5 Min. Read

8 Areas of Improvement for Employees & The Workplace

July 3, 2021

In business and in life the same thing rings true. There is no such thing as perfection.

While this may be true, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t constantly be striving to improve and make your team more effective.

So what areas of improvement should you as a business owner work on with this in mind?

We’ll take a look at the top 8 areas we think should be focused on.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

8. Accepting Feedback

Key Takeaways

1. Customer Service

Good customer service can significantly alter a company’s reputation. It also increases the ability to attract repeat customers.

So take the time to make sure that you and your employees are putting focus into giving the best customer service possible.

2. Teamwork

No man is an island. No business is either.

For a business to be successful, your teamwork, time management and team cohesion need to be successful.

Teams who respect each other both work faster, and work better.

When a team is working together towards a common goal, people are far more likely to be creative and happier overall.

3. Communication

In the modern age, there are so many different ways to communicate within a business.

With the rise of business communication tools such as Zoom and Slack, it’s become easier and easier to keep in touch across your workplace.

However, it’s also important to remember the power of talking in person and good communication skills. Things tend to be clearer when you’re speaking face to face and there’s less chance of miscommunication or something being taken the wrong way.

4. Patience

Patience can be a fickle thing.

One minute you have it, the next you can feel it slipping away.

Workplaces can be high-intensity, stressful environments. Therefore patience is a key tool for you and your team.

With patience comes understanding. When you show patience to your employees it allows them to work to an optimal level. You’ll see their productivity levels rise and stress levels lower.

5. Flexibility

With the rise of flexible hours and working from home, it’s becoming more and more expected to be flexible with how your employees work.

Offering your employees the chance to work remotely allows more freedom. It can have a positive impact on their general mental health.

As long as standards don’t slip, there should be no reason not to be more flexible.

6. Trust

No employee likes somebody breathing down their neck every second of the day.

Many employers don’t offer their employees the trust that they need to succeed at their job. When an employee doesn’t feel valued or trusted, they are far less likely to want to do their best for you.

A good tip is to remember that you trusted your employees enough to hire them, now trust them enough to do the job you hired them to do.

7. Leadership

Leadership is an essential skill.

Every good business owner should have good interpersonal skills and leadership skills. You should want to be a leader that employees feel comfortable around and want to work for.

Being a good leader can be the difference between success and failure.

Be the sort of leader who your employees feel like they can trust. Be approachable, be respectful and lead by example.

A good leader can also inspire leadership in others. Your workspace will be a far better place with good, strong leaders in place all the way down the chain of command.

8. Accepting Feedback

Being able to accept feedback is a key skill.

Whether the feedback is coming from your employees or your customers, or whether it’s positive or negative, you should be able to take it in your stride.

Feedback is key to your business learning and growing.

It is a vital opportunity to look into the thoughts of your customers and employees and use that information to better your business.

Throwing away feedback just because you or your employees don’t agree with it or don’t want to hear it is one of the worst things you can do as a business.

Key Takeaways

You should always be striving to improve. Both as a business owner, and a business in general.

However, sometimes you can improve your business by recognizing when things don’t need to change.

Change for change’s sake isn’t always a good idea, so finding a balance is a great way to keep your business fresh and keep it growing.

Are you looking for more business advice on everything from starting a new business to new business practices?

Then check out the rest of the FreshBooks Resource Guide.