New Year’s Resolutions For Your Organization
The beginning of the New Year is just an arbitrary date for some people, but for managers, it’s really a chance to set a new bar. Managers, business owners, and leaders will likely have more people excited about the potential of the year than they will people who are skeptical.
Break out your notebooks and start working your way through these New Year’s resolution suggestions. Not only can they help you improve your workplace, create a more organized office, and generally give your company a boost, but they can help you become a better leader too.
Bring Joy into the Work Environment
It’s never fun and games in the office, but remember the old, “all work and no play” business. Bring a little joy into your work environment. Now, you can do this with fun, safe, and workplace friendly games, and events. Or, you can go all out with sack races and theme park days.
The thing is that you should focus on delivering a little something for everyone, which is always difficult to manage. While most people may enjoy lightning rounds of “heads up” or similar phone-based games, others may not like being put on the spot. Always encourage everyone to participate, with a gentle, “It won’t be the same without you,” rather than forcing everyone to take part in the activities.
If you’re at a loss for ideas, ask your staff. Invite people to email your ideas for 5 to 15-minute games that could include everyone on the team.
Focus on Quality Recruitment
Recruitment is a hot topic for every HR manager, but with outsourcing talent acquisition, it’s difficult to really make sure that new hires are good hires. Decide that this is the year to stop outsourcing your hiring, and to stop relying on temp agencies. Yes, both are good options for a manager that doesn’t have time. But in the long run, these situations hardly ever work out well.
When you take back recruitment or put your focus on long-term employee value, you can make huge changes within your company. Look to hire people that aspire to grow and develop, rather than someone who will simply show up on time.
In addition to your quality recruitment resolution, make sure that you implement a diverse recruitment strategy. Hiring people from the same school, with the same backgrounds, and who share other traits will result in a workforce that can become stale. Hiring diverse candidates bring different perceptions and experiences in the company.
Make the Onboarding Process More Engaging 
Do you have people partially falling asleep during training? Maybe you have about 18 hours of onboarding computer-based-training videos for them to watch. The thing is that onboarding is the first experience that employees have with their new company. The process, while may not ever captivate them, should make them excited.
If possible, reduce the time that people spend in front of a computer during onboarding. If someone isn’t sure about something, they can ask. They can create a discussion rather than watching through the video and forgetting what questions they did have.
Secondly, make the question and answers sections a game. Gamifying the onboarding process won’t misrepresent your company as that fun always playing business, but it can keep your new employees alert while you train them. Consider putting together large flashcards, doing lightning rounds of true and false between new hire teams, or providing simple rewards for so many questions answered correctly.
Explore Alternative Work Options for Staff
Remote working has become a huge benefit, and staff will often take it over many other benefit options. When remote work is available, the staff feel as if they have more control over their work-life balance. However, not every company is equipped to manage remote employees. When you consider factors such as security, planning, network connections, and providing equipment such as laptops, it may be too much of an investment.
If remote working isn’t right for your company, then consider alternative schedules. Many people get stuck in the Monday thru Friday, 9-5 or 8-4 schedule. If you have the opportunity to change or fluctuate those hours without disrupting your building’s property manager, then do so. Allow people the flexibility to come in one or two hours earlier and leave earlier. Some employees will greatly appreciate the time they avoid commuter traffic by coming to work a little earlier in the morning.
You can also provide alternative work options on an as-needed basis. Having fluctuating schedules or remote employees may not be right for your business. But, if someone has jury duty, an appointment with the motor vehicle branch, or a doctor’s visit, then some “as-needed” schedule flexibility is appreciated. Many employees don’t want to miss work because they have jury duty or another obligation that may only take a few hours in the morning. Offering this type of flexibility will remove the fear of having to use sick or vacation hours for anything other than sick or vacation time.
Bring Everyone in on Compliance
For many industries, compliance is a huge topic. In the very least, human resource compliance with labor laws is present in every company. Instead of lecturing people about going over their working time without taking a break, guide them.
Make compliance with everyone’s job by informing them about the laws and why they exist. Breaks, for example, can help keep employees productive and avoid burnout. Unfortunately, many employees believe that if their manager sees them taking a break, they will think the employee is lazy or inattentive to their work.
Get everyone involved in compliance through knowledge sharing. Use a newsletter, email, or bulletin board to get everyone involved.
Commit to Looking at the Big Picture
Many managers start the year without a clear picture of their goals for the year ahead. Going into 2020 should come with at least one big goal that you and your team can accomplish together. You should split that large goal into manageable sections with milestones to celebrate as you get closer to success.
Look ahead at the obstacles for the year too. What legal aspects are changing in your industry, and what trends are emerging that will impact your first few months? Considering these aspects can make management easier, and keep you focusing on accomplishing something meaningful even with ongoing changes in your industry.
While considering the big picture, discuss milestones that matter to your team. While deciding on the large goal may not be a team decision, working towards certain tasks can be. Discuss with your employees who is best fit for which tasks and let them play to their strengths. It’s not everyday that employees get to feel as if they’re part of the planning for success process, and this is a great way to make sure that the year starts out with an inclusive and inviting feeling in the office.
Automate Unchanging Processes
Ultimately, 2020 is raw potential, but early into January, it’s very easy to fall into old habits or to simply carry on with things as usual. New resolutions mean doing things differently in an effort to create something better. When you make a New Year’s Resolution for your workplace, department, or team, make sure that everyone knows your goals. That way, people will understand that you’re trying to change bad habits and turn those processes or steps into something positive.
