Keep 'em Happy. Keep 'em Working.

1. Make sure your employees know they are part of a team and involve them in organizational issues. The more a part of a company an individual feels, the more likely he or she is to stay with a company.

2. Clearly explain to employees what is expected of them and then involve them in the process of designing their job description and coming up with a way to manage and measure their work progress.

3. Make the workplace an enjoyable place to come. Stock the break room healthy snacks and goodies and keep water readily available. If the office is a welcoming and comfortable place, employees are more likely to spend those extra few hours in the office to finish a last minute project.

4. Plan outside of office activities and invite family members. By creating relationships outside of work, friendships will develop and a close knit environment will result within the office as a result.

5. Employees need to feel wanted, valued and appreciated. Design incremental reward programs and offer raises for good performance. Most people will work harder if they are rewarded after a certain period of time.

6. Allow employees to voice their suggestions, concerns, and questions. Weather you implement an enterprise feedback management program or have weekly meetings for individuals to discuss their thoughts, make sure the opportunity for expression is available.

7. Communicate with your employees. If you are top management and not always in the office, visit occasionally so they know you are there. Also, make a conscious effort to recognize the work they are doing. Comment on successful recent projects, reports, etc. Everyone likes to know he or she is appreciated.

8. Communicate with your employees. If you are top management and not always in the office, visit occasionally so they know you are there. Also, make a conscious effort to recognize the work they are doing. Comment on successful recent projects, reports, etc. Everyone likes to know he or she is appreciated.

Nothing can replace the true value of face-to-face communication when it comes to business practices. It seems that in the fast-paced, high tech business world today, it's easier to shoot someone a quick email than it is to walk 20 feet down the hallway to talk to them in person. And although we can't underestimate the power of personal interaction in a company, sometimes there is the need for the services of Online Survey Software to get a full, honest, nothing withheld report from your employees.

Check out the different customizable online survey software options that are available for your business. Who knows, you may find out a few things you never even thought to find out about.

1. 360 feedback surveys
360 degree employee feedback provides performance feedback from an employee's supervisor, peers, reporting staff members, co-workers and customers.

2. Exit interview surveys
Its much cheaper for a company to retain an employee than it is to lose one and have to retrain another. When an employee leaves a job, it is important to understand why they are leaving and what information you can use to avoid future employee losses.

3. Employee retention surveys
It's important for employers to be aware of their employees' attitudes, burnout tendencies, passion factors, loyalty, workplace climate, and competitive intelligence. If an employer is more aware of these key factors they will be more successful in retaining employee, maintaining satisfaction, as well as productivity.

4. Whistle blower surveys
With any company, it's crucial that management is aware of any problem that may be on the rise. The whistle blower survey allows for employees to notify management of issues critical to corporate health, including Bias, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Abuse, Corporate Malfeasance, Theft or Misuse of Funds, and any other topic deemed critical to top management or the employee. Stopping problems before they escalate can play a huge role in company success.

Whether its been the first day or the first year, it's important to help your employees feel that you want them to come back the next day, and the next, and the next. The following tips are designed for new employees, but can be adapted to making even the oldest employee feel as if their contribution to the company matters.

Make sure they have all of the special things they need (desk, work area, office supplies, equipment, etc.)

Make sure the first day experience is one in which makes them feel comfortable and excited to come to work the next day.

Make sure you have a supervisor who can provide personal attention to the new employee, make them feel welcome, and is available to answer any questions they may have.

Make sure all office employees are aware of the new hire so that they can make sure to say hello their first day on the job.

Start with the basics. New employees will become more productive sooner if they feel as if they've mastered the basics already.

Plan to take the new employee to lunch or ask others to join them in the lunch room. A new employee's first day is not the time to leave them alone during lunch.

Ask for feedback from previous "new hires" to find out what they liked, didn't like or would change about their orientation process and make changes accordingly.

Inform your new employees that they will have the opportunity, as will others, to take one of the periodic 360 feedback surveys regarding their coworkers, supervisors, and peers in order for upper management to get an idea about how smoothly the company is running.

Knowing how to give constructive criticism can be an effective tool in building strong employees and an even stronger team. Learning how to give and take criticism is an essential tool for everyone to learn; the following 10 tips are designed to help individuals give constructive criticism and make these experiences effective learning opportunities.

1. Make sure you are coming from an unbiased position and that you're not criticizing out of malice for the individual.
2. Sandwich your criticism between two compliments. Your intent is not to hurt the individual, so try to compliment him/her up while also delivering constructive advice.
3. Watch your tone. Tone of voice can sometimes speak louder than words, so try and avoid the edge.
4. Eye contact conveys sincerity. Stop what you are doing and look at the person you're speaking to.
5. Time and Place are crucial. Do NOT criticize an individual in front of a group of people. Constructive criticism should be given in private so as not to embarrass anyone.
6. Avoid hurting feelings. You aren't there to hurt the individual, so be sure to choose your words carefully so as not to offend.
7. Focus on the behavior, not the person. You are criticizing the person's behavior, not the person.
8. Keep a sense of humor. Criticism is hard to give as it is, so try and keep the situation as light hearted as possible to make it less uncomfortable for both you and the individual.
9. Work together to fix the problem. Don't leave the individual stranded, once you've spoken with the individual outline a plan that you can both work on to fix the problem.
10. Move on. Once criticism has been administered, drop it. Don't repeat what you can say once.

*You might consider implementing a feedback system in order to not only be able to give constructive criticism to your employees and their supervisors, but so that you might also receive the criticism of your employees. Many companies have begun administering 360 feedback surveys that allow for each individual to be evaluated and to evaluate themselves, their peers, supervisors, and upper management.

The Red Bull Head Quarters office in London has to be one of the coolest offices I've ever seen. Imagine being able to ride a gigantic slide from floor to floor...

It's important that as you are working side-by-side with your employees to grow your business, that you make sure your company is in compliance with the latest in project risk management procedures. Every year over 7.5 million Microsoft Office documents are created and sent to management, other employees and clientele. Of those 7.5 million documents, more than 2.6 million contain legally sensitive information attached to emails, stored on external hard drives, personal computer devices, etc. Imagine trying to adequately safeguard your growing business when highly sensitive information could literally be anywhere and leaked at any time. Not only is it mandated by law to implement project risk management procedures, but it is crucial for the well being of your company to keep legally sensitive documents accounted for at all times.