A productive and open work environment leads to cohesion, increased revenue, and synergy. CEOs, regardless of the industry they’re in, crave these things. And when your workforce environment has this vibe, the rewards (both financially and emotionally) are invaluable. Let’s say you feel like you already have this type of work environment – open, productive, brewing with creativity, all that great stuff. But does that mean it can’t still be improved or tweaked or enhanced? The answer is: of course it can! Conversely, if you feel like your work environment lacks all these good vibes, then these three tips are all that more important.
Here they are:
(1) Hold Weekly Meetings – these meetings need to include all team members in your IT company, so that they are all aware and know about the various projects, and the progress being made on those projects, of their co-workers. Many folks, including CEOs, roll their eyes or sigh deeply when they think about the word meeting. In some it causes a great deal of dread. Because most of the time when we think about meetings, we think about the time it takes to have a meeting. But guess what? Meetings do not have to be long. I repeat: meetings do not need to be long. In fact, I urge you to keep them short and sweet. Furthermore, I’d recommend you do a stand-up meeting. And if you haven’t heard of those already, they are exactly how they’re described: all of you stand up during the meeting. This helps everyone stay focused on what’s being said. Most stand-up meetings last between 5 and 15 minutes. I’d say a stand-up meeting shouldn’t be longer than 20 minutes. Keeping meetings short will mean that every point made will be valuable and timely. After all, each participant will only have so much time to talk about their current projects!
(2) Give Your Employees Bi-Monthly or Bi-Weekly Feedback Through One-on-One Meetings – Whether it’s your project manager who holds these one-on-one meetings or you – the President of the company – having these meetings are crucial. They are important because they enable you to maintain a productive, healthy, and open work environment. Without these meetings, along with weekly company meetings, a whole lot of confusion and misunderstanding, especially when it comes to work tasks, can occur. When that happens, projects begin to malfunction. That is not good for your business. It is also critical to provide each team member honest feedback on how they are performing. If you aren’t satisfied with one of your employees and her work, she needs to be made aware of this fact. The best way to get different results, and this is particularly true with motivated, hard-working employees, is to discuss new strategies that will help your employee work more efficiently and creatively, thus contributing to the success of your company and its mission.
Also, take that open-door policy seriously, even if you’re running a huge company. That helps tremendously with morale. It just does, so do it. Keep your door open, let people know it’s open, and stay committed to that policy.
(3) Get (and keep) your hands dirty! When it comes to being fully engaged with the ins and outs of your internet infrastructure, as a leader of an IT company, it is a must, an absolute must, that you keep your hands – and mind (of course!) – nimble. And, yes, if this means working on hardware yourself, at least from time to time, then so be it. Dirty hands show true commitment to your company, and trust me, your employees will take notice.
All three of these tips share a common thread – engagement. General meetings, one-on-one meetings, and keeping your hands dirty all demonstrate that you are fully engaged and concerned about the well-being of your employees and the well-being of your company.
And if your gut is telling you that the vibe in your office isn’t so great, then it’s time to listen to those instincts and work on improving your workforce environment.
