Effective managers are skilled at influencing their employees and other team members to work at acting proactively in their positions. Proactive employees are more productive and lead to exceptional teamwork, innovation, and success. In this article, we discuss four ways to encourage employees to become more proactive.
- Create a Corporate Culture of Trust and Support
Teamwork is the watchword of leaders of virtually every organization. It is also important to remember that every team member is an individual, and your organization’s culture should emphasize personal initiative and independence along with teamwork. Showing every employee that personal initiative is directly tied to personal fulfillment and advancement is crucial to fostering creativity and innovation. Let every team member feel empowered to make suggestions and give them room to run with the ball when possible. Also remember to reward initiative as a good in and of itself, without focusing only on outcomes.
- Learn About Your Employees’ Individual Skills and Promote the Development of Those Skills
Pay attention to the suggestions individual employees make and how they handle the routine and special tasks they are assigned. When you get tuned into the things that individuals do best, you can direct more suitable tasks their way. You may also be in a position to make better decisions about promotions and additional education or job training when you understand what each person does best. It is hard to overstate the level of trust and dedication you can develop with individual employees when you recognize their strengths and put them to their best use. Employees who are working at their highest efficiency are naturally going to be proactive and creative.
- Remind Employees That the Company’s Success Is Their Success
Encourage staffers to make their personal and family success a key part of the company’s mission. Have them display pictures of their children and family members and promote family involvement in company outings and provide perks and benefits that are designed for employees to enjoy with their family and friends. Providing individual inspiration to innovate and succeed has a direct impact on a person’s desire to improve and innovate at work. An environment that promotes the success of every individual and the organization leads to much higher rates of volunteerism and extra effort at work.
- Seek Employee Partnership When Brainstorming on Efficiency and Proactive Thinking
Be very open and proactive towards your employees when brainstorming. Get every employee involved in everything from increasing sales, reducing costs, improving employee benefits, and daily operations. Brainstorming in a conference room is inefficient and also loses an opportunity to get every employee thinking about the company’s bottom line and overall efficiency. Let employees understand how they are involved and stand to benefit from every efficiency or cost-cutting measure directly. If you’re wondering how to create loyal employees, reward your team in some tangible and enjoyable way for providing suggestions and ideas.
At StaffScapes, we help businesses in the Metro North area and throughout Colorado navigate the complex landscape of human resource compliance, policies, and best practices. As an industry Professional Employer Organization (PEO), we develop a customized approach to each client’s unique needs.
We’d love the opportunity to examine where you are and where we can go together. For more information, call our PEO experts today. We look forward to speaking with you.
