you are trustworthy.

 

Support your employees physical wellbeing

Why physical wellbeing matters during a cost of living crisis

Physical health is closely linked to mental and emotional health. Although physical fitness is personal, companies can take steps to support their employees’ physical health and wellbeing.

In the UK, an estimated 141.4 million working days were lost due to sickness or injury. In the US, an estimated 1.5 billion workdays are lost each year due to absenteeism and presenteeism (working while sick or unwell) caused by poor physical health.

 

How to support your people to be physically healthier

This isn’t about gym memberships and away days. This is about creating a workplace culture that enables your people to work in a way that works for their health. Here are four ways companies can support their employees’ physical health:

Offer ergonomic workstations. Sitting for long periods can be harmful to employees’ physical health, so companies can provide ergonomic workstations with adjustable chairs, desks, and computer monitors to help reduce the risk of injuries or chronic pain.

Suggest walking or standing meetings, or limiting meetings altogether so that people can choose to work how and where they need to, to best support their physical health.

Encourage employees to take breaks rather than work through lunch, or for excessively long periods. Offer flexible work arrangements that allow employees to balance their work and personal lives more effectively.

Check-in on people’s workloads to make sure they’re fair and manageable. This is achieved by setting clear goals and realistic deadlines. Knowing what’s expected and how you’re tracking against those expectations plays a big part in managing ambiguity and stress.

 

Provide personal and professional development opportunities

Why personal development is the ultimate way to support employees in cost of living crisis

Personal and professional development is crucial for employees during a cost of living crisis as it helps them to adapt to changes, remain productive, and advance their careers while also building resilience.

Investing in an employee’s personal and professional development is a way of recognising an employee’s value. Empoyers can use development as an alternative to increasing basic salary or offering a bonus, which lose their effectiveness quickly anyway.

Setting clear and actionable steps will make building resilience feel more tangible, and prevent it from feeling overwhelming.

 

How to encourage employees to learn new skills

New skills help employees to adapt to changes in the workplace. In a cost of living crisis, companies may need to make changes to stay afloat, and employees who can adapt to these changes will be more valuable. This can open up new career opportunities for staff. This is particularly important when job opportunities may be limited.

Emphasise how new skills support future job security. Employees who are constantly developing their skills are more likely to be retained. Companies may prioritise retaining employees who have the skills and knowledge needed to navigate challenging times.

Developing resilience is important during difficult times. Employees who have a growth mindset and are constantly learning and developing new skills are better equipped to handle the challenges that come with a cost of living crisis.

 

Learn and strategise afterwards

Why you need to use the cost of living crisis to learn how to support employees moving forward

Not to get all Nostradamus on you, but you never know when the next tough episode is coming. But be sure, it is coming. Whether it’s a pandemic, recession, or natural disaster, or something else entirely. Being prepared means your people and business will be in a better position to face it. So now’s the time to take stock, learn the lessons, and introduce new processes and strategies.

 

How to take what you’ve learnt and adapt

Review how you supported your employee through the cost of living crisis

The first step is to look at what you, your people, and your business has just gone through. Collect the thoughts and experiences from your people. Find out how they felt, what they went through, and poll for ideas on futureproofing.

 

Continue to focus on supporting employees to build their resilience

Resilience is like any other skill. It needs honing. Yes, your people may have just gone through a crisis and come out stronger, but don’t lose focus. Put plans into motion to build and strengthen resilience further.

 

Build better communication processes

You’ll have seen the impact good communication has on your people and business during your recent tough time.  Again, resting on your laurels is not a sensible move here. Continue to talk to your people open and honestly. Run frequent employee check-ins, have your managers run 1:1s more often, and open up lines of communication across your business. Make sure your people can talk and be heard when they need to be.

 

Shake up your hiring and retention strategies

It’s likely you’ll have learnt a lot about your people during the last period of change and uncertainty. Some hidden gems may have emerged and some previous stars may have faded. You’ll have a better feel for strengths, loyalty, and weaknesses. Take that information and reform how (and who) you hire and how you keep people long-term.

