There are always things to improve at work. Whether we are supervisors, employers, or ordinary employees, improved well-being and performance mean better business performance, greater job satisfaction, and a better position to compete in the marketplace.
The coronavirus crisis has shown that no company is safe from a problem. And while a pandemic is something that cannot be controlled, there are many internal elements that we can work on—both in our attitude or our behavior with others and when it comes to optimizing costs and procedures.
In this article, we are going to develop ten aspects to improve at work. Ten valid elements are adaptable to each member of that perfectly oiled machine that an organization must be.
Table of Contents
1. Offer employee benefits
Beyond having flexible pay or not, employee benefits can lead to greater job satisfaction.
In this sense, many do not involve any cost to the company. For example, it is offering flexible hours to your team or the possibility of teleworking. The latter is also significant when it comes to preventing COVID-19 in the company.
Bet on the healthy company and also ask about needs and possibilities. In many cases, you don’t have to be the boss to offer some of these benefits.
Trying to respond positively and be flexible to the needs of each partner will make communication and team performance much more accessible.
If, in addition, we are responsible for the company, it will be much easier, for example, with employee benefit programs like Smart Offers.
2. Use employee satisfaction surveys
It is not only essential to be flexible and offer benefits, but to know what is wrong. In this case, as long as we have people under our care, we can use employee satisfaction surveys.
These surveys, which must be completely anonymous, will allow us to discover the current situation. We will see which of the benefits we offer are attractive and which are not, being able to prioritize. Also, where are the main problems that prevent talent retention?
In the case of being ordinary employees, we can propose using this tool to improve job satisfaction.
The important thing is that it is used anonymously and does not seek to blame. It is a valuable tool to detect needs or problems.
Also Read: Simplify Your Business Together With Facebook
3. Take into account the emotional salary
Not everything is money in a company. One of the most important aspects today is the emotional salary.
If you are an employee who does not have decision-making power over salaries, consider how you can contribute to it.
For example, creating a good work environment, recognizing the merits of subordinates and colleagues, or favoring flexibility. Try to make working in the company a pleasure in everything that concerns the human factor.
In this way, both you and your colleagues will be more pleasant to go to work. This also turns into better work performance.
In being a boss or supervisor, this section is also related to the employee benefits that we have already mentioned.
4. Prepare the offices according to the latest trends
Talking about flexible offices, the new trend that is triumphing worldwide is becoming more and more common.
Offices have ceased to be that cold and unwelcoming place to become a more multifunctional space adaptable to the needs of each employee. When most companies combine the face-to-face format with teleworking, office trends show these spaces as much more open and social.
It is no longer about having a private space but that they become places to build in common. Meeting rooms are becoming more critical, and on many occasions, the classes are rotating, as the days on which the position is attended in person are also rotating.
One of the aspects to improve at work is not to resist this change but to embrace it and help everyone adapt to it. And if you have the possibility of making reforms to generate this new space, go forward.
5. Optimize the chain of command
The chain of command in the administration of a company can cause many problems. On many occasions it is not clear who gives orders to whom or contradictory directives can be given by different superiors.
For a company to function properly, the chain of command must be clear . Ideally, each person should answer only to their direct superior. In this way, if nobody skips the organization chart , everything works much more smoothly.
You can also opt for more horizontal forms of organization but they must also be well defined. In addition, there must be some kind of control, for example, through performance evaluation , to avoid possible problems at some point in the chain that spoiled the final result.
It is important that there is some alternative for an employee if there are problems with his direct superior.
Also Read: What Do You Need To Know To Become Self-employed?
6. Prioritize online meetings
One of the surprises of the pandemic has been the discovery that online meetings can work just as well as face-to-face meetings. With suitable software and a good internet connection, arrangements can be made lighter and more effective than those that involve travel.
These types of meetings save time and get more to the point. In addition, by reducing work trips, they also allow greater family reconciliation. For this reason, choosing this formula whenever we have the opportunity is one of the aspects to improve at work that is easier to fulfill.
All stakeholders benefit from it, and the company saves costs, especially if there are trips or trips.
Keep in mind that an online meeting is not always recommended, but everyone involved will feel much more satisfied whenever it is ideal.
In this sense, we cannot forget to invite only the necessary people. One of the most common mistakes in companies is calling people who have nothing to contribute and who could be informed by their colleagues later.
7. Analyze your company’s resources
The analysis of a company’s resources is essential to optimize its operation.
Following the theory of resources and capabilities, it is possible to detect the organization’s future needs and its current situation.
It is a relatively simple way to see how to save costs and gain competitiveness. Analyzing the competitive advantages available to us by the standards of durability, portability, imitability, s ustituibilidad, and complementary work will be much more efficient.
8. Be proactive
Another aspect of improving in the most straightforward work is to be proactive. Don’t just follow orders. Look for ways to improve your performance and everyone’s satisfaction.
In this sense, it is a quality that works at the individual level, but it can be very beneficial for any organization if it is applied at a collective level. One of the most effective formulas is the use of quality circles.
These circles are small groups of employees, no more than eight and no less than 4, who meet to solve a company problem. These problems may be related to the employee experience or some of the organization’s challenges.
Also Read: 6 Metrics You Need To Analyze When Finding Influencers
9. Use the best tools for teleworking
The search for the most suitable tools for teleworking is ideal for everyone to be more comfortable with this modality that is being imposed. Among the different means for teleworking available, there is a perfect one for each case.
Therefore, proactivity can also help here. If you discover an ideal tool to improve your conditions, propose it. It is possible that it is not known and that it is decided to adopt.
It is essential that teleworking does not lead to a worsening of working conditions. Nor do we forget the right to digital disconnection, included in the new Telework Law.
In other words, when an employee’s hours are up, it doesn’t matter if they are at home or in the office. It is not the time to continue sending them WhatsApps or emails, or, above all, we cannot wait for them to respond.
This can be applied by any employee, who must respect the rest time of his colleagues. Working at home should not impede this.
10. Negotiate wisely
Lastly, learn negotiation techniques. These techniques will help you when negotiating with suppliers or clients and within the company itself.
Following a series of guidelines, it is easy to learn to negotiate better. Among others, it is advisable not to make unilateral concessions, to follow non-verbal language.
