employee retention Archives - Uno Deuce Multimedia

Guest Post: 10 Ways to Increase Empathy in the Workplace

Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings and vulnerabilities of those around you. Having a strong standing team that is able to notice when someone may need help, or have a good sense of direction when navigating a tough conversation is key. As your small business starts to expand and more team members start joining your team, exercising this skill is crucial.

Whether you are putting your time and energy towards building a more positive working environment this year, or you’re wanting to grow your client list, empathy is a great place to start. Research shows that over 60% of employees would take a pay decrease to work on an empathetic team—proving that investing in your employee’s well-being should be a top priority for industry leaders.

On the flip side of this, showing empathy for your employees doesn’t just happen overnight. There are a few small changes to be made for a long term impact on your team.

Different Types of Empathy

Empathy has various different pros and cons when it comes to a work environment. There is such a thing as being too empathic, or not showing enough empathy. Educating your team about the different types of empathy and which to portray is a great starting point.

1.Cognitive Empathy

Also known as “perspective-taking,” this type of empathy focuses heavily on understanding one’s emotional state. This empathy type provides a comfortable and flexible company environment to help build your team’s ability, goals, and aspirations for growth.

2. Emotional Empathy

This type of empathy is also known as “effective” or “primitive” empathy as it triggers an emotional feeling on a deeper level, affecting one personally. For instance, if someone got in trouble for a project gone wrong, you might develop fear over losing your job or making the same mistake.

3. Compassionate Empathy

Compassionate empathy is the most actionable of all three. This involves seeing someone go through pain, experiencing it emotionally yourself, resulting in an instant desire to help. For instance, say an account executive isn’t meeting their goals that month and have been put on a performance plan. Compassionate workers will do everything in their power to help direct prospects to that team member, schedule additional educational meetings, or give sales directly to them.

Increasing empathy on your team can have a positive impact on your team’s productivity, in turn, optimize your initial salary investment on your employees. Show your team you care this year with Fundera’s roadmap to practicing proper empathy in your workplace.

Meredith Wood Vice President and Founding Editor at Fundera, Meredith Wood is the founding editor of the Fundera Ledger and a vice president at Fundera. She launched the Fundera Ledger in 2014 and has specialized in financial advice for small business owners for almost a decade. Meredith is frequently sought out for her expertise in small business lending. She is a monthly columnist for AllBusiness, and her advice has appeared in the SBA, SCORE, Yahoo, Amex OPEN Forum, Fox Business, American Banker, Small Business Trends, MyCorporation, Small Biz Daily, StartupNation, and more. Email: meredith@fundera.com.

Guest Post: How recognizing small wins can improve the productivity of your employees

Recognizing small wins is one of the key drivers to motivate employees at the office. According to the Globoforce, 78% of employees say how they would work harder if they were better recognized. However, finding ways to reward and retain employees is one of the most difficult tasks nowadays.

Millennials have become one of the largest generations in the global workforce and most of them expect numerous recognition programs and built-our rewards from their employers. Besides financial compensation, they also want frequent praises, volunteer opportunities, and recognition at the office. Here are a couple of tips on how to reward your employees and boost their productivity levels at work.

1. Provide your Employees with Regular Feedback

Regular feedback is one of the most important motivation tools and it also increases productivity at the office. The best approach is to sit down with your employees once a week to discuss their productivity and provide feedback. Of course, it is always better to focus on the positive things, since recognizing your employee’s achievements boosts their morale.

2 Rewarding Things that Matter

It is important for companies and big businesses to reward things that actually matter to the overall objective of the business. For example, instead of focusing only on big wins, organizations and companies should also reward their employees for smaller achievements. To prevent your team from feeling unsatisfied at work, make sure that these celebrations are frequent and consistent.

3 Becoming a Team Player

Employees who perform well as team players should get recognized and rewarded on a regular basis. Celebrating their achievements can benefit the profitability of your company. Recognizing the wins of team players also preserves a healthy work culture and encourages other workers to become good team players.

4 Include Corporate Travel as a Reward

The truth is that many employees work from 9 to 5 from Monday to Friday and a break from that daily routine might do them good. Traveling for business purposes or going on a 3-day team building event is the best way to combine leisure activities and work. You can take your employees on a business conference to another city or send them on a scavenger hunt game. This experience will make them feel more appreciated, which is always good for business.

5 Create Social Opportunities for your Employees

Everyone knows that unhappy workers are usually less productive. To keep your employees satisfied, it is important to create social opportunities and increase happiness in your company. Although competitive pay and benefits are important, employees also need to have good working conditions, career progression, and flexible working.

6 Perks and Rewards Programs for Employees

I’ve already mentioned that the work environment is dominated by young employees nowadays and most of them expect to be rewarded in different ways for their work. There are many jobs available on the market and young employees are always looking for office jobs that come with different perks and reward programs. Perks like tickets to business conferences, free training courses, and events that build connection among workers are known to boost productivity and expand knowledge.

7 Ordering Snacks after Small Wins

Ordering snacks to the office after small wins may be a good idea. By doing this, you will show your employees that you appreciate their effort to complete the assignments and finish the project on time.

To sum it all up, rewarding and recognizing your employees comes with many benefits and advantages. Celebrating small wins also increases productivity and creates a healthy work environment at the office.

Rachel is a mother of 2 beautiful boys. She loves to hike and write about travelling, education and business. She is a Senior Content Manager at Populationof an online resource with information about demographic statistics of world population.