 

A morally and economically sound strategy

Supporting your people during hard times, or times of uncertainty, is morally and economically sound. Both the business and your employees will benefit. Build a team capable of pitching in when times are tough, not just when it’s easy. Reward great work and innovation fairly, celebrate the great things your people achieve, and build employee engagement organically.

A spokesperson from Weekly10 commented: “The cost of living is being felt by employers and employees alike and looking after staff has never been more pertinent for businesses, individuals, communities. 

These areas of focus are extremely important and those employers who pay them due diligence are sure to benefit from doing so. 

With the fluid state of the economy and no particular letup in sight in terms of the cost of living, looking after staff is going to be of increased importance in every business for the foreseeable future.”

Entrepreneur

Should Entrepreneurs Create Exit Plans?

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Starting a business requires plenty of thought, planning, and of course, money – without thinking of the bigger picture, you’re likely to run into problems that will limit your potential.

But when you consider the future of your venture, are you considering an exit plan?

It may not cross your mind, particularly if you’re a small business, and you may wonder whether you need one at all.

Here, we explore the exit plan and whether it’s right for your entrepreneur adventure.

 

What exactly is an exit plan?

An exit plan is a preparation plan for when you leave your business. Perhaps you’re selling it to an alternative company or leaving it in the hands of a relative. It’s sensible to have one in place, as any financial loss is limited, and you could even be making money.

Any business can benefit from an exit plan. There are many different routes to go down when leaving your business, whether you anticipate more success or decide to retire. There are several exit plans that you can choose from, including:

  • Merger and acquisitions refer to when a business is acquired by another company, or they choose to merge together.
  • Selling your control involves selling the stake of the business to a partner.
  • Initial public offering is when a private business opens up to the public, allowing people to buy shares.
  • Acquihire is when a business is bought based on the talent of the employees.
  • Management buyout consists of employees within management buying the business from the owner.
  • Family succession occurs when you pass down the business to a relative to keep it in the family.
  • Liquidation is the route when a business can no longer make a profit and assets are sold to pay debts.
  • Bankruptcy is used typically when no other plan is an option and assets are taken away to compensate for debt.

 

How can I prepare for an exit plan?

It’s important to know what your business is worth before you decide to call it quits. To prepare for your exit, get an up-to-date business valuation to ensure accuracy. This is particularly important if you’re selling your company to someone else, as you want to be sure that you receive every penny it’s worth, and it can also assist the buyer with any plans once they take over.

Think of your ideal outcome after leaving the business. This can ultimately help you to determine which plan is right for you, but if you have already decided, it can help you begin your next venture. If your company isn’t succeeding as well as you’d have hoped, is there a different route that you could take to showcase your expertise? Alternatively, your business might be making more profit than expected, and this could be used as an investment opportunity.

 

What are the benefits of an exit plan?

There are many benefits of an exit plan, as you can never be too prepared. It’s better to be ahead of the game than behind it, and an exit plan is a perfect example of this. It allows you to set goals for the company and the employees in a timely fashion so that you can assess anything hindering your success.

There are many entrepreneurs across the globe that sell businesses to other companies, but an exit plan is a strategy that will be attractive to buyers. Not only does it reflect that you have aspirations in place for the business, but it showcases your commitment, which is an appealing factor to buyers.

You can have peace of mind knowing there’s a smooth ownership transition with an exit plan, regardless of who is taking over the business. Employees, buyers, and even stakeholders can prepare for the transition knowing what’s to come, and you can implement any necessary arrangements, such as training.

With an exit strategy, you’ve got much more control over your business. While this is an advantage for all business leaders, it’s especially beneficial for small business owners. If the business is unexpectedly taking off, you may consider selling due to its increase in value – and with an exit plan, you can do so much quicker.

There are a variety of exit plans to choose from, but it’s wise for your strategy to consider implementing one. Doing so offers you that bit of protection and preparation for any unpredicted success or, in the worst-case scenario, failure.

Automation

Why Automation is Your Ally When a Big Deal Comes Along

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Winning a big deal or a dream client is a huge boom for any business owner but if you’re not prepared for the influx of new work that follows, that celebrated new wave of work can quickly become a wave of panic.

As AI (artificial intelligence) performs some of the tasks that are usually carried out by humans, automating tasks can offer quick and effective solutions that enable businesses to be better prepared for the times when internal resources and staff are stretched.  

