Your team are the people who make your venue. They care about its success as much as you do, and work hard to do their best. However, if you don’t support your employees and manage them effectively, mistakes or accidents could be detrimental to your business.
In this article we take a look at the 5 ways you must support your employees to ensure your business succeeds once reopen.
Improve health and safety
We’re all incredibly conscious of health and safety following the coronavirus pandemic. Staff will need to keep their distance from customers, regularly wash their hands and take responsibility for high levels of good personal hygiene such as washing clothes more often.
You can’t monitor your staff 24/7, but you must ensure your team knows what’s expected of them. Put posters on display both around your venue and in backstage areas so staff members are constantly reminded of the hygiene measures they must take. Equip employees with PPE where required, and ensure hand sanitiser is readily available throughout your establishment.
It’s also time to start thinking about how you’ll respond if a member of staff does not comply. Of course, gentle reminders and discussions with management should be the first port of call, but your priority must be your customers’ safety and all staff must follow the correct hygiene procedures.
Boost employee morale
These are undoubtedly difficult times. Employees may be feeling anxious or uncertain about returning to work, and their safety while at work too. They may also feel nervous about job security or other external worries. If your team don’t feel supported, it’s likely stress will mount and this may lead to low employee morale. One disengaged employee is likely to disrupt the morale of the entire team, thus having a negative impact your company culture. Negative feelings can provoke disruptive reactions – such a low performance and poor service – so you must ensure you do everything you can to support your team and ensure they feel positive when coming to work.
Learn to recognise symptoms of an unhappy employee. If someone seems to be bringing the team down and creating unnecessary workplace “drama”, don’t simply label the employee a trouble maker – do what you can to help. Find out why they’re anxious, disgruntled or upset and how your business could support them further. Ensure you communicate with employees effectively, so they know what’s going on within your business and understand what important part they play within the workplace. Small signs of appreciation like this can boost morale and encourage your team to do their best.
Trust your team
The best way to reduce risk of employee dishonesty is to trust your team and engage with them. It’s likely that disgruntled employees are likely to be more disengaged, and thus more likely to be dishonest. Make sure you give your employees the support they need to feel happy and motivated while at work. Listen to their feedback and put practical measures in place to help them. A great company culture will result in productive, loyal employees.
There are, of course, practical measures you can take to minimise the risk of dishonesty or theft from both customers and staff. This includes ensuring the till is visible to customers, accurate records are kept and random spot-checks put in place. Improve your venue’s overall level of security, too. However, the best way to mitigate against employee dishonesty is to hire a team of people you trust and support them in doing their best.
The customer might always be right, but you should support your staff too
If something goes wrong and mistakes aren’t dealt with effectively, this could lead to a loss of reputation. Accidents do happen and employees should not be afraid to make a mistake, therefore your management team must be trained and equipped to put things right so your customers never leave your establishment unhappy.
Customers are normally a venue’s top priority, and you should always try to find a suitable resolve. Having said that, it’s important your staff don’t feel undermined or undervalued. Explain any decisions and reassure them that they’re doing a great job.
Instil the importance of data and compliance
Many venues are now taking contact details of customers as part of the safety measures required to reopen. It’s important staff members are trained to handle this data safely and that all customer information is secure. Ensure your employees are fully trained in all aspects of data and cyber security to avoid breaches. Cyber fraud is rife at the moment, and your team must be able to identify and combat potential scams.
It’s more important than ever to look after your customers, don’t forget to look after your team too. Put the right advice, support and training in place. Your employees will then help your business to survive and flourish as the industry emerges from hibernation.
