Leaders should try to get the most out of their members of staff in order to achieve the most out of their company, as it should have a positive effect on the business. Improving morale - which should also improve productiveness - can be achieved in a variety of ways.

Keeping workers satisfied and motivated is important in any business, but especially for SME owners. A company may find itself to be wasting their money and time, plus damaging its reputation if it cannot get the best of out its workforce, even if it provides a good product or service.

It is up to managers, team leaders and business owners to diagnose and furnish the needs of its workforce accurately so that they can achieve the most out of them in terms of efficiency. However as everyone is an individual, various staff will have varying needs and desires. Some may be difficult to please; some may need on-going reassurance; some may put more into their work than their colleagues; etc. As human resources it can be debated the most important resource for any business, it is important to keep them maintained and satisfied, even if it appears to be a challenge to do so.

Getting the most out of employees can be very useful to any company, regardless of its size or shape. A member of staff who is working at his or her best can be resourceful, loyal, efficient, more productive and help to inspire others.

Motivating your staff to achieve the best out of them is achievable in a variety of ways, including:

Appreciation and recognition - Congratulate staff who do a great job. Organise frequent one-to-one meetings to recognise areas that might need improvement (just don't go overboard!) while thanking them on a task well done. Let's face it, all people want to be recognised.

Focus on strengths, not weaknesses - If you hire a person to do a certain task, you shouldn't put too much emphasis or time on trying to build up their skills in other areas. If you've hired a worker to focus on a certain area then invest in bettering what they are great at; what you employed them for; make their strengths stronger. Obviously you do not want all of your workers working on just one area each, just in case there's a concern if an employee is ill or on holiday, but on the other hand, asking a person to work on their weaknesses needlessly might be disparaging for the member of staff and a waste of their talents and time.

Donate time for additional activities - Set time aside - whether it's a day each week or even just a few hours - in order for your staff to pay attention to other areas of their work and the company, whether it is research, training or starting a new project in order to spice up the workload. Your workers will appreciate it, as doing the same tasks over and over in a job that offers little difference can be dull, monotonous and painfully boring, e.g. call centre staff and data entry staff undertake somewhat repetitive work.

Implementing some of the above strategies can help to get the best out of your workforce, who will help to get the most out of your company. All you have to do is know how to manage and lead them effectively and aid them to shine.