So many businesses are guilty of neglecting the importance of their employees. They just expect them to do their jobs well, thinking that payment is all that they should expect in return. But, if you can look after your team, offering them a happy atmosphere and a great place to work, with flexibility, freedom, the chance to build relationships and learn new skills, you will reap the benefits.

Looking after your staff doesn’t have to be hard. Often, the main part is listening to them and giving them more of your time and attention. Get to know them, find out what they need, invest time in training and support, and do what you can for them. Here are some of the reasons that you should take care of your staff members.

To Reduce the Costs of Recruitment and Training

Not looking after your staff and failing to take the time to make them feel valued will mean that turnover is high. Staff won’t stick with you, they’ll leave and you’ll be stuck wasting time and money on recruitment and training. It will also mean that you never get the chance to create a team that fits together, complementing each other and working well and that you are always preparing for your next recruitment drive.

Look After Your Staff to Increase Loyalty

Loyal staff will stick with you, they’ll talk about how much they love working for you, and they’ll spread the word. They’ll attract other capable staff to your business, and they’ll stick with you when times are tough. They won’t jump ship at the first sign of trouble, nor will they accept the first offer of alternative work that comes along.

Happy Staff Offer Better Customer Service

Your staff members make your business what it is. Say you run a retail store, your team members are the ones on the floor, helping customers, serving them, chatting with them, finding out what they need and how to give it to them, making them smile, and going the extra mile for them when they can. These are the things that keep customers coming back in, at least as much as your products do.

As business owners, we need our staff members to provide excellent customer service, and we should never underestimate its importance. But, nor should we just expect that our employees will give it. If your employees have an excellent employee experience. If they are looked after, treated well, offered fair pay and flexibility and appreciated, they are much more likely to provide excellent customer service. Not because they have to, or because it’s expected of them, but because they want to and because they enjoy their jobs.

Take Care of Your Employees to Build a Team of Experts

Wouldn’t it be great if you could go out and hire experts? Skilled team members with plenty of experience and lots of qualifications? People with the specific skills that you need to fill roles and complement each other. Unfortunately, these employees are expensive and not many small businesses can afford to fill their teams with people like this. Most of us are forced to hire young, inexperienced staff instead.

But, if you look after them, train them up, and make them eager to stick around and learn, one day, with the right training and a commitment to continual learning, you’ll find that you’ve got your team of experts and that many of them have been with you from the beginning.

A Happy Team Is a More Productive Team

Unhappy people don’t work quickly. Or, if they do, they make mistakes which end up wasting time. Worried, anxious and unhappy staff that don’t enjoy coming into work can’t work productively and even having just one person like this can pull the rest of the team down, having a huge effect on your productivity.

Happy staff are the opposite. Take care of them, let them have some fun and build relationships, and they’ll work hard, getting more done in less time.

To Inspire Creativity and Encourage Ideas

Often, our team members have the best ideas. They spend every day working, and so they are the best people to let you know when there is a better way of getting things done or a service that you should be offering. Equally, they’ll be the first to notice when things aren’t working. But, if they are unhappy, they won’t feel like they can tell you. Take care of them, encourage them to share ideas and think creatively, and they will.