The closer that HR is to the workforce, the more positive the benefit that it can have on the business, believes Carol Carson, HR director at vehicle glass repair and replacement specialist, Autoglass.
With this in mind, she outlines her views on how to foster a loyal and motivated workforce:
1. Listen
Being objective and fair is vital in HR, as is being a good listener. There is nothing more demotivating than feeling that no-one cares enough to listen, but conversely it can be extremely motivating to know that your thoughts and feelings are being carefully considered.
It’s even better if people feel that the HR team and their line managers have listened and made changes as a result.
2. Take feedback seriously
Feedback should be taken seriously whether it comes from engagement surveys, customer feedback or the ‘word on the street’ in the lunch queue. Doing so will enable you to introduce a process of continuous improvement.
So learn to listen actively to the people that you work with at all levels, and think of ways to demonstrate that you are listening. But also make likely outcomes clear as uncertainty can breed demotivation.
You don’t have to act on everything that staff tell you, but as long as their points are acknowledged and they can see that they are not being ignored, it should keep morale high.
3. Focus on learning and development
It’s important for everyone to improve their skills and develop themselves on an ongoing basis. It helps to make life more interesting if you constantly challenge yourself.
So don’t be afraid to introduce training schemes in order to help staff improve. Training doesn’t need to be expensive – organisations sometimes forget that they have huge knowledge and skills under their own roof.
Yes, there is a place for external training, but be sure to use what you can within your own four walls first. Asking a strong team member to provide such training can be a great acknowledgement of the organisation’s trust in them, for example.
We use managers as trainers for our Development Group training programme for potential managers of the future, for instance.
4. Have fun
Finding ways to engage staff doesn’t have to be all about money. Workers who feel valued and included in company life are more likely to remain dedicated and loyal.
To this end, for example, we recently involved our employees up and down the country in a video to celebrate our 40th birthday so that everyone could mark this milestone in a fun and motivating way.
