5 Unique Methods for Managing and Supporting Employees

Managing and supporting employees is an important part of today’s modern organization. 

Support mechanisms offer a number of benefits to employees and the workplace:

• They increase employee productivity, engagement, and satisfaction
• Improvements in these areas, in turn, improve employee retention and decrease costs associated with recruitment and training
• Better workplaces are better to work at – which helps employees feel more fulfilled and less stressed

Benefits such as these can positively impact a company’s top and bottom lines.

5 Methods for Managing and Supporting Employees

Let’s look at a few ways to improve the employee experience – and add value to the organization.

1. Skills Training

Today, the vast majority of jobs require at least minimal use of technology. And some jobs require an extended stack of tools.

Tomorrow, this need will only become more pornounced.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of work depends on digital skills.

When the average worker’s day-to-day routine involves so many tools, keeping up can be a challenge.

That’s why you should offer some form of digital skills training.

Skills training can:

• Increase employee engagement
• Boost productivity and output
• Decrease time-to-competency 

Here are a few ways to train workers:

• Give employees access to online classes
• Offer in-house training
• Encourage workers to attend workshops and continuing education classes
• Use modern tools to provide software training, such as digital adoption platforms

With the amount of technology at our fingertips today, there are plenty of choices when it comes to employee education.

2. Workplace Well-Being Programs 

Also called corporate wellness programs, these programs focus on improving employee health and overall well-being.

There are a number of benefits for these programs, such as:

• Reduced workplace stress
• Decreased healthcare costs 
• Opportunities for team-building through classes
• Making a workplace more attractive and fulfilling, which helps attract and retain top talent

Ultimately, a well-being program is an investment.

If you consider this choice, develop a customized a program that fits your corporate culture and your business needs.

The right program will help you create a happier workforce and generate bottom-line results for your company.

3. Personalized Career Development Programs

Career development is a top concern for employees.

And, because employees want to know “what’s in it for me,” catering to this desire can improve the employee experience.

Personalizing a career development program can:

• Make progress towards personal career goals, incentivizing them to stay on board at your company
• Increase their on-the-job skill set, creating more value for the organization itself
• Build a supportive, forward-thinking culture that helps attract and retain talent

There are a number of ways to create individualized, personal career development options.

A few include:

• Mentorship and advising programs
• Skills training programs, as mentioned above
• In-house apprenticeship, internship, and coaching programs

There are many varieties and levels of programs you can offer employees.

The more you can customize these programs, the more valuable they will be to individual employees – and the more your organization will benefit.

4. Community- and Team-Building Mechanisms

Workers typically spend more than 40 hours per week with their coworkers.

It’s absolutely vital, therefore, to:

• Create feelings of goodwill and solidarity among teams
• Develop shared aims and a shared sense of purpose
• Ensure everyone works well together and enjoys their coworkers

There are many ways to work on these goals.

In Japan, this practice is common. In fact, is sometimes practically required for coworkers to regularly go out drinking together.

However, that is only one specific culture.

Your own team-building efforts should naturally reflect your corporate culture.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

• If your corporate culture is more social and relaxed, consider holding weekly events – such as happy hours, pizza parties, movie nights, or sport outings.
• The occasional corporate retreat can also help coworkers bond – this can work for many companies, even those that are less socially active.
• Many workers prefer not to meet outside business – in such cases, you can have events at the workplace itself, either during or right after work hours.

As with the other programs mentioned here, team-building can enhance the workplace experience. 

That improvement, in turn, will offer benefits that translate into ROI.

5. Augmentation 

Many employees are scared of automation … until they experience automation’s benefits firsthand.

In reality, automation tools often augment jobs by taking over mundane, boring tasks.

Such technology can:

• Allow employees to focus on more value-added work
• Cut out tedious tasks and raise job satisfaction
• Increase the value of employee’s job duties, helping improve their work history

RPA, for instance, has helped businesses automate boring work, save costs, and reallocate man-hours to more valuable tasks.

Digital adoption platforms, mentioned above, are one way to automate tasks. 

Final Thoughts

Managing and supporting employees doesn’t just help employees – it also helps the organization.

Improvements to the workplace increase employee engagement and productivity. 

Those improvements cut business costs and add value to the bottom line.

For best results, test a few ideas and stick with the ones that work.

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