3 Ways to Take Care of your Staff

Staff are the lifeblood of any business. Capital may facilitate it but without staff to do the actual physical or mental labor, a shop is just a room with fancy items in it.

As such, in this article, we will be focusing on ways you as a store owner or business owner can take care of your staff better. Better treated staff perform better and are more loyal to the store. They can also teach what they know to new staff, which is very helpful.

So, let’s take a look at five things you as a business owner can do to take care of your staff.

1. Pandemic Support

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world in countless tragic ways. Retail was hit especially hard. As such, it is important to realize that your staff are going through a hard time and need some support.

One of the biggest stressors during this trying time is job security. Not only are people losing jobs left and right due to downsizing but the job market has become increasingly sparse of jobs that offer even a basic living wage. As such, it is very important for you to provide as much job security to your staff as you possibly can.

Another issue to focus on is salary. Many employees around the world have had their pay slashed. This directly impacts them and their families on a basic survival level. This makes pay or remuneration another avenue through which you can support your staff.

Providing them a living wage during the pandemic is very empathetic and can result in strong loyalty being fostered amongst your staff. Loyal staff go the extra mile.

2. Listen to your Staff

According to many staff, one of the biggest issues they face in their work is the lack of listening or understanding from the management.

Whether it is regarding a customer complaint or any issue regarding the workflow, most managers tend to be authoritative and the conversation only goes one way. The staff must often simply endure it and try better. However, we are learning more and more that the modern worker simply is not willing to be ignored and talked at when they may have valuable input regarding the issue.

It is for this reason that it is in your best interest as a business owner to listen to your staff. They are the public-facing arm of your organization and likely have perspectives, knowledge, and context that you may lack. Additionally, always siding with customers regardless of how unreasonable they are is a quick way to alienate your staff.

So as managers and executives, you should try to be fair and hear out both sides before making decisions. Always keep in mind that one hardworking loyal staff member is a permanent asset and can service a hundred customers. However, one disgruntled customer is just a drop in an ocean of potential customers.

3. Provide the Right Resources

Last but not least, it is very important that you provide your staff with the right knowledge and resources to do their job.

Sometimes, this can mean spending a little time in the beginning training them and properly integrating them into the workflow. Other times, it can mean investing in the right hardware or software to aid your staff.

A lot of workplace discourse focuses on how ‘employable’ the staff are, but not on the capacity of the employer to support their staff. The onus of providing staff with the tools they need to do their job well is not on the staff. It’s on the employer. So make sure you do your part.

Taking care of the staff that work hard daily to make your business successful is a very important thing to do. There are the obvious ethical benefits for doing this, but it is also much more conducive to long term profit.

Supporting them during the pandemic as much as you can afford goes a long way towards building loyalty. Listening to their concerns and perspectives when it counts is another way to make them feel appreciated. And lastly, arming them with the right tools can make a huge difference in their workflow.

Speaking of the right tools, we would like to highlight Ewity.

Ewity is our easy-to-learn, easy-to-use, cloud-based POS system. It comes with many features designed to help you and your staff with your store. Ewity also comes with a robust inventory system that can handle variant products with ease.

If you’d like to learn more about Ewity, please head on over to our website today!