This article will explore how business owners can use automation in their marketing campaigns to develop their brand, grow their online reach and optimise digital marketing across social media channels. 

The actual tasks here can be quite varied and might revolve around anything from customer relationship management through to the deployment of email marketing. In addition to automating key campaigns such as marketing, you can tackle repetitive jobs far quicker and therefore avoid the stress of taking on a new and exciting client or contract. 

 

What is marketing automation?

Functionally, when we talk about automation from a marketing perspective, it means using software to perform some of the tasks that are usually carried out by humans. AI can develop their brand and grow their online reach as well as optimise digital marketing campaigns across channels. The actual tasks here can be quite varied and might revolve around anything from customer relationship management through to the deployment of email marketing. 

Although there are pitfalls from relying too much on automation over human input, when used effectively, marketing automation allows companies to be more proactive, productive and responsive to customers and potential customers. As well as using automation to help you cope with the big client wins, think ahead to how you can strategise to seal the next big deal, lucrative contract tender or client pitch you’re after!

Knowing how to automate business strategies like marketing or streamline operations allows your business to relieve pressure and reduce down heavier than usual workloads. Here are four reasons why automating your marketing campaign can add value to your business as a whole.

 

1. Add a personal touch

It is very effective in marketing campaigns to make the recipient of any marketing materials feel valued and that the communications targeted at them have been personalised. For engaging customers and building mutual trust, it pays dividends to personalise a site and your marketing comms. With the Internet likely to become saturated with AI-generated content, search engines will trust content created by someone they know about.

On the flip side, however, individually personalising marketing communications can be an enormous challenge that would almost certainly not be a good use of anyone’s time. Personalization is something that is made simple and instantaneous by automation. There are many different ways that this could work – but take the time of software that can look at a customer’s purchase history, and send out an email with suggestions for other products that customers with a similar buying history also bought.

Once again, this is something that marketing staff would be wasted on, but when it is carried out via software it can be very effective. 

 

2. Boost your brand reach and conversion rates

It is important to point out that one of the major reasons to invest in marketing automation is that it can have such a positive effect on your brand’s reach and your business from a financial perspective. If automation can make your marketing team more effective, it can make it very possible to grow leads and make more sales. 

For example, you can use automated software that allows you to track leads more effectively – this can be used to up the conversion rate. The software can track those leads that don’t end up converting and then re-target them with adverts in order to get a second chance at making the sale. 

 

3. Customised customer and client services

There can be no doubt that ChatGPT has opened the world’s eyes to the possibilities of personalised customer service provided by AI chatbots. AI chatbots that remember the conversion, as well as learning and adapting their answers to suit the specifics of the query have the power to provide transformative customer service experience without human interaction. AI chatbots can now more accurately and intelligently mimic human speech and are able to adapt their response depending on the context of the conversation. In fact, according to one report, 74% of customers actually prefer to use chatbots when they are looking to get an answer to a simple query. 

Automating your website to communicate and signpost directly to customers can support  customers through necessary but time-consuming procedures. If urgent forms need processing in industries that are regulated or require formal licences, such as construction firms, driving centres or healthcare agencies, automated signposting to online forms on site pages will speed up the process, lead to quicker conversions and alleviate your employees having to physically process online applications or requests. 

 

4. Predictive analytics

Predictive analytics is a form of AI that can help marketers make decisions by analysing large sets of data and identifying patterns and trends. By leveraging predictive analytics, marketers can better understand customer behaviour and predict their future actions. This can help in creating targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to result in higher engagement and conversions.

For instance, it can be used to create customer personas by analysing datasets to identify the common characteristics of customers who have made a purchase or interacted with the brand in some way. These personas can then be used to create targeted campaigns that are more likely to resonate with specific customer segments.

In addition, predictive analytics can help in identifying potential churners or customers who are likely to stop using a product or service.

AI tech can elevate your current campaign’s performance, improve your business operations and help to safeguard your customer’s data. Functionally, automation can be extremely effective for your marketing campaigns and there are multiple advantages for businesses to consider business marketing automation, including:  greater efficiency, increased productivity, and financial savings. The initial cost of putting effective software in place will generally be recouped quickly by the fact that your marketing team is able to make more sales. New tech can boost businesses and promote online reputation with different examples of how to use AI/automation tech most effectively. 

