As a leader, you set the tone in your convenience store. You create an environment that is either toxic and on the constant brink of failure, or one that is productive and setup for success. A productive work environment boosts employee performance, increases staff retention, and improves customer service. Base your work environment on these five elements.
1. Respect
Respect is the foundation of a productive work environment. Every employee deserves to be treated with respect, and every employee has an obligation to treat others the same way. The best way to foster respect in the workplace is to lead by example. Respect is contagious. Unfortunately, though, so is disrespect. Make sure all your employees complete harassment prevention training to help ensure everyone knows exactly what is expected of them.
2. Teamwork
People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. That’s why the concept of teamwork is so popular in business. The most important component of teamwork is that team members are all working toward the same goals. Work with your employees to establish team goals and reward the team when those goals are achieved.
3. Training
Your team is your most valuable asset. Just like any asset, you have to take care of it to make it last. Training is a way for you to invest in your team. From a robust online employee training program to mentoring programs and on-the-job training, the more knowledge you share with your employees the more productive they’ll be. To determine where your highest priority training needs, conduct a gap analysis to compare your team’s current competencies to your long-term business goals.
4. Communication
For employees to be a part of a productive work environment, they need to feel like they have a voice. Employees on your front lines likely have more interaction with your policies and procedures – and your customers – than you do, so it’s important that you encourage feedback from them. If you don’t already have an open-door communication policy with your staff, it might be challenging to start one. Employees who are used to feeling ignored aren’t likely to start giving input just because you announce you’re open to it. Instead, take the time during team meetings or even one-one-one to ask specific questions about customer service, compliance, marketing, and so on.
5. Opportunity
Not all your employees may see themselves with careers in the convenience store industry, but that may just be because they don’t know what that might look like. When you operate with a promote-from-within strategy, employees will see the benefits of creating a career path for themselves. Set employees up for success by providing training for newly promoted employees.
Training for a Productive Work Environment
All employees are entitled to a comfortable and hostile-free work environment. All employers must provide a workplace that is free from harassment and discrimination. Online harassment prevention training provides the baseline of knowledge managers and employees need to handle harassment in the workplace. Click here for information on our affordable online harassment and discrimination training program.
