Factors that contribute to an effective workplace
Word Count: 2215 Author: Kimi Ural Created: 2015
Working environment
Location and working conditions are extremely important so that the company’s employees stay motivated and happy during their working hours. A good location and working condition could be at a holiday destination working as a tour guide near the beach. This is one of the most desired dream jobs because of the warm weather which makes the workers as well as the customers happy. This way the employees will be looking forward to start their work each day instead of being annoyed and moody like many other people. These are likely to work in a bad location with bad working conditions such as a call centre. This is a stressful job with not much change which could lead to unsatisfied employees which then affects the customers in a negative way. It is harder to keep a positive working attitude in these kinds of environments which is why the employers and managers need to find solutions to improve the working conditions. In order to improve these conditions, the employers and managers could bring in cake on a Friday, decorate the room in warm and welcoming colours, have a picture of the beach on a wall, have big windows so that a lot of light can get in and maybe even dress comfortable or have dress up days just to make the work more enjoyable.
Hours of work can vary in different jobs as well as different job positions. Some people prefer to work when it is quieter and others when it is busy, some prefer morning shifts and others night shifts, some people prefer working a few hours every day and others a full shift on only two or three days during the week. This is why the employer and the employees need to find a compromise which works out for everyone so that the employees work the times which suit them as well as the employers having enough members of staff at all times. Some places offer flexible working hours where some others offer set once, although a weekly number of hours worked should never exceed 40. In order to have an effective work place the employers need to find out what hours their employees prefer to work in order to suit their needs. It is also important for health and safety reasons not to work too much. For example if a pilot is working nonstop then he/she may get tired and will not be able to concentrate on flying the plane as well which could lead to a flight cancelation or even an airplane crash.
Health and safety is one of the most important factors which need to be taken seriously. The health and safety at work act 1974 which is for the employees as well as the customer’s wellbeing needs to be followed accurately. There are certain rules each company need to fulfil in order to keep everyone safe. For example the kitchen staff needs to ensure that the kitchen is clean at all times to prevent bacterial from building; the cleaners in a lobby need to put out signs after cleaning to make people aware of the slip hazard of a wet or fresh cleaned floor. The company needs to ensure that all these procedures are followed to protect their employees and customers. This will make them feel safe and more confident to go to work.
Incentives
Financial incentives such as remuneration which is the rate an individual gets paid is important to attract new employees, although it is not the most important one. Bonuses are mainly performance related pays for employees to earn some extra cash when performing at a high and consisted standard. Discounts are often given out when working in the travel and tourism area, this can be on transport, accommodation or even full holiday packages depending on the company and job itself. For example working as a pilot or being part of the cabin crew will give them discounts on flights in their own time. Incentive schemes such as competitions for the employees can be a good method to improve the employees’ motivation by rewarding the winner with a prize, bonus or even salary rise. Competitions could include finding ways to attract more customers or other ideas to improve the company as well as the environment. Also pension schemes are important to think of because some people start thinking early about their retirement future and want to have it secured.
Other incentives such as holiday entitlement, which usually means having four weeks paid holiday improves the working environment too. Then there are perks working in this industry such as frequent travelling or getting to live abroad to work. Also opportunities for promotion and progression are a major factor to keep happy employees. This means that employers should promote workers who got used to their job so that they can have a new challenge otherwise they may get bored which could make them work less efficient or even leave the company if they get offered a higher position somewhere else.
Working relationships
Management style is about motivating, informing and developing the employees so that they can build a good relationship as a team and to the manager in order to work better. Teamwork skills are also required in most workplaces in order to exchange ideas and work more effectively by communicating with others. For example event managers in a hotel need to work together as a team so that everyone knows what to do and what others are doing to avoid people doing the same things twice and then forgetting to do other things such as 2 people counting guests when one would be enough and then no one organising the menu. Also working in a team can help employees to become friends with their colleges which will make them enjoy coming to work and interacting with them even more. Working in a team requires different types of people, some who are good with coming up with ideas, some who can develop the idea, team leaders who can speak up and tell everyone what to do and more.
Channels of communication are important so that individuals can express their ideas openly and freely. This is important for their wellbeing and ability to brainstorm ideas. Another important thing is to provide equal opportunities and legislative requirements for everyone. Through the race relations act 1976, sex discrimination act 1975, disability discrimination act 1995 and the equal pay act 1970 todays average work environment has improved dramatically. All these acts were set in place to treat everyone equally good to prevent discrimination in any way which improves every work environment because affected individuals will feel safer and more welcome.
