Friday Moment

It is typical isn't it - Friday comes and your staff suddenly find it difficult to think of anything, but their own plans for the weekend. You find out the age of their children next birthday, what the latest craze in gifts for kids is and who is leading the Grand Prix tables.  Try asking for the latest sales figures and things get a lot more hazy.

...so you want them concentrating hard on your business right up to 5pm or later don't you?

The answer is simple - don't expect so much.

The work balance is what makes a business truly most productive.  That means enabling your staff to be comfortable to get in the productive zone while at work.  Get it right and they will be productive for you out of work too.  Here are my top tips for getting staff in the zone:

1. Ensure they know what is expected of them by you in real terms
   put it into words as much as possible - up to 15mins chatting once a day
   using the phone once a week for personal calls no longer than 2mins
   going for a five minute walk once each day
   so they know your framework
2. Smile - and ask open questions if you are unhappy with something
   how can we prevent it happeneing again? is much better than
   why did you do it wrong?
3. Do things on Fridays that celebrate the week so they look forward to it
   Hold employee of the week celebration
   Do seven words of praise for each employee on a Friday (always genuine)
   Implement changes - ones that benefit staff
   Install new equipment
   Hold Training sessions
   Give time off for good performance - always on a Friday
   Never announce anything that affects their expectations for Monday
4. Think of the member of staff that you think is doing least well and identify three things you have done or not done or seen done that reinforced this impression.  Put yourself in their place and answer the question "If my boss did xxx I could avoid doing it again"  Then do the xxx answers you came up with on a Friday asap.
5. Be inventive on Fridays - and at your most forgiving - it is you weekend too!!

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