Take Care of Employees: Protect Them at All Costs

Marcus is a firm believer that the customer is not number one. “They’re number two, right behind the employee.” So if you want to be a great business owner, not just a good one, you must care for your employees. Bosses need to promote a culture of safety and protection at all costs if they want their team to succeed. If you compare your business to an organized event, even something as simple as a foot race needs rules, order, and structure. Without those systems in place, it’s chaos. If you’re unsure how your business can help your team feel secure, organized, and protected, here’s your game plan for taking care of your employees.

A cared-for employee is a happy one. A study from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School found that employee happiness directly connects with productivity. How directly, you might ask? A happy employee is a whopping 13 percent more productive than an unhappy one. (Stillman, 2019). This positive energy flows to customers too.

A safe, protected work environment can also help your employees sleep better at home, stay fit, not take unnecessary sick days, and feel mentally fresh day in and day out. In other words, it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. Taking care of your employees will make coming into the office every day something to look forward to, from the new-hires on the bottom rung all the way up to your management team and partners. When you take care of employees by doing something as small as recognizing their hard work, they will want to stay at their jobs longer. Glassdoor, an employer review site, has found that more than half of employees would stay at their jobs longer if their bosses showed them more appreciation. Also, an astounding 81 percent of employees said they were motivated to work harder when their boss showed appreciation for their work. (Glassdoor, 2013).

Here are five steps you can take to take care of employees:

Something as simple as supplying free bagels on Monday mornings can motivate your employees for the rest of their week. You don’t have to go as far as Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco where they offer free breakfast, lunch, and complimentary snacks on every floor. (Canales, 2018). But offering some nosh to your staff will motivate them to work harder, and it will make your office a happier environment. This is one of the easiest methods of taking care of your employees and by far the most delicious.

When you hire someone, you should already see their potential. As the boss, it’s your responsibility to help them achieve what they are capable of. To help you achieve this, you can have employees shadow more experienced staff. Introduce them to people in their field whom you respect or admire. Or, you can assign them tasks just outside of their comfort zone so they can broaden their skills. All of these are examples of taking care of your employees. Another way is to give them “skin in the game,” as Marcus says. When he visited a small, South Florida pie company, Marcus quickly realized one of their key employees was way undervalued and underpaid. The employee had been with the company for years, and was an office assistant who was doing everything from ordering inventory and staffing to human resources and handling employee and customer issues. Her dedication, passion, skill sets, and work ethic eventually earned her a piece of the pie, so to speak, when Marcus gave her equity in the company.

Shame and fear are not good motivators, but recognition and approval are. When you bring attention to individual or team successes, you are taking care of your employees. A floor full of smiling, admiring faces makes their wins seem more significant. This key lesson was something that Marcus tried to instill upon the founder of a high-end dog boarding business in California. With a little constructive feedback from Marcus, the owner came to realize that barking orders and belittling employees in public does nothing to increase morale. Fact is, any negative things you say to your employees will seem much harsher and humiliating than you may have intended it to be if there’s an audience watching. When frank conversations need to be had, think positively, constructively, and consider what you’re saying, as well as when and where you’re saying it.

Transparency in business is an excellent way to get rid of rumors, half-truths, and outright lies. Still, when someone has a secret, it’s a secret for a reason. Enacting a zero-tolerance rule for gossip is a good way to keep your employees feeling safe and secure in their workplace, and it’s an example of how to take care of employees who may be going through something in their home life that they don’t want to discuss with coworkers.

You can take care of employees by merely being a good example. “A successful business owner subscribes to one theory: They show up first, and they leave last,” says Marcus. It’s true. Your actions are just as important as your words. So put on a smile, hand out free compliments, and let today’s issues roll off your back while making a plan of how to handle them tomorrow. How you solve problems is how your employees will solve them too. If you curse and shout, you’ll hear the same thing coming from your sales or marketing team. While you focus on taking care of your employees, make sure you also manage how you present yourself to the world.

You are the head mentor in your business. The buck stops at your desk. Toxic or unhappy employees will drag down your whole team, so your priority should be to ensure your office stays healthy and protected. When an energy drain occurs in your organization, it can quickly ruin morale and performance. As you plan out your days or weeks on the calendar, make sure you prioritize taking care of your employees through recognition, communication, and development.