The recession has led to a re-examination of what creates
business success and one important factor to emerge is that ‘good work’ can be
at the heart of good performance and is as vital to the small and medium-sized
enterprise as to any corporate because a highly competitive global market
applies to all. You need to be prepared
for life after recession; to be ready to make the most of it; to be in the
front line of your particular area of expertise.
In his “Key Speech” in 1955, Ove Arup spelt out the importance to business success of motivating
your employees. To quote: “There
are two ways of looking at the work you do to earn a living: One is………. Work is a necessary
evil………... The other is: To
make your work interesting and rewarding. You enjoy both your work and your
leisure. We opt uncompromisingly for the second
way.”
Ove Arup established
a world-wide company and this fact just emphasises the strength of his
argument; his principles apply equally to smaller enterprises. Indeed, it is probably easier to implement
these principles when you have a relatively small workforce. His point is that you need to inspire your
employees to feel important and valuable, but you cannot just assume you know
what makes them feel that way. You need
to make the effort to find out and then collaborate with them to achieve those
results. Done properly, it will be time
well spent and you will find the enterprise of which you are head has the
motivation to surge forward and ahead of competitors.
Surveys
referred to in “Good Work in our Times”
illustrate that, for employees, a list of priorities is not always topped by
wages and bonuses. High on the list are
trust and integrity, pride in the job, career growth opportunities and employee
development.
Young
people have grown up with technology and are unphased by that particular aspect
of modern business; they like team working; flexible working; place high value
on learning opportunities and are very environmentally conscious. Through Facebook and Twitter, they can make
comparisons of work experience across a wide area so your success or failure
could be advertised - it would therefore be wise to have your employees singing
your praises!
So if you
build trust and mutual respect; keep your staff involved in developing
policies; establish early discussion of any potential problems; allow them to enjoy
the satisfaction expressed by clients when their efforts are successful – they
will be a potent force for helping you to achieve success.