Training
Offering an effective training for employees is not just important because it will make them feel more comfortable in their tasks because they know how to do it accurately but also because of the benefits it brings to the company. Training will give the employees as well as the company benefits such as improved individual performance, improved team performance, allowing staff to be better informed and improved morale.
Induction training is the first sort of training any new employee would receive which includes the nature of the job, introducing the workplace and staff, the lines of responsibilities, facilities and health and safety basics. This is important so that the new workers have an idea of what they would be doing as well as to prevent any injuries through missuses of facilities, equipment or other errors. For example when working as a safety marshal at a paintballing place the workers would need to get taught safety basis such as having to keep the helmet on at all times and how to use the guns correctly without hurting themselves or others.
Training opportunities could be offered from the company itself as an in-house training if it is a big business, but often companies do not offer in-house training which means employees could find themselves an external course they could attend. Having an in-house training will lead more people to apply and motivate employees more to attend because it is directly based on their job and needed qualifications that will make them take it more seriously. However external courses can be easily found in several places such as colleges, universities or specialised companies if not provided by the employer.
Appraisal means measuring individuals performance to receive feedback. This process usually takes place once a year and involves having a meeting or interview with the manager discussing the individuals’ performance, which could motivate them to do better and be happy about the positive feedback they receive. A provided action plan can help the individual to improve their weaknesses over time.
Tui Group
The Tui groups have several ways to motivate their employees at the work place. Tui offers concession towards holidays which means that the workers get discounts and extra money towards their upcoming holidays. Also around the year during the working seasons, employees get staff deals and 20% discounts on most retail items. Competitive currency exchange is another attractive and useful feature which comes in handy through the travelling to different countries with different currencies. Tui also attracts with sick pay which is always a positive feature to have in a work place so that employees will not have to worry about their income in case they break a bone or get the flue. Health insurance is another important need which the company offers. This is a major factor for the employees’ safety and wellbeing because it is needed in case of emergencies and makes the workers more comfortable to turn up to work when having this feature. Finally educational visits are a great feature the company offers for their own benefit as well as their workers’. These visits provide the employees with more information in an interesting way that also takes them out of their daily routine which makes them more motivated to learn and later on more comfortable because they have learned how to do certain things correctly and better. Tui profits from this because their employees develop their skills and will archive a higher standard. Also, Tui will get good recommendations from their current workers if they enjoy the visits and find them useful which will improve their score in the competition league.
Thomas Cook
Thomas cook, first of all attracts with a free life insurance which important for the employees safety. Employees also receive a performance bonus which means that they get either a salary rise or a present such as points which can be added up at the end if their performance develops. This is an extremely important feature to offer to employees because it will raise the mood and improve their performance because they have something to aim for. It also makes many people do more work and take it more seriously if they are competitive. In the end this will develop the employees’ skills which are beneficial to them as well as the company through the motivated and hardworking people in the company. By offering flexible work hours, Thomas cook makes their company more appealing to job seekers, which means that they will have a wider range to choose from when it gets to finding the right candidates. Sick pay is another great feature the company offers which is something many applicants are looking for especially if they have people in their household relying on them.
Thomas cook also offers annual leave, employee discounts such as 15% off Thomas cook holidays, company car; job training which is useful to boost the employees CV as well as making them perform better for the company. Most jobs within Thomas cook also provide free accommodation, flights, uniform and food which means that the money earned is purely for spending on their own desired things such as entertainment. Sometimes a free gym membership is included in the working contract as well.
Overall both companies offer a wide range of benefits and goods to offer. Tui tends to have a better working environment based on the reviews of past employees. Although Thomas cook offers more discounts and other benefits which is still a good practise to motivate employees. Thomas cook as well as Tui, both offer free life insurance which is an almost necessary need to have. Job training is one of the key perks a company should have which is why Thomas cook offers it to benefit their company and employees. Tui on the other side offers educational visits which is essential for team building. Sick pay is another important factor contributing to an effective work place through feeling safer in terms of affording rent and food which both companies offer. Also holiday concession is something both companies offer for their employees to have a relaxing break between their working year. All these little benefits such as 20% off retail items or 15% off their own companies holidays contribute to the employees happiness and motivation because everyone enjoys getting freebies and discounts. Lastly the performance bonus Thomas Cook offers is one of the main factors which make the employees work harder by choice. This improves the general working conditions as well as the employees wellbeing and the companies profit.
