New year resolutions

Monday, 4 January 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

It’s the start of a new year and a time to make resolutions, both personal and professional. As a business manager, your choice of resolutions can have a significant impact on the employees that work for you.

We aren’t talking about your annual resolution to eat healthier or lose weight that might temporarily change the snacks you keep in the lunch room. Instead, we’re referring to the professional resolutions that can have a lasting and positive impact on your employees.

G&A Partners, a Houston-based Administrative and HR Services company, suggests that business managers consider adopting one or more of the following resolutions for a successful new year.

Resolve to retain and attract an exceptional workforce – A strong employee base will serve you well in 2016 and help ensure your company’s success for years to come.

Resolve to promote a diverse and harmonious workplace – A work environment that promotes and celebrates diversity among its employees is also likely to generate new ideas, and new ideas often generate new revenue.

Resolve to reward and develop your employees – Employees are most loyal to companies that establish an effective balance between recognising and rewarding existing skills and supporting the development of new ones.

Resolve to implement written policies – Someone once said “Give me the freedom of a narrowly defined plan.” Written policies outline what you expect of your employees. Once firm guidelines are established, employees can work freely within the parameters you set.

Resolve to correctly coach and discipline your employees– Strong teams have strong coaches. The better instruction you provide your employees, the better results you can expect. Remember, smart coaching involves correcting, redirecting, and even changing players when necessary.

If you are like most people, you will only be able to keep one or two of the resolutions you set this year. That’s okay. Keeping any one of these resolutions is sure to provide happier employees and a more harmonious work environment. And it has to be easier than consistently making that 6 a.m. yoga class or giving up Venti Caramel Lattes.