Meanwhile, the arrival of ChatGPT as a powerhouse marketing tool might welcome a new generation of AI chatbots and tools in the future and is sparking a lot of interest. Marketing professionals already recognize their value AI and new automation tools for driving forward website search results, speeding up repetitive processes and for boosting leads or conversions. However, the future potential of AI and automation tools to add value to marketing is exciting. And, remember, marketing automation can be carried out in virtually every industry.

Dr Hitendra Wadhwa at CBRE Symposium

Leadership Expert Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa Delivers Keynote at CBRE Capital Markets Investor Symposium 2023

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Mentora Institute, a New York-headquartered global leadership development and organizational transformation group, is pleased to announce that Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa, the Institute’s Founder and President, delivered the opening keynote address at the CBRE Capital Markets Investor Symposium 2023.

During the keynote titled ‘Cultivating Resilience’, Dr. Wadhwa reframed what it means to be resilient and shared six principles – using adversity; anticipating or mitigating risks; knowing when to fight; knowing when to move on; reframing adversity; and learning and turning – and three practices – re[1]center yourself, untwist your thinking, and adopt a fast-fail mindset – that organizations in the real estate capital markets can implement to build resilient teams.

The symposium which took place last week from March 14 th to the 17th in Scottsdale, Arizona, was attended by CBRE’s Capital Market executives and clients. It included some of the industry’s most influential leaders, such as Miriam Wheeler, Partner and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, and Andrea Drasites, Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at Blackstone.

Additionally, Dr. Wadhwa delivered a training session titled ‘The Anatomy of Great Leadership’, during which he talked about how leadership can be re-architected from the ‘inside out’ and provided insights into the ‘Inner Mastery, Outer Impact’ principles that underlie his unique approach to leadership development and performance acceleration. This unique, ‘inside out’ approach to leadership acceleration focuses on implementing simple actions in an authentic and agile way to achieve inner shifts in the individual which then naturally catalyze outer shifts in their behavior.

The symposium, which focused on the key trends shaping commercial real estate amid the market’s present challenges and dramatic evolution, benefited from the inclusion of Dr. Wadhwa’s high-level and practical insights on the pressing topic of how to build inspiring leaders and resilient teams in the real estate industry today.

In his opening keynote, Dr. Wadhwa highlighted that good leadership in the real estate capital markets is more important than ever as the number of challenges of increasing complexity, including an uncertain economic environment and the need to balance seemingly competing objectives such as ESG and growth, are creating new demands for sector leaders. Moreover, drawing from the latest scientific findings in neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics, and studies of great changemakers and movements in history, Dr. Wadhwa explained how real estate leaders can achieve inner shifts in their behavior and reach a high-performance state to improve decision-making, collaboration and innovation.

Similarly, in the ‘Cultivating Resilience’ keynote, Dr. Wadhwa provided in-depth insights into the importance of developing resilient teams in real estate capital markets, explored the key attributes of resilient teams, and reframed resilience as the cultivation of the behaviors and mindsets that allow teams to thrive even though they may be facing uncertainty, as opposed to simply rebounding from setbacks.

Kevin Aussef, Chief Operating Officer at CBRE Global Capital Markets, said: “We are delighted to have had Dr. Wadhwa speak at this year’s Investor Symposium. Dr. Wadhwa shared very powerful insights and inspiration on the importance of leadership and resilience at a time in which the real estate capital markets are undergoing a period of uncertainty and the office is evolving to support organizations as new ways of working are established. He gave our audience many valuable practices they can use to strengthen performance among themselves and their team. The discussions he catalyzed at the symposium were of great value for all our guests.”

Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa, Founder and President of Mentora Institute, said: “It was a privilege to have spoken to a very distinguished audience at the CBRE Investor Symposium 2023 at such an important time for the real estate capital markets. From economic uncertainty to changing working and purchasing patterns, the sector is facing an unprecedented number of challenges that are affecting demand and investment in commercial real estate and making having resilient teams and exemplary leaders more important than ever. Against this backdrop, I was delighted to have spoken about how leadership can be developed, and resilience can be cultivated to help teams unleash their problem-solving potential and navigate adverse conditions.”

