Do You REALLY Value Your People?

'You can dream, create, draw and come up with the best ideas in the world, but you need people to help you turn your dreams into reality.' – Walt Disney.

As business owners, we rightly focus a heck of a lot of attention on our external customers and what we can do to give them a great experience. We can often forget that our people are our customers too, and without them, we can't provide a great service, or grow a successful business.

We want our team to be full of 'go-to' people, leaders and high performers. We want them to support us in our vision, to be loyal to the business, to work hard for us – but what do they want in return?

If you had to choose one thing that has the most positive impact on your team what would it be? 'Communication?' 'Involvement?' 'Trust?'

What would you be looking for if you were in their shoes?

Below is a list of the top 20 answers to the question, 'What makes you feel valued at work?'

Take 5 minutes now to think about how your team would rate your 'delivery' in each of these areas, and rate yourself from 1-5 (1= unsatisfactory, 2= needs improvement, 3= satisfactory, 4= good, 5= excellent)

1. Knowing where the business is going

2. Knowing the 'roots' of the business – where it came from and why

3. Being involved in the planning process

4. Knowing what's expected of me and how I'll be judged

5. Being told when I'm doing well, and what I need to improve

6. Having simple, consistent ways of doing things

7. Having time invested in my development

8. Having the opportunity to progress

9. Being trusted to do my job and left to get on with it

10. Being encouraged to have ideas

11. Knowing how my role supports the business/customers/the rest of the team

12. Working in a no-blame culture, where mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn

13. Being appreciated and thanked for a good day's work or a job well done

14. Having calm, consistent leadership with no mood swings!

15. Having regular 'formal' feedback sessions

16. Being paid well

17. Celebrating success with the team

18. Being kept up-to-date with how the business is doing

19. Being listened to and heard when there are blocks to me performing well

20. Not being in a 'long hours prove your worth' culture

How did you do?

Are there a few there that might get rated 'needs improvement' or 'unsatisfactory'?

How would you say that affects your reputation as an employer? What impact do you think it has on what your employees say about you and your business when they're out with friends?

If you're unhappy with the results, there is no better time to act than now, because as Walt Disney said, 'You can dream, create, draw and come up with the best ideas in the world, but you need people to help you turn your dreams into reality.'

Do one thing: Share this list with your team members, see what they would add or delete, and then ask them to put them in order of what matters most to them. You then have your action plan…in priority order!