Valentine’s day isn’t just one day of the year it should be every day of the year!

Someone said to me recently; Valentine’s day is only there to remind people to buck up their ideas as the reality is we should be treating everyone with love every day of our lives.

This year Valentine’s Day has got me thinking about how we can take the concept of this day and apply it to our workplaces – the reality is our employees have a desire to be loved and to love, we may all have different interpretations and ideas of how that should look but the fundamental is always there.

So how can we nurture a culture of “love” in the workplace making people feel valued and a part of something special? At this stage I want you to forget about tangible rewards and recognition and dig deeper for the answer.

Here is what I have come up with:

1.      Respected

Respect is a two-way process and takes time to develop, however priority should be given on both sides to get to know that person and what makes them “tick”. For instance, not everyone likes public praise, sometimes a small gesture or indirect way of saying thank you is enough. Likewise, when recruiting your staff; you have brought someone onboard with a certain skill set, something perhaps you know nothing about, so give them all the information you can to help them flourish and treat them as you wish to be treated.

2.      Empowered

Great leaders in businesses set the right tone and act in a way they want others to embrace. We spend so much of our lives at work it is important to figure out what tone you want in your business and lead by example, that way you will bring the right people with you. At Net Support UK we treat our values and vision with great importance and from the start of our employees’ journey we have open discussions about what these mean to them and how it will play a part in their behaviours at work.

3.      Challenged

How many times do you think to yourself that your routine bores you? I know I have, so why not try something new, talk to your senior about learning a new skill or take time sitting with someone new at lunch and asking them about their job.

It’s also a great idea to facilitate sessions with people to challenge different viewpoints, if everyone treats each other with respect you may learn to look at something through someone else’s eyes – if we all adopted this approach how much easier would workplace communication be?

So, while companies may have a fantastic benefits package and bonus scheme, ask yourself this…. are you delivering the fundamentals your employees want or are you just scratching the surface?

Get to know your employees and what works for them, at NSUK this as a key focus for our business.

As John Heywood said, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.”

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