Dr Hitendra Wadhwa
5th generation associate directors at Ringtons

Ringtons Fifth Generation Spill the ‘T’ on how Women at the Helm will Cause a Stir and Take Tea into the Future

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

RINGTONS is a family business dating back to 1907, offering free personal delivery of tea and more directly to the doors of its loyal customers. As the company comes into its fifth generation of leadership, associate directors Nadia Johnson and Brigitte Keatings, both working mothers, discuss how they are tackling modern-day challenges in the industry, updating company technologies, and investing in the importance of people in business.

Following a rigorous interview process and an 18-month-long exercise including ongoing assessments, presentations and projects, Nadia and Brigitte joined Ringtons as the first ever female directors and marked a new era of women at the helm of the family business.

Brigitte said: “Having leaders who are empathetic and understanding of the challenges that women may face in the workplace such as having children, being a mother and other health issues can help create a more supportive and inclusive work environment. It can also lead to higher employee engagement, satisfaction and retention.”

Echoing this sentiment Nadia added: “Personally, I’m a big believer in working smarter, not harder, and adapting conditions to enable more women to continue working once they’ve had children. There’s a huge talent pool of women who aren’t able to get back to work due to barriers like non-flexible working conditions and I plan on breaking down those barriers, step by step. We have already taken crucial measures like upgrading our maternity and paternity benefits and that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.

“As the fifth generation take up the leadership mantle, we will eventually have a 50/50 split of men and women at the director level of our management structure, something we want to celebrate. We believe that seeing three women in key leadership positions is crucial for other women progressing in the business, as well as how it resonates with our customer base.”

 

Putting people in the spotlight

After completing a degree in psychology, a masters in occupational psychology and gaining extensive experience in keeping and developing employees, one of Nadia’s key areas of focus is giving employees clarity in their roles and the tools to do their job well.

Nadia said: “When I first started at Ringtons, I realised that there were so many opportunities for us that hadn’t been tapped into, and that I had to be a part of exploring those opportunities. We want to give everyone, from our salespeople to our customer care team, all the tools and information that they need in order to thrive in their job. My passion and my background is working with people, so I’m examining how we can evolve our company culture to support the growth and changes that are taking place.

“With people at the heart of our business plans, I put together a people strategy, starting with a Ringtons manager foundation training course. Managers can make or break people and the impact of a good manager is often underestimated, so we’re rolling out this programme to bring consistency and clarity across management. The ambition is to provide open and honest feedback for all colleagues and to make sure we’re focusing on supportive performance development, rather than performance management. We feel this will help people to flourish in their roles and reach their potential. People can be your competitive advantage in business, my focus is to put more people in the spotlight.”

 

Essential digital development

Digital technology will also play a huge role within ecommerce, data collection and customer service. As such, a three-year digital development plan has been put in place to deliver long-term growth.

With years of experience and expertise in marketing, Brigitte has been spearheading a customer-led approach to all facets of marketing and brand initiatives. She said: “I want to put customer needs at the forefront of everything we do. With this in mind, in my first few months at Ringtons I focused on understanding the data we collected and how it’s used to drive business decisions. I started by analysing the existing approach and key challenges, as well as identifying some significant opportunities. I believe that deeper consumer knowledge is at the heart of our growth opportunities and this year is all about building foundations and getting a good understanding of what our current and future customers want and need so that we can build our strategy around this.

“Of our loyal customer base, many have remained with us for over 30-40 years and have grown-up with the brand over decades. Our personal approach means our salespeople are often seen as friends to those that buy from us – a retiree demographic we are hugely centric to – knowing little details like the names of grandchildren and pets. Face-to-face relationships are even more valuable and meaningful today and they’ve allowed us to build deep connections with our customers. Our service is like no other in the market today.

“Our doorstep service and unique product offering have been passed down through the generations as grandparents’ gift to children and grandchildren, they too become loyal customers with Ringtons tea sparking memories of family occasions and happiness. This generational motion also nicely echoes our own company structure, and, as we expand our own horizons with women helping to steer the way, we also want to make ourselves relevant to a younger and more diverse audience who will further associate tea with significant life moments.

