Gone are those days when an organization dictated the behavior and actions of its employees when the boss was the ruler and the employees were slaves to his command. Work ethics and culture has had a paradigm shift.

“A business no longer defines the individuals that contribute to its being rather the individuals define what path the business takes and nurtures into.”

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While some organization continues to follow the old school, most of the organizations have evolved and worked towards making the workplace a positive, energetic and fun environment. They consciously work towards making their employees “want” to come to work every day of their lives rather than “have” to go to work.

There are countless ways of making a workplace environment fun and energetic. However, the trick is to find out those which can best motivate your people while staying true to your organization ethics and culture.

HERE ARE, 7 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR WORKPLACE FUN AND ENERGETIC

1) ALL WORK AND NO PLAY, MAKES YOUR EMPLOYEES NOT SO HAPPY AND NOT SO GAY!

 

Of course, a workplace is meant for work. However, it also is the place where we spent most of our daytime, it is important that the workplace is engaging, energetic and more than just work. One of the best ways to get the energy to your workplace, quite literally, is through exercise and yoga sessions.

Organising regular activities that not necessarily revolve around the work can boost the employees to work harder and smarter. They also help to build bonds across various departments and functions which might not interact otherwise in a working setup.

Many organizations have fun or event committees formed and run by employees themselves with little involvement of the management whenever required. We have an Event Committee at PrintStop which plans out and organizes various events.

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THEY PLAN

1. Plan treks
2. Picnics
3. Movie outings
4. Contest and competitions
5. Birthday celebrations and other such events

Here, employees get to decide what fun activities they would like to have. It has also helped to identify potential drivers who can lead a team to plan and organize. They have proved to become potential leaders even in their work domain.

“All play and no work will make your employees much worse”

2) ENCOURAGE IDEA SHARING AND BE OPEN TO FAILURES

Most organizations start it wrong by feeling they need to always be in charge. Effective leadership is about delegating and trusting your employees to do a good job. Empowering your employees to be entrepreneurial and testing their ideas will help them to discover how they best fit within the team and throughout the organization. 

A recent study by Deloitte shares :

“Passionate Employees are key to productivity and growth“

Luckily we at PrintStop, handle staff meetings very differently. Our work culture is driven by passion, openness, and transparency.

• Employee-Driven rather than Leaders Driven
• Open for Suggestions from all team members
• Failures are not a yardstick to measure Quality of Work
• Timelines, KRA’s and Deliverables are set in presence of the team

This has led to increased productivity, better customer satisfaction, and higher revenues.

3) TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY

Business owners and leaders need to learn the importance of having transparent communication with their people. Having vague communication can also risk losing trusts. Today, the workplace being very fragile, employees want to know what they are accountable for and what they can or can not do. Also, your mode of communication need not be very formal. Being informal enough without crossing the line of your professional relationship will make you approachable.

Each individual is encouraged to define how they would like to contribute and share the concerns they feel might hinder in completing their tasks. This has helped us to be proactive and identify possible roadblocks and work towards avoiding them since the very beginning.

Transparent communication has also led to building health employee relationships. It negates the possibilities of misunderstandings and ensures everyone is on the same platform before getting onto the train.

4) SOMETIMES SAYING “GOOD JOB” MIGHT BE ALL THAT IS NEEDED

Often it is what you say or do, but what the other person feels at that moment leaves an impact. No matter how professional we get, it matters what our leaders, teammates and our work make us feel. A healthy environment will motivate you to work towards the organizational goals and objectives.

Everyone likes to be recognized and appreciated for their contribution. It is also important to provide the necessary feedback to an employee about how he can perform better, it is equally important to highlight their achievements.

Appreciation emails from team leaders to deserving employees and special mentions in our monthly PrintStop newsletter of employee achievements are common practices followed at PrintStop. Team leaders often visit an employee desk to pat on the back and drop in “You did a good job!” comment for performing employees.

5) CHALLENGE YOUR PEOPLE AND KEEP THEM ON TOES
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP THE ORGANIZATION ALIVE BY ENABLING A CULTURE THAT EMBRACES NEW PERSPECTIVES AND KEEPS PEOPLE ON THEIR TOES. ELECTRIFYING THE ORGANIZATION WITH HOPE AND OPPORTUNITY CAN CREATE ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES.

Never allow your employees to get complacent but help them stretch their thinking and ability. Make the workplace an environment where people are continuously growing by being an enabler of opportunities.

Cross-departmental collaborations and transfers, the idea of constant improvisation and innovation in processes and products has provided people at PrintStop a challenging work environment.

6) IF YOU CARE FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES, THEY WILL CARE FOR YOUR BUSINESS!

Whether it is a personal or a professional one, when a person is made to feel being cared for and valued, their contribution and loyalty towards the relationship are heightened.

Organisations today cannot be selfish to work towards their business goals and avoid the personal goals of their people. It is important that businesses help their people to grow professionally and personally while contributing to the organization. Many organizations provide training opportunities to employees to gain skills that will add value to their work and career.

At PrintStop, employee welfare is given utmost importance by senior management and the Human Resource activities. The HR gives an opportunity to the employes to list possible training opportunities that they would like to have. The HR department arranges sessions – within or outside our company premises.

7) PEOPLE DO NOT LEAVE AN ORGANIZATION, THEY OFTEN LEAVE THEIR MANAGERS. SO WORK ON YOUR MANAGERS.

Most often the reason for a performing employee to leave an organization is due to their manager’s lack of ability to develop a healthy, trustworthy and friendly relationships with their team. A not very outstanding salesperson can become an effective leader.

A leader requires a unique set of skills that create a balance between achieving organizational goals and employee’s personal goals. A leader who is unable to motivate and guide his team can affect the employee’s well-being and the workplace environment.

CONCLUSION

At PrintStop, we encourage a 360° peer group feedback. This means an employee can share his feedback on self, other team members including his team leader. Getting similar critical feedback from the team about their leader helps to understand the scope of improvement in the leader.

Organisations have understood that their manpower is not a passive resource. Human resource can make or break the game for the organization. It is very important for their businesses to grow and sustain in this competitive world.

The relationship we have with our employees and their willingness to go an extra mile for the organization is proof that we have been successful in doing so.

You can also check our blog on 10 IDEAS TO MAKE YOUR COMMUTE PRODUCTIVE