5 Powerful Methods to Create a Happier, More Productive Workplace

We were honored to be recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of only 50 other companies selected for a Great Places to Work award this year. We want to share the policies and culture that led to this honor to help you leader a happier work life! Below is a list of five things that have helped create an environment that Apex team members love. We hope that you find these tips useful, and apply them to your workplaces however you can to make your company an even better place to work.  

1. Show happiness