6. Trust them
OzTrampolines founder Richard Haby believes he gets the most out of his team by not watching their every move.
“I feel the best way to motivate staff is to allow them to do their role and not look over their shoulder all the time,” Haby told SmartCompany.
“We have a small number of staff and they all know their role. If they need me I am there in person or on the phone, but otherwise I do not interfere in what they do and back them to make the right decisions.”
“The systems are in place and reviewed when needed, so when a new staff member is employed the transition is smooth.”
7. Have fun
The entrepreneurs on this year’s Smart50 list all like to have fun, and they like to share that fun with their employees.
Whether it’s Friday night drinks at Pet Circle or downloading everyone’s favourite songs to the office iPod at HardToFind, lightening the mood can be a great way to de-stress in the workplace.
“No matter what is going on within the company or level of individual workload, we break to celebrate the week and enjoy each other’s company,” says Frizell.
And then there are the companies like the Fonebox Group, for which fun is just part of doing business.
“In Brisbane we took on a lot more office space and built a semi Google-type space,” says co-founder Jordan Grives, who also happily forks out for catered meals, social activities and even access to pay TV for his staff.
“For me, I like to have a fun office and an office that looks good, but you also have to look at why those big companies do that.”
Editor
Eloise is an experienced business journalist and editor, who has held senior editorial roles at SmartCompany since 2014. Prior to joining SmartCompany, Eloise was news editor at Books+Publishing, the trade press for the Australian book industry. Eloise has degrees in media and communications, marketing and business management, and political science. You can follow her on LinkedIn, and Twitter at @ellykeating.
