The start of the year can be a stressful time for businesses.

Everyone is heading back to work after the holiday period, feeling the hangover of a week or two at home or on vacation. Managers and employees alike will be feeling the pinch financially too, as the inevitable expenses of December crash into the long wait until the end of January.

It is a time of year when people can take a while to get back up to speed, but the challenges do not slow down for them.

However, this is the time of year when HR managers and bosses should be thinking about how they can make some positive changes in their business.

There is always such a desperate rush to get to the end of the year once the autumn hits that longer-term projects often get pushed to the back burner. But with things as chaotic and indeed tough as they are out there right now, finding a way to boost your employee satisfaction and ensure that you have a happy and productive workplace should be at the top of your to-do list.

Businesses need everyone pulling together and firing all cylinders if they want to continue to grow and thrive. Here are a few ways that you can achieve that goal.

Improve Communication

Let’s start with a point that is always going to be on every HR manager and business owner’s list, regardless of the time of year. There cannot be too many people out there who can say that the communication setup at their company is flawless, there is always room for improvement.

It should be something that you continue working on throughout the year. You can start by talking to employees and asking them if they feel like they know where to go if they have any queries, comments, or complaints. Do they feel like they will be listened to if they have a problem?

But it’s not just about workplace grievances. Many companies have a needlessly complicated sign-off process for their projects, where employees are expected to run every little thing past countless people.

This adds stress and it can be demoralizing too, as it can make it seem like they are not trusted to deliver a quality product by themselves. Talk to your team leaders about how you can streamline the process and give their teams a little more authority and autonomy.

Offer Opportunities To Grow

One of the biggest causes of worker dissatisfaction is always going to be feeling like they are stuck in a rut. This has been a real issue for businesses all over the world in recent months, and a lot has been written about the waves of people leaving their long-term jobs because they realized they wanted something more.

If your company is looking to grow into new areas or is looking to explore new digital opportunities, then you may well be thinking about hiring new team members with specific expertise. But would it make more sense to offer training and opportunities to your current staff who have shown an aptitude for it and an eagerness to learn?

For example, there are so many businesses out there that are wondering about how fintech will change the way that they do business. Blockchain technology is of great interest to many different sectors, of course, while fintech is opening so many new avenues for business innovation.

If you know that your business is going to be investing some time and effort into blockchain and cryptocurrency, then you could think about offering to pay for a fintech course for potential team leaders.

This will demonstrate that you are invested in their future with your company and that you reward loyalty and initiative. Fintech online courses are available at the University of Cape Town that will give students both a firm grounding in the subject and an understanding of where it will go in the years to come.

Don’t Let Remote Working Affect Team Spirit

The huge question of whether remote working is here to stay seems to have been largely settled at this point. Many companies have decided that they do in fact want their staff to be in the office, while others have decided that they prefer the flexibility of working from home.

Over the last few months, it seems more and more like hybrid working is the real future, with a day or two a week in the office for a lot of people becoming the new normal. There are so many advantages to this setup, but you may notice that keeping a sense of team spirit and office morale becomes a little harder to do.

If you are an HR manager or team leader looking after people who are working remotely, you do not have to think about the extra effort it takes to remind people that they are part of a team.

Encourage your managers to check in on how their staff are doing generally instead of just asking about the progress of their work. Think about alternatives to the old after-work drinks, such as quiz nights or competitions that everyone can participate in.

Acknowledge Out Of Office Concerns

It is a sad fact at the moment that everyone is feeling the strain outside of office hours. Costs are going up everywhere you look, from electricity bills to supermarket shelves, and the ongoing climate crisis means that everyone is thinking about what they can do to cut down their carbon footprint and what the next extreme weather event is going to bring.

While there is nothing you can do to fix these issues for your employees, you can show them that you share their concerns, and you can look for ways that you can help.

If your team has told you that the cost of gas is a problem, for example, think about what you can do to offset that for them. It could be as simple as organizing a ride share scheme, or you could offer to subsidize public transport costs.

This would also help with the environmental issue. It is easy to feel powerless in the face of such a massive concern, but any positive action that your company can take will help your staff to feel like they are part of a team that is stepping in the right direction.

Take Employee Mental Health Seriously

Mental health and burnout have been incredibly popular topics over the last couple of years, but they are no less crucial now than they were back in 2020. Burnout is still a real risk for a lot of people, and it can be particularly hard to keep track of your employees’ mental health if they are working remotely.

Ensure that you have clear directions for your staff regarding who they need to talk to if they need to talk. Encourage a culture of openness and understanding, and stress that taking time for mental health reasons is never going to be an issue.

If employees would be interested in mental health treatment benefits as part of their health package, why not consider it? Finally, make sure that your team leaders know that contacting employees about work outside of office hours is not appropriate.

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