Story:
Three Ways to Show Your Team That They Matter

As a manager, it can sometimes be difficult to balance on that fine line between friendship and mentorship that you must. However, there are plenty of ways to show that you care about your team without losing your status or authority amongst them. In this article, we will be discussing three of these crucial forms of appreciation that every manager should implement in the workplace. Not only do these examples show that you appreciate your team and each member’s individual needs, but they also show that caring about your employees does not mean they have the right to ignore your authority in the workplace whatsoever.

After all, although you may be a friend in some ways to your team, using appreciation tactics such as medical coverage, new equipment, and instating safety precautions lets others recognize that work comes first in your eyes and helps employees adopt this mentality as well.

1. Quality Medical Coverage

For any applicant interested in working for your team, there are bound to be things that catch their eye from the start. Whether it be the location, the people, the wage, or the benefits, it is guaranteed that these small forms of appreciation will resonate with these potential employees in various different ways. In fact, studies show that incentives such as medical coverage entice more high-skilled employees than any other factor in the hiring process.

Furthermore, having quality medical coverage can help your company significantly with employee retention likewise, according to recent studies. By providing new employees with high-quality healthcare benefits, you are guaranteed to have longtime employees, and, by giving these benefits to your current employees, happy ones as well in no time at all.

However, not only should you include high-quality medical coverage, as dental coverage is equally as important. In fact, by helping your employees with proper dental care  through dental insurance, you can ensure that your overall health as a company is stable, and that your employees are proud to work for you instead of feeling as though they are not appreciated for the hard work they do.

2. New Equipment

No matter what company you run, having new and safe equipment is a great way to show your employees that their safety and health matters to you. For instance, by walking through your facility and writing down each item that is either difficult to use or broken, you can budget out your new equipment, get your team involved, and work extra hard to afford these items incrementally.

It is also important to separate the important items from inessential ones as you go through the list in order to focus on the necessities first. For example, if your business is a construction company, perhaps essential items you may need would be jackhammers, forklifts, ground penetrating radar, and more, whereas you may not need as many staplers, computers, or desks.

Another great example is that if you are running a field technician team, you may focus more on things to help you contact your team, such as phone plans that include quality 4G LTE coverage or walkie-talkies rather than clean work shirts and top-quality RFID badges.

Therefore, it is crucial that you first create a list and separate the important items from the less important ones so you can begin to chip at the list of essentials each and every paycheck — and show your employees that their safety matters more to the company than the money it makes.

3. Safety Precautions

For every workplace, safety should be the top priority. As a manager, it is your job to ensure that all current safety precautions are in check and to constantly be searching for additional ones to add to the list so as to create the safest work environment possible. For instance, although you may already have first aid kits and various other safe practices in place at the moment, there are some safety measures that the average business tends to not look into despite sincerely needing to.

A great example can be found in the courier service industry; the average delivery driver only has to prove they have never been in an accident in the past in order to receive the job. However, by making unannounced drug tests a common practice for delivery drivers, you can reduce the risk of having individuals on the job intoxicated and prevent the deaths of both your employees and various other drivers in the process.

Another great example is security. For instance, if you happen to have a patio or an elevated outdoor seating/smoking area, you may want to consider installing security measures such as cable railings to prevent individuals from falling and greatly hurting themselves. Although traditional railings may seem safe, they seldom are, and cable railings simply ensure the safety of employees on a much larger scale overall due to their reliability and durability.

In the end, the incentives, bonuses, and respect you give to your employees not only shows the exact kind of quality boss you are, but also shows that the company’s bottom line comes second to your amazing team. After all, even the future president of the United States would be nothing without his or her cabinet, so perhaps it’s time you turn to your team of hardworking individuals and show them the respect they rightfully deserve.