With 2020 looming closer by the day, it’s time to start thinking about how you can consolidate what you’ve learned this year and use it to benefit your company in the new year.
Luckily, we’ve compiled a few simple ways to check in with yourself and your employees in order to start the new year off with a bang.
Create an ongoing dialogue with employees.
While holding performance reviews once or twice a year has always been industry standard, it’s actually more effective to create an environment where consistent communication between CEO and team is customary. Whether this means regularly scheduled sit-downs or just making it clear that the pathway for communication is always open when you provide feedback throughout the year employees are less likely to feel stressed out by the prospect of performance evaluation.
Facilitate a community atmosphere in the workplace.
With so much of our lives spent working, it’s important that the office feels like a community if you want to avoid burned out and depressed employees. Some simple ways to create a more united environment at work is by encouraging personal connectivity through team bonding experiences and public recognition of individual accomplishments. You can also work to bridge the perceived gap between boss and employees by making an effort to get to know your team members on a personal level, so they feel like a valued part of the system rather than just a nameless cog in a big organization.
Reflect on the success of the previous year.
When you do your end of year check in on how your business did in 2019, make sure to consider it from your employees’ perspectives as well. By getting to know your employees as more than just the job they currently do, you’ll be able to find ways to further motivate them by assigning work that they’re interested in. You probably have some things keeping you busy that you’d love to hand off, and if you’re able to pass on marketing work to employees who want to develop in that area rather than just delegating at random, they’ll feel noticed and appreciated.
Brainstorm ideas for making 2020 your best year yet.
There’s no time like the holiday break to get your ideas flowing on how you can improve your business in the coming year. Maybe you’re noticing a need to fill out your sales team with new recruits, or you’ve recognized the outstanding work that your administrative team did these past 12 months. Celebrate your company wins and thank your staff for all their hard work, then focus on how you can keep the momentum going in 2020.