Jeremy Tauri: Be happy in your work environment

Jeremy Tauri.

How important are the people in your business?

You can expect over the course of your career to spend about a quarter of your life at work.

It makes sense then that you try to do something you like to do with people who also like to do it.

If you're an employer, it's worth considering this thoroughly. Knowing your responsibilities will help your productivity and reputation — but also ensure you attract the right type of people who will be enjoyable to spend time around — and enjoy doing their jobs.

Here are a few things you can do right now to improve your business' working relationships.

Learn to celebrate. And I don't just mean a reward for your team every now and then — although that's probably a welcome thing if you don't do it already.

See how you can incorporate celebration in each little task you do or small win you have throughout the day. Thank them and lead them to thank each other for the things they do as a team.

Share the vision. For me, listening to those with clear goals about what they want to do makes me think about what purpose I might have. Does your team know your vision? Can they articulate their purpose? Taking the time to write that down and discuss it lets them see where they might be able to support those goals.

Be clear on roles. We are a "muck in and get stuck in" bunch in Aotearoa. However, that doesn't mean we can't have clear job descriptions for our team members. This will help you identify gaps, clear up misunderstandings and also allow a discussion point for KPIs for promotion and hiring.

Invest in training. There are two types of training that I see as useful. Training to do the job or further knowledge of the job and personal development. While job training is self explanatory, development on how to deal with stress and interpersonal relationships is one that's more evident in high performing teams.

Get your work environment right and not only will your staff be happier but your business should be more successful.

Jeremy Tauri is an associate at Plus Chartered Accountants.