Employees count too

By Tom Borg

Many small gift shop owners pay their employees a fair monetary wage. However, when it comes to taking a sincere interest in them as human beings, these same employers fail. Everyone wears an invisible sign around their neck that reads, “Make me feel important!”


It has been said that if you talk to people about themselves, they will listen to you for hours. Small business owners can create a more engaged team by treating each of their employees as a special individual with a need to feel important.


By taking a sincere interest in your employees, you are communicating that they are somebody special. You will learn things you probably would not know otherwise, while at the same time building the self-esteem of your employees.


The great English essayist Charles Lamb said it best when he echoed these words, “Damn it, I like to be liked!”
You like to be liked, I like to be liked and our employees like to be liked.



Take action

Build the kind of work environment people love by taking a sincere interest in each one of your team members. Begin learning more about the things that are important to them.


I recommend creating a document for each of your employees. In it include the following areas of information you could learn about each person.


  1. Where were they born?
  2. How many siblings do they have? What are their names?
  3. Do they have any pets? What are their names?
  4. What hobbies do they enjoy?
  5. What activities do they like most?
  6. What is their favorite restaurant and menu item?
  7. What are some of their favorite musical groups?
  8. What are some of the places in the United States or abroad that they have visited?
  9. Where would they like to visit?
  10. What are some of their long-term career goals?

As someone once said, “People do not care how much you know, but they do know how much you care.” Remember, each of your employees is unique in his or her own way.


Make time to talk to each one of them. Find out some of the things they consider important. Take good notes and make it a point to discuss these things with them from time to time. They will appreciate it.