5 Things to Do This Month: April 2012

Staying attuned to what your employees are feeling, planning ahead, and honoring some of your most hard-working team members are all on the list of things you should do in April. The little time and effort you’ll need to put in at the beginning, will be well worth it in the end!

Stop the Stress
Since April is Stress Awareness Month, take a few minutes to get a feel for how stressed your team is. Sure, there will always be some tension and pressure in the workplace, but too much could be demoralizing your employees and negatively affecting their productivity. According to the American Psychological Association, over a third of workers experience regular stress in the workplace, and it’s impacting everything from employee engagement to turnover. If you find that stress levels are high, ask your team what’s causing this and see if you can fix it. Even if you can’t change the problem, you can at least offer your support, increase your encouragement, and maybe even bring them donuts to lift the mood.

Don’t Forget Tax Day
While you may not have anything to do with your company’s taxes, it would be a good idea to remind employees that this is their last chance to file their taxes on time. Since the notorious April 15th is on a Sunday and Monday, April 16, is Emancipation Day, the federal tax return deadline is actually on April 17. However, each state return deadline is different and everyone should consult their own state’s rules to ensure they turn everything in on time.

Pull a Freaky Friday
In honor of Administrative Professionals Day on April 25, consider recognizing your admins in a unique way. Besides the typical card, flowers, and lunch out, switch places with them for the day. Not only will they enjoy a change in duties and hierarchy, you’ll come away with a whole new understanding and appreciation for what they do for you every other day of the year.

Plan for April Showers
Depending on what area of the country you’re from, April can blow in some fierce storms. Now is a great time to review your emergency procedures with your risk department, and then make sure your employees are familiar and comfortable with what they should do in case they need to seek shelter. If your business doesn’t have designated risk personnel, an easy way you can keep an eye on the weather is to download a desktop or smartphone weather app from your local news and weather station. Just make sure you have a policy on how you will communicate dangerous weather conditions to all your employees.

Focus on Being Honest
April 30 is National Honesty Day, which means it’s the perfect time to consider how honest you’re being with your employees. While there is definitely a balance in what you should and should not communicate, and certain things need to be confidential, if your employees believe that you are not transparent and consider you dishonest, then your business is in trouble. In Deloitte’s 2010 Ethics and Workplace Survey, nearly half of employees who plan to find another job cited a loss of trust in their employers and a lack of transparent communication as their reasons for leaving.

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