Maximizing your company’s productivity doesn’t have to include pushing your employees to the breaking point. Rather, a smart strategy for your company will include careful thought around how to make the work environment as pleasant as possible for your employees in order to boost innovation and loyalty and manage your attrition rate. Read on for tips on how to improve the physical and psychological work environment for your employees, and get ready to see the positive vibes in action!
Creating a Positive Physical Environment
It’s tempting to dismiss any ideas around changing up the physical space as too expensive to tackle, or simply too silly to take seriously, but you don’t need to spend a fortune or become a feng shui master to make a few meaningful changes in your employee’s workspace. Before implementing any big changes, be sure to talk to your employees first to get a sense of what’s working, and what they’d like to see improve. For starters, your team might want to consider the following:
- Cool colors. A fresh paint job won’t break the bank, but it might make a difference in your employee’s outlook. Green and blue are often associated with creativity and calm, while red and yellow can give a boost of life into a dull space. Even painting a single wall in a bold color can make a big impact on the look and feel of your office. Invite your employees to pick up a brush on company time, and you can even build in some messy team building–just don’t forget the drop cloths!
- Natural elements. Windows are great for thinking because our brains tend to be stimulated by the sight of nature, even if it’s just a few trees in the parking lot. Incorporate a bit more of the natural world in your workspace, from house plants to landscape posters, to a stone fountain in a common space. A little water, wood, stone and light can go a long way to making things feel more peaceful, and productive.
- Personalize the Space. Allow employees to spruce up their work space with photographs, artwork, calendars and creative décor. Ensure that employees maintain their space and keep it clean, and not cluttered, so that they can still focus on their work. But, having a little bit of comfort at their desk can help keep them motivated and inspired to do a good job!
Empower Your Employees
Another great way to make a more pleasant environment for your employees is to focus on their intrinsic motivation for coming to work every day. Forbes suggests that empowering your employees to take ownership over their position will make for a happier, and more productive team. So how do you do it? Be honest and open with your employees about their hopes and plans within the company, and challenge them to pursue assignments and projects that will best leverage their skills. Be clear with them about how you will provide feedback, and then step back and allow them the space they need to develop and grow. The more you trust your employees to excel and achieve, the more dynamic the work environment will start to become.
There are also some great tools you can provide to your employees via a third party call center. Whether it is a whistleblower hotline service to give them a way to anonymously report workplace violations or an employee call out line that simplifies the process of calling out for both employees and management, you’ve got some great options.
Creating a positive environment, both external and internal, can boost satisfaction and productivity in a big way. Working with a call center service, like MAP Communications, can also take some of the work off of your employees’ plates so they can streamline and focus. With solutions that include live 24 hour answering services, MAP Communications will keep your customers and employees happy.
For more information on how MAP Communications can help you improve the workplace experience for your employees, contact us today.
Here are some related articles you might be interested in:
Seven Tips To Help You Get Better At Retaining Top Talent
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How Businesses Can Ensure Employees Stay Motivated When Working Remote
