It's all about them.....isn't it?

Your people are your business, and it’s important that they know that.

If you don’t have good people who are well-trained and who feel they are part of your organisation, you don’t really have an organisation to speak of at all.

That’s why they should feel valued, and a big part of that comes down to good communication and taking on board their feedback.

It’s not about every small decision, and I’m certainly not advocating a scenario in which everything is put to a vote. After all, it’s your business, and it’s down to you to make the decisions and show leadership. But communicating with your staff is so important.

One of the services my business, Raw Talent Academy, carries out is “health checks” for other businesses – it’s like giving a business an MOT. So often, the feedback we get from staff in those businesses concerns the feedback – or lack of it – that they receive from their employer.

Don’t be scared of including your staff in your decision-making – it’s something you should embrace. Just because you are discussing things with them doesn't mean you are giving up control.

There needs to be a balance. It’s not about encouraging people to have a big moaning session, and your people need to be accountable and take responsibility for their own work.

But they have the right to have a voice, and you will find that they’ll do a better job if they feel included and valued.

At Raw Talent Academy, staff complete an internal survey every couple of months or so, with the questions covering all sorts of topics. Our planned office move, incentives and the company’s culture are all things we've asked them about, and the surveys are anonymous, so they don’t feel any pressure not be honest.

I also hold a senior-management team meeting every month. We share ideas and information and discuss where we are with the business, and that is then filtered back to the rest of the team.

It’s all about treating people like human beings and showing them that they are valued. That’s what we do with our customers, and it’s important I do it with my staff, too.

I am always thinking about how I would like to be managed, and how I would want help in driving my career forward.

I want talented, creative people working with me – people who are accountable but also have good ideas on how to improve things. Within our structure, everyone has a job to do, but they also have the ability to put forward their views on how things could be improved.

Without those people, I don’t have a business. And if you have talented people working for you (or you hope to attract them in the future), let them express themselves and encourage constructive feedback from them.