It’s Your Business

Build Workforce Friendships Through Training, Recognition, and Team Activities

Employees spend a lot of time with their work family. It’s important to fit in, feel connected, and build friendships. A number or recent online articles, studies, and surveys point to the connection between quality friendships at work and job satisfaction, engagement, and retention. When relationships are built at work, employees watch out for each other, provide encouragement, and offer training or task guidance. When all other employment benefits such as pay and perks are fairly equal, employees will opt to stay and work where their friends work.

To foster supportive friendships in your business, schedule training sessions, recognition activities, and team building just as you would when scheduling employees for shifts. Even if your schedule is electronic, post a calendar for these special events in an area employees see, or print it out so they can take it with them. If you build these important activities into your schedule, it lets everyone know your expectations. Investing in employees for time spent in training and team building is just one way to let them know they are valued. If it’s on the calendar, it shows relationship-building is part of the business culture.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Add procedure and safety training topics to the schedule, and ask staff to contribute ideas for future topics • Create opportunities for staff to conduct the training on certain processes or procedures

• Offer community-based education opportunities outside the work schedule, such as financial planning, CPR/first aid, nutrition/healthy eating, or elder care

• Schedule team building activities to build communication, collaboration, and trust between employees. Ask for their input, or try one of these options:

- Family picnic in a local park - Bowling or video arcade - Local trivia night - Decorate your own donut (individual or team competition) - Scavenger hunt - Start each meeting with a quick ice breaker question (favorite snack, type of music, best smell, etc.)

Don’t miss out on another important indicator of job satisfaction: recognition. Find ways to recognize employees based on their outcomes, contributions, and behaviors. Some recognition should be delivered one-on-one, and other forms of recognition can be part of a celebration. Most employees want to feel appreciated. Delivering considerate, timely recognition can positively impact workplace. Use this list to build recognition into your business culture. • The best recognition is sincere, specific, and timely. Add recognition events to the calendar.

• Thank employees for their work, their commitment, and their ideas and give examples.

• Encourage employee-to-employee recognition, offer opportunities for them to thank or recognize coworkers at meetings and activities.

• Create a system to collect employee ideas to improve workflow and safety.

• Give credit to the employee when their idea is implemented.

• Celebrate a job well done as a team.

• Recognize employees who share info, knowledge, and ideas with each other.

• Effective recognition shouldn’t become a rotational opportunity that is equally shared by all.

• Offer thanks for a specific contribution or accomplishment from your least-engaged employees.

Additional resources for building resilience and workplace safety meeting topics can be found on SAIF.com/training and

FAST AND EASY TRAINING TO WORK IN OREGON RESTAURANTS

• Available in English or Spanish • Test on a computer or mobile device • Stop and start anytime • Pay when you pass • Print or save your card