How to create a positive working environment

By Dawn-Anne McAneny

Having staff is easy; however, building a team is totally different. Employees use their skills, talents, and experience to add value to the organisation. In return, the company compensate them for their work.
Having a successful team is more than just people coming into work; it’s about the emotional, intellectual, and physical ways you support them. So it’s essential to make, And it’s not as complicated as it may seem—the simplest things can foster a positive work environment and leave employees feeling like valued members of the organisation.

Here are some tips to help create a positive working environment:

1. Realise the importance of onboarding and training

When new employees are thrown into a role without proper onboarding, they can lose confidence and interest in the job. Ideally, employees should be given a dedicated five weeks to onboarding; this is not always possible, but if you aim for the employees’ first two weeks, at least, being planned out in full. Be sure to include scheduled time for the following to get employees through the initially awkward introduction phase:

Shadow co-workers
Sitting in on meetings.
Locating and reading through essential company files and processing documents

Time should be taken to educate employees on workplace safety and codes of conduct to help them understand how the organisation works. Using something like the procedures app in OpsPal can help a company with training by offering an extensive knowledge base of all company procedures, from sales to cleaning.

2. Create a comfortable and safe work environment

The employee’s workspace should be comfortable with the best possible desk space and well-positioned computer screens; for employees to do their best work, they need to be in no pain and the right temperature.

3. Undertake regular check-ins

The aim for any manager is to try and make employees enjoy their work and workspace so they can get the best out of them.

A simple way to make employees feel important and show you care is to drop by their desk, or if they work remotely, send them a quick informal message. Just ask how they are doing and for their opinions. Then show care and attention by following up. This can have a hugely positive effect and boost productivity across the business.

4. Encourage collaboration and communication

It is vital that no one feels left out; there is nothing worse than having cliques in any situation, especially the workplace. To help with this, establishing efficient and effective communication is essential. A few ways you can do that include:

Using dedicated channels for new projects
Including co-workers in appropriate email chains
Posting team priorities in a public space for all to reference, like a whiteboard or Google doc

Simple, straightforward, and honest communication builds a team’s foundation. It also creates a sense of community that will contribute to the group’s success moving forward.

5. Develop a strong workplace culture

As a company, it is crucial to create a strong, clearly defined identity where employees know and understand its primary goals.

The company values aren’t the primary focus in this; what matters is that the company has values and aligns the organisation around them.

Values and priorities are different for each company, and the main thing is to create a culture that unites employees and sets a clear direction.

6. Encourage progression and learning

Workplace learning is essential within an organisation. Employees thrive, and performance increases when a company prioritises professional development.

Providing informal learning and knowledge sharing opportunities is also key, especially with new employees. A company can boost productivity by ensuring employees have access to the information they need to do their jobs. For example, the procedures app in OpsPal is an excellent knowledge base for all staff.