Do you ever feel your company as a whole has lost some of its passion? Maybe you have been around for years and the routine of every day work has taken a toll on the excitement and passion your employees used to get coming to work. Or maybe it’s just the nicer weather rolling in that’s wearing your company down. Who wouldn’t rather be up at the lake? Out golfing? Playing with the kids? Any of these probably sound better than being on the job.
Sometimes you as an owner need to kick start the company again. Here are 4 tips to help bring the excitement back in to the job:
- Make sure your manager or your foreman is an enthused person – If they are pumped up, at least a small portion of this will rub off on employees, right? Plus, this manager will usually have good ideas for the next step, so you get a 2-for-1 when you hire an energetic, passionate person!
- Plan some company outings – Take your guys out to lunch once a month, offer a weekend getaway for some “guy time”. These sometime-spontaneous activities keep your employees guessing. They provide a break from the mundane work week, plus it shows your employees you appreciate them (and who doesn’t like coming to work when they know they are appreciated?).
- Recognize an employees’ passion – When your employees do show a passion and drive for a certain project, recognize it! Celebrate it so they know it’s a good thing to be excited about work. Their excitement will almost definitely show through in their work in the form of efficient and quality service. This will reflect to the customer that they can trust you as a company for great service.
- Empower employees – Otterbox founder and CEO, Curt Richardson says, “By empowering employees to get involved in strategy, showing them how their work impacts the organization as a whole and letting them get involved in making a difference in the community, passion becomes a given.” Basically, just be sure to listen to your guys. They know the ins and outs of their jobs so ask for their advice and encourage them to run with good ideas. They will really appreciate you valuing their opinion and it will make them feel like they are making a difference. Who could get bored at a job if they know they are making a difference?
These are just a few tips to help you spark back up the passion within your company. Sometimes we forget that just because we are passionate about something doesn’t mean everyone else is. It’s your job as an owner to be sure your employees don’t get “stuck in a rut”, per say, because not only does work quality drop, but company morale drops too.