Marcus Richards
An estimated 5.5 million small businesses were active at the beginning of 2021, with this number declining by 6.5% in relation to the previous year.
Of course, this had much to do with the coronavirus pandemic, which curbed demand across a huge number of industries and discouraged entrepreneurs from launching new ventures.
Now that entrepreneurship is on the rise, the question remains: How can you nurture your teams at a time when the macroeconomic climate is so uncertain? Here are some tips to keep in mind:
Encourage Team Bonding
Team bonding is a tried and tested way of strengthening employee relationships within your startup, while it may even help to drive better quality collaboration throughout the business.
There are numerous types of team bonding activities you can consider too, from those that are hosted on your commercial premises or online to others that take the entire team on a fun and immersive trip!
The key here is to liaise with your team and get their opinions on what type of experience is preferred, as this enables you to choose the best and most engaging option in accordance with your budget.
Use Internal Branding to Educate Employees
If you do own or operate a commercial office, you may also want to internally brand the location throughout.
This offers numerous business advantages, particularly from the perspective of reinforcing your brand identity and the core values that underpin this.
You can also incorporate branded posters and flyers into the space, which may also be used to reinforce brand values or ensure that your employees are familiar with the company’s senior leadership (where applicable) and who to contact if they have issues or want to talk to HR.
This can breed both familiarity and reassurance in equal measure while negating potential employee complaints and nipping these in the bud before they become too problematic.
Help Your Staff to Prioritise Their Work-Life Balance
This is another key consideration, especially with so many workers struggling with stress in the current economic climate.
So, not only should you commit to paying your staff a fair wage that helps them to cope with the burden created by inflation, but it’s also important to create a schedule and working environment that prioritises a healthy work life balance.
This means introducing flexible working as a minimum requirement, as you look to create a hybrid working model in which employees are able to work from home. Some 60% of UK workers now prefer a hybrid working model, with this trend having become prevalent since the coronavirus pandemic.
Additionally, we’d recommend making additional provisions where reasonable and requested by your employees, while regularly seeking out feedback on individual circumstances is key to creating the best work life balance for all going forward!
