5 Ways to Bring More Consciousness to Your Business

Conscious businesses are here to stay. They recognise what’s important in life (people and the planet) and reflect this in their business strategies. Conscious businesses also embrace the fact that nothing ever stays the same. They continuously evolve, putting more in place to help do their part in creating a healthy world.

Here are five strategies you can implement to become a more conscious business:

  1. Show your employees they are valued

Knowledge of human psychology, when applied in the workplace, can improve employees’ morale and happiness levels and, in turn, the quality and speed of their outputs. Now it could seem cold and manipulative to apply this thinking to your treatment of employees, yet in a conscious business, it’s the opposite. There is an intention to prioritise people over profit. Warmth and empathy is in abundance as employers genuinely care about their employees. The impact it has on the business is just a happy bonus.

To show how much you value your employees, ensure you provide positive feedback to employees, letting them know immediately when they’ve done well. You could also inform them of how much you appreciate their hard work and emphasise how important their work is to the company and its customers. These options all help employees to feel valued, and, when they feel valued, they are motivated to put in even more effort in the workplace.

  1. Create a psychologically safe workspace

‘Psychological safety’ is becoming a common term in forward-thinking businesses. There’s a realisation that employees need to be innovative and prepared to take some risks in order to create products and services that stand out, but this can only be done in a safe environment.

Encourage all employees to share their thoughts and ideas, perhaps by emphasising in meetings that all contributions are welcomed. After all, new products can be created by building on ideas as a team, with a different or ‘left field’ idea acting as the catalyst. Employ the mantra that mistakes are not something to be feared; they are learning opportunities. This makes it acceptable for employees to try new things and take risks, which when done thoughtfully, can only be a good thing for your business.

  1. Treat your customers like family

Your customers aren’t just a number. They are people with feelings just like you. They appreciate being treated as such. In fact, it’s when you have a great relationship with your customers that they will come to you first when they need a product or service you can provide.

So, take the time to get to know each of your customers beyond just their current needs. You can then start a call with them by connecting on a personal level, such as by asking about their children or discussing their favourite hobby. Sending them birthday cards and Christmas gifts will also convey the message that you value them.

  1. Volunteer with local community projects

Helping local community projects can benefit all the involved parties. There is an obvious benefit to the project itself i.e., it can achieve its goals faster with more people. There are also benefits to the employees that volunteer. They could learn new skills, enjoy meeting new people or feel recharged from a change of scenery. Ultimately, they will just be happy, and perhaps a little proud of themselves, for being able to make a difference.

Do some research into what community projects are currently underway in your area. You could enquire with your local council office, local schools or directly ask known projects.

5 Ways to Bring More Consciousness to Your Business

  1. Offset your carbon footprint

Climate change is a hot topic with annual summits providing the latest assessments and emphasising the seriousness of the situation. A call for action has gone out to each citizen on the planet and every company needs to play its part too. And it won’t just be the planet that is impacted by any action, as employees will also feel the reward of working for a company that is helping to tackle this crisis.

Start by analysing your carbon footprint and making a plan to reduce carbon emissions. There are plenty of carbon footprint calculators online to help with this. You could then question the journeys you make. Do you really need to travel to see the team overseas? If you don’t need to take that plane journey, then don’t. When it is necessary to take action that results in a rise in CO2, then you can contribute to an environmental project via a carbon offsetting scheme.

Each of these strategies will have a positive impact on your company, and the more of them that you incorporate into your overall business plan, the better the results you’ll experience. In fact, when you start to notice the difference being made to the people around you and the business itself, you’ll be keen to plan the implementation of the next conscious business strategy.

So how are you going to add more consciousness to your business?

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Author: Lucy Spencer

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