photo credit: kevindooley
One of the thing’s that I think all too often goes overlooked in any business is the importance of how the office is run. You can have what you feel is a well oiled business with a great product or service, but if the inner office business isn’t quite up to par, you and your business could be in trouble and in for some disappointment in the future.
It is ultimately how the finances, advertising, ordering and employee control to name a few is run that will make or break a business which ultimately lies within the office of the business. Below are the top 4 do’s for your office environment that are sure to make your business run a lot smoother without chaos.
1. Attention. One of the best thing’s that a manager in any office can do is pay close attention to their employees. Granted, you don’t want to make them feel like you are watching over their shoulder, but have a sense of what their job is all about. The best manager is one who know’s how every job function is run and what it takes to do everyone’s job, otherwise when an employee comes to you with a problem- how else are you going to understand what they are going through or talking about? If you respond to them with “I understand what your going through”, but you have no idea what their job entail’s…they will look at you later like you have no idea what your talking about and therefore will assume you can not fix their problem. This will also create a more comfortable working environment for everyone in the office if they have a feeling that you “get them” and their job.
2. Meetings. A great tool in an office environment is the monthly office meeting’s. Use this time to catch up on where everyone is at as far as their work is concerned, give them all a chance to address their concerns or new ideas for the work load in the office and how they think thing’s might move more smoothly. This will give them the feeling that their ideas and concerns do really matter to you. Put a suggestion box in a place that is accessible to everyone in the office, this can be a box where throughout the month employees can write down concerns, thought’s and/or ideas and at the next meeting you can address them one by one. This ensure’s that everyone’s issues are addressed, all too often someone has an idea or concern but a month later have forgotten what it was, this is where the suggestion box come’s in handy. Don’t hold what people say in the meeting’s over their head. Make this meeting a place and chance to say what is on their mind’s (in a constructive manner of course) without the feeling of they will get in trouble if they point something out or say something about another employee.
3. Open Door Policy. Have the “open door policy” in your office. This is where an employee can come to you anytime with a concern, idea, issue or even personal matter and they know you will listen to them. Granted, there is that long time phrase of “leave your personal life at home”, but WE all know that this is easier said then done, even managers bring their personal life to work with them from time to time. Let your employees know that they can come to you with a problem work related or personal. Even if it’s just to vent for 10 minute’s, if it make’s them feel better and enables them to work more proficient…then what is it really gonna hurt? This will create trust in your office environment. This will create the sense amongst your employees that their manager is human just like them and is there when they need a little help.
4. Work Hard. All too often we see a lot of manager’s that do not necessarily work as hard as their employees do since they are in a position to delegate the work load to everyone but themselves if they so choose to do so. This create’s a sense of resentment and a feeling that you are lazy and they are your slaves. This will over time cause low productivity and tempers to flair. If you work just as hard or even a little harder then your employees then this show’s them that you do work for a living, you are not just there to order them around, this will also set an example for them of how they should act throughout their work week and will ultimately create better temperaments and productivity across the board.