Encouraging Your Employees This Holiday Season

Being understanding and empathetic goes a long way. Showing appreciation for all of the work done will help employees see that what they’re doing is making a difference. Too often there is an employee versus management mindset where employers just want better numbers. Appreciating the work helps show everyone at the company that they’re in this together.

 

One of the most important things you can do for your company is to provide further training that will help the company grow. This also helps keep everyone engaged with their work. If they are just repeating the same things every day it could lead to burnout, so learning new things will help with job retention.  

 

If your company doesn’t currently have the budget to develop in-depth training programs, the least you can do is provide a list of resources employees can pursue on their own. There has been a surge of training courses created online on platforms such as Linkedin or MasterClass. Even if these courses aren’t customized to your business, they can be a great way to train employees on specific skills.

 

Sometimes educational resources don’t have to be work-related. There has been a push in recent years for employers to provide comprehensive wellness resources to employees. Providing things like mental health resources can help employees destress and come to work refreshed. Many companies have also been providing training or resources around the topic of personal finance since finances can be a big stressor in life. Unfortunately, simple concepts such as the credit score needed for a personal loan are unknown to a lot of people. Providing them with educational resources to help them better manage their finances will assist them in becoming more independent and less likely to leave the company for a different job. This is especially important for employees that are looking to make large purchases like a house. If they don’t feel like they can afford a house, they might go looking at other companies for a better salary.

 

 

Sharing your goals for the coming year can help show your employees that you’re on the same page. It provides clarity about your intentions and can help ease their minds about extreme things such as layoffs. If your company is in a position of growth, make sure employees know so they have a positive outlook on their position at the company going into the new year. Sharing goals also helps with transparency. If everyone knows what their goals are, the expectations are clear. You should also highlight the successes of the past year to paint a picture of how much progress everyone has made.

 

If your company has not yet made the switch to remote work, consider implementing that in the coming year. This isn’t possible with every type of job, but for the appropriate jobs, it has proven to be a great change for employees and employers alike. The flexibility of remote work is especially helpful for those with young children they need to take care of throughout the day or dropped off to and from school.

 

 

Another thing you can do is encourage employees to take paid time off. Most companies have a required amount of time that employees can take off. It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of the day-to-day work and goals that have been set. It’s important to unplug from work and not worry about goals or numbers. Encouraging employees to take their time off isn’t only great for them to recharge, but it shows that you care about their life outside of work. As you head into the new year, encourage a culture of hard work as well as a “recharge” culture.