10 stupid mistakes in employee relations and 10 simple ways to reward your Team

Handling employee relations issues correctly is absolutely essential for creating a successful company. Never forget: Your employees are a top asset, but if you botch your relationships with them, you could create a work environment with low morale and little productivity.

Needless to say, this isn’t good for business.

10 Stupid Mistakes in Employee Relations  

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So, what are some of the ways companies screw up employee relations?

1. Playing favorites. Favoritism shouldn’t exist in the workplace. When you constantly give opportunities only to your favorite employees or apply the rules only to certain employees, you’re going to create a work environment that’s filled with jealousy and resentment. All employees should be treated equally.

2. Taking sides in employee disputes. This usually goes hand in hand with favoritism. You should never jump to conclusions nor take sides when two or more employees have a dispute. Always look at the facts, and make decisions based on company rules and regulations.

3. Not giving employees clear performance expectations. If employees don’t know what’s expected of them, how can you expect them to succeed? You need to have clearly defined standards, and employee performance should be measured against those.

4. Not giving employees a forum for voicing suggestions. You want your employees to feel like they’re valued members of your company. That’s why you need to encourage them to make suggestions for improving the company or the way their job is handled. When you get good suggestions, make sure you actually do something with them. Talk is cheap; implementing the good ideas is what counts.

5. Hiding the bigger picture from employees. Employees that find some sort of deeper meaning in their work are likelier to take an interest in doing a good job and being proud of what they do. Let your employees know what the company’s goals are and how their performance plays into that.

6. Knee-jerk reactions to disputes. Before you react to a situation based on your emotions, take some time to calm down and evaluate the situation rationally. This could save you from doing something stupid like firing a good employee or alienating a worker by overreacting to a simple mistake.

7. Lack of communication with employees. Just like every other relationship in your life, communication is essential to maintaining a healthy relationship with your employees. Be present. Be easy to contact. And take the time to get to know your employees by speaking with them regularly.

8. Ignoring the law. Too many companies forget that there are laws governing how you can interact with and treat your employees. Before you take any action—such as firing an employee—you need to make sure there are no laws prohibiting your actions.

9. Not trusting your employees. You can’t create a positive work environment if you treat employees as though they’re untrustworthy. If you’re constantly over their shoulders,

monitoring their every move, tracking their actions, and questioning them, you’re going to produce a lot of bitter employees.

10. Never rewarding or thanking employees for their hard work. Your employees work hard for you. They’re helping your company succeed, and without them, you’d be out of business. Showing your appreciation for their hard work can go a long way to keeping them happy and motivated.

10 + 1 Easy Ways to Reward Your Employees  

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When your employees are happy and feel appreciated, they’re likely to be more productive. When they’re more productive, your company is more profitable. It’s pretty simple really. If you want your company to be successful, it’s important that you make sure your employees are well taken care of. And while you might not be able to increase their compensation, there are other ways you can reward and nurture your employees.

Here are 10 ways to make your employees feel appreciated.

1. Offer flexible work schedules – If you want your employees to stay happy, you need to show respect for their lives outside of work. Give them a little flexibility in their schedules. For example, if an employee has to take her kid to school in the mornings and can’t come in until 30 minutes after everyone else, let her adjust her schedule accordingly. Or if an employee lives across town and doesn’t want to get stuck in traffic, allow him to work his schedule around the morning and afternoon rush hours.

2. Celebrate their birthdays – It sounds silly, but no matter what age people are, they still enjoy celebrating their birthdays. Some companies hold monthly birthday parties to say “happy birthday” to everyone with a birthday that month. Other companies give employees a paid day off on their birthday. Find a reward that works best for your business, and show employees you care about their birthdays.

3. Have a little fun at work – Your employees shouldn’t feel like drones coming into work. Yes, they’re there to do work, but what’s wrong with having a little fun while at work? Don’t be a taskmaster. Your employees will resent you for it, and their performances will suffer. So, lighten up, and try to create a more fun and relaxing environment on the jobsite.

4. Give awards for a job well done – At the end of a successful project or just after a period of time of consistent high-quality work, give employees awards and recognition for a job well done. You could hold a company meeting and have the top employees stand up and receive a round of applause, or you could create little trophies and certificates to hand out to them.

5. Give more than an E for effort – You already know to reward employees for success, but what do you do when an employee really is trying his hardest and things just don’t work out? There’s really something to be said for effort. Effort is what truly counts. Things won’t always go as planned, but if your employees are giving it their all, they should be rewarded regardless of the outcome.

6. Bring in food – Everybody loves food. Some companies provide lunch for their employees every day! While this might be out of your budget, you can try bringing in food for big meetings and other events throughout the year.

7. Be willing to give employees some time off – Yes, your employees have a specific number of vacation days and sick days, but there are times throughout the year when they just need a day off. Maybe they have a friend visiting from out of town or they want to take their kids to some special event. The reason isn’t important. What’s important is that you let your employees enjoy their lives outside of work.

8. Write a personalized letter to employees who do a great job – There’s something very personal about a handwritten letter. It shows that you really care and that you’ve taken the time to write to the employee.

9. Help employees find ways to further their careers – As soon as an employee feels stuck in their job, they start to get miserable. If an employee feels like he’s just spinning his wheels in place, he’ll stop taking his job seriously and performance will decline. You need to provide ways for employees to further their careers…even if it causes them to eventually leave your company. Send them to seminars. Allow them to work on bigger projects. Anything to show them you’re helping them grow.

10. Have an annual “Staff Appreciation Day” – On this day, it’s the management team’s responsibility to prepare the food and setup the party. It’s all about pampering the employees and showing them how much you appreciate all their hard work.

10 + 1 Hire a Concierge - witnessed this in action at one company and what a wonderful perk. The company truly relied on the skill sets of their employees and losing any of that talent even partially could hurt the business. They also realized employee's may need to attend to tasks that could conflict with their business hours. The answer !! some of those tasks could be assigned to a concierge, baby-sitting the kids during a PD Day, assisting the employee's parents to attend a Doctor's appointment. Taking in an item to be repaired that could only be done during business hours. In this case the company simply used thier retired employees to act as assigned concierge.