Growing Together - An Entrepreneur's Success Mantra When you pay attention to small needs of your employees, they feel valued

"Take care of your employees and they'll take care of your business," says Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson.

I absolutely second Branson. Spearheading Youngpreneur India and other ventures, I have come to a conclusion that the real growth lies in growing together. Make a plan for the growth of your employees, your business will eventually touch milestones. Happy, motivated employees work harder for a business.

In the beginning, I started like a typical businessperson - to grow my business was always my first thought. Sooner I realized growing together with my employees is the best growth strategy.

In today's article, I am going to explain why you should put employee welfare high on your priority list to transform your business.

Without further ado, let us discuss it:

1- Positive Work Environment

Needless to say, when you pay attention to small needs of your employees, they feel valued. This increases positivity at the workplace. Let me share a small incident here: My staffing lead takes her son to basketball game every Wednesday at 4 PM, right after her working shift ends. One day, I found her sitting at her desk past 4 PM. I enquired and she said that her son would not go that day, as he was not well. She stayed a bit late to complete the pending tasks. I told her to go home right away and take care of her son. She left for home.

I did not do any big thing. Anyone in my place would do the same. But that small gesture went long way. The next day, she emailed to thank me. Also, I got to know that she discussed this incident with other employees.

My friends, small acts of kindness are enough to kindle positivity at workplace.

2- Increased Engagement

In the core of taking care of your employees lies creating a great work culture - a culture where people are appreciated, engaged and productive.

Why do you need to create a great work culture?

According to a report published in Gallup, an alarming 70% of American employees are not working to their full potential, and they are slowing economic growth. Talking about the global scenario, this number can go higher. Of course, you do not want your staff to be disengaged.

When you take care of your employees, you not only increase their engagement but also create a motivating work culture.

3- Increased Productivity

Taking care of your employees' needs make them happy, which results in increased productivity.

According to a study conducted by economists at the university of Warwick, happiness led to a 12% increase in productivity. And unhappy workers proved to be 10% less productive. The research concluded,

"We find that human happiness has large and positive causal effects on productivity. Positive emotions appear to invigorate human beings."

Shawn Achor, the author of The Happiness Advantage, believes that happiness brings us more success. The human brains work better when people are happy and feeling positive.

Adopt the growing together mindset if you want to increase productivity and make a difference as an entrepreneur.

4- Higher Retention Rate

59% of US workers and 68% of Indian workers are likely to leave their jobs for new opportunities according to an Adobe report. This is an alarming situation. You need to hold onto your top stars. How?

Nurture your employees. This will make them happy, and they will feel motivated. This will encourage them to work for a longer period, meaning high retention rate. I have seen a very few employees exiting from my organization ever since I adopted the growing together approach.

As per a new survey commissioned by the American Psychological Association, the top reasons why American stay at their current job are,"I enjoy the work I do" and it "fits well with the other areas of my life."

As an entrepreneur, your main role should be to offer a creative, positive, happy work environment. Start giving attention to employees' personal needs and always try to offer more flexibility where you can. You might think about offering telecommuting, compressed schedules or on-site or back-up day care.

Final Thoughts

Happy employees take ownership of what they do and complete the tasks with utmost dedication and sense of commitment. I was lucky to realize it in the beginning of my career as an entrepreneur. What about you? Have you adopted growing together mindset? Do share your thoughts in the comment section. I would love to know about it.