Well, it’s a subjective question and people will have different views and ideas as to what makes them feel valued. I have run different businesses for 25 years and all have been people-based recruitment businesses. Not all businesses are the same but generally they will always be some common themes that make people feel valued. The keyword for me in all this is ‘feels’. Some businesses have a football table and free snacks, but the staff can still feel undervalued if they aren’t treated with respect or feel engaged with their employer. It’s the substance that truly makes people feel valued.
Creating the right feeling in your business takes time and needs to come from a position of authenticity. People can sense whether you really mean something and just giving staff stuff and expecting them to feel grateful and valued as a direct result is not enough. It’s almost like the guy who keeps buying his wife flowers but fundamentally doesn’t treat her well enough, so the flowers feel a bit hollow.
In some businesses, staff get few benefits but still feel incredibly valued because they are buying into something bigger than a few gimmicks. If you can, however, create an environment where your staff truly feel valued and then when they do get something extra from you, they generally really appreciate it because they know it comes from a good place.
One of the most important lessons I have learnt as a business leader is to really care for my staff, understand them, and it’s often the little things that really matter. Saying thank you without being asked, cutting slack when it’s needed, understanding personal pressure like childcare issues or otherwise, all make a huge difference to people. I used to be very rigid in my thinking, but now, knowing how hard my staff work for the business, I do not sweat the small stuff when they need time or support with something.
I haven’t always got it right and can think of occasions when I was too busy to be there for a staff member when they needed support, and when I have allowed managers in my business who haven’t valued or respected the culture that made the business tick. I can only say sometimes you need to make these mistakes to come out the other end and realise what is really important in a business, and it is always the people and how they feel.
Creating that environment is the number one thing that drives value for an employee and then the benefits and the niceties are the extras that put the cream on the cake. They say most people leave their manager, not the job, so clearly this is where the value proposition starts. Good leadership is the number one thing that makes people feel valued.
Employees want to be in workplaces where they can be their best, be themselves, be around like-minded people who they are in flow with all working for a common goal. When you achieve this in your business, the business feels great, people really want to be there, and they will go above and beyond because they believe in what they are doing. Recognition is so important and giving praise when it’s due, pay rises when they are deserved without asking and giving ambitious people room to grow are key factors that make staff feel they want to be somewhere.
It’s not easy and businesses often go in cycles, and it’s generally driven by good or bad management. So for me, what makes someone feel valued is authenticity, substance and good leadership. Get this right and people will sometimes forgive you when you make a mistake. The free snacks and football table are a bonus, but aren’t enough on their own to make you feel valued.