“This shifting of mindset will help us to take on future challenges and amplify our digital offering, while still providing the highest quality and value to our customers as we navigate the current economic crisis. We will innovate through customer insight and continued market analysis with our customers at the fore.”

Nadia added: “Our digital transformation is just in its beginnings, as a massive enabler of growth, even artificial intelligence will take a role within the business as we strive to create a digtised customer journey that reflects the bespoke door-to-door one that we are famed for.”

 

Backing brave decision making

Above all else, one of the most important considerations for a business striving to adapt to a rapidly changing market is to not be paralyzed by choice or the fear of making a professional misstep.

Nadia said: “We’re going to make some good decisions and some bad decisions, that’s just the nature of change and we’re going to have to be transparent about not always making the right decision. Honest communication and results across the business will ensure that our passion within our female leadership roles will continue to build solid foundations of trust with our employees and customers far into the future and keep us relevant in today’s competitive market.”

For more information, please contact Emily Dallison or Hannah Bullock at Cartwright Communications on [email protected] or 0115 853 2110.

Motivational Leader

Five Initiatives to Inspire Your Team at Work as a Leader

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

By Charlotte Boffey, UK Head of Services for Employment Hero

Inspired and engaged employees are often the people who perform best. By fostering a work environment that motivates a team to perform at the top of their game, push boundaries, and challenge the status quo, business leaders can have a real impact on the quality of work their company produces. 

To improve employee motivation and inspire performance, your leadership team should set the standard. They need to be the driving force behind inspiring employees and helping them grow, whilst continually championing the company’s mission and values.

With these goals in mind, here is our advice on how to create a workplace environment that inspires and motivates your team to do their best work.

 

1. Encourage personal and professional growth

Career development and progression opportunities give your employees personal incentives that will benefit their overall contribution to the company. By encouraging personal growth through regular learning opportunities, you can help drive employee motivation, reduce turnover, and increase productivity rates.

 

2. Create a culture of reward and recognition

The best way to foster collaboration and honest feedback between employees is to encourage team members to give recognition and praise regularly. This could be through thank you notes, a team notice board, dedicated portions of team meetings or mentions on internal communication channels. By encouraging employees to recognise team members, rewarding your team for going above and beyond in their roles, and acknowledging achievements, birthdays, and work milestones, you can demonstrate to your employees that you are dedicated to their personal development. 

 

3. Establish company traditions

Whether it’s a bell in the office for hitting targets, a winning team lunch, a charity fun run or sharing some cake to celebrate a birthday, such traditions and rituals give your team something to look forward to and keep them feeling motivated throughout the year.

 

4. Allow for flexible working 

Our Remote Working Report found that 55% of remote workers would look elsewhere if they no longer had the option to work remotely. The advantages of flexible working schedules are obvious, so if your work style permits, we highly recommend giving your employees the opportunity to work remotely to help them achieve a sense of work/life balance.

 

5. Create a physical environment that inspires

A clean, bright, organised office goes a long way. Employees will appreciate efforts to make your physical workspace as comfortable as possible, even if that’s just a few small additions like indoor plants, bean bags, or computer monitors and keyboard stands. If your team is working remotely, you can offer a budget allowance for your employees to decorate their home offices so that they always have a comfortable working environment. 

 

Ensuring that your workforce feels motivated and inspired relies heavily on establishing a company culture that puts the wellbeing of employees and company values at heart. Whether it’s reward and recognition for your team, creating unique company traditions, or encouraging learning and development throughout the year, implementing these ideas can help your team feel that little more inspired.

How to Succeed as a Startup CEO

Posted on | by Jennifer Spencer

Building a company from the ground up can be both exhilarating and stressful. As a startup CEO, it’s important to put a few key skills into practice. Whether it’s staying flexible or communicating with your employees, these skills will help you run things smoothly.

Hire the Right Employees

Startup founders can’t afford to hire very many employees, so it’s important to make sure the people you do hire work out. Think about the jobs you need done and create positions that encompass these job responsibilities. Each employee will need to wear multiple hats, especially at the beginning. They will need to be self-starters since you can’t guide each employee through every task needed to accomplish the job. You can reduce the expenses of getting help by contracting freelancers. That way, you don’t have to pay salaries or benefits immediately. Having some contractors will attract other employees as well. Just make sure you don’t misclassify someone as a freelancer since there are very specific rules about who is a contractor and who is actually an employee.

If you are paying salaries and benefits, make sure you work this into your overall budget. Things like taxes and payroll deductions are higher with employees than with contractors, so spend some time thinking about how you will cover these expenses. One option is to use some of your own funds until you can get the startup running a profit. Looking for ways of reducing your monthly expenses, such as refinancing your student loans, can give you more financial breathing room. If you’re thinking about refinancing, take some time to review a guide on fixed and variable rate loans before deciding.

Offer Flexibility

As the CEO of a startup, you will need to be flexible, both with your employees and in your work. You will need to be able to learn quickly and adapt to change because things will go wrong. Going with the flow allows you to push everyone to do their best. It might require you to go in a different direction or stop a project that is draining your resources. Because you may not be able to hire accountants, analysts, or other specialists, you will need to be able to problem solve on your own. It also requires you to offer employees flexibility, including nontraditional hours or the option to work from home. This helps both attract and retain talent.

Provide the Tools Employees Need

Even if you hire great people, they won’t get their jobs done if they are unable to use the tools they need. It may take money and time to obtain the right programs and equipment, but in the long run, it can save you money. When your employees’ tools work well, employees are less likely to lose important information in the middle of a project. Consider more than just the basic hardware and internet connection. Think about social media tools, communication applications, and other tools that can be scaled up or down easily. Using the right software allows employees to gain a competitive edge.

Team Management

Three Key Benefits of Having a Diverse Workforce

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

It’s time for organisations to understand the importance of diversity and inclusion in their hiring practices. But if your business has never really focused on equality and diversity, what are those benefits?

Here, we’ll delve into the benefits a diverse workforce brings to businesses.

 

You can understand your customers better

A lack of diversity can impact your clients and the output of your business in many ways. For example, hair companies may produce products for afro hair without really understanding the specific needs of that type of hair. Or, across many sectors, accessibility provisions may take into account physical disabilities but not mental ones.

When people from diverse backgrounds come together, they can offer viewpoints that may not be considered by a more homogenous group. We know from current political events in the USA that when these voices aren’t heard, decisions are made without considering their needs. This applies to businesses, their employees, and customers too. An IT consultancy firm or UK call centre will stand a better chance of attracting and delivering an excellent service to customers with a diverse workforce.

 

Attracting and retaining top talent

Boards and senior management teams in the UK are still overwhelmingly male and white. As we go down the ranks, diversity increases, but many businesses are still seas of uniform faces.

Predominantly white businesses may struggle to attract BAME workers, while research has shown that 40% of women qualified in engineering will leave their roles because of “unwelcoming social barriers” that include being perceived as incompetent, being sexualised, and being excluded from social events.

Inclusive measures are also important for those with both visible and invisible disabilities. We’re aware that people who require mobility aids will require ramps and lifts to access certain parts of our buildings, but what about those with arthritis or chronic pain? Are your offices designed with developmental disabilities like autism in mind, or are they potentially overwhelming? Factoring in the needs of people from diverse backgrounds will show that your business cares about diversity and equality and can help you attract and retain so much more talent.

 

Better staff well-being

Employees who are surrounded and managed by people who share similar characteristics to them are likely to feel more welcomed and included. If a company is dominated by straight white men, it can sometimes contribute to a ‘laddish’ culture that can exclude women, LGBTQIA+ people, and those from different ethnicities.

A happy workforce is already a major benefit to businesses, but it also brings with it plenty of additional advantages. Businesses with a diverse set of happy people have a lower turnover and higher productivity and can even be more profitable. It pays to be diverse.

Diversity should always be a priority for businesses. Offering opportunities for people from different backgrounds is important for societal change and social mobility, but it’s also critical to business success. So if your organisation doesn’t yet have an equality and diversity policy in place, consider these three points and make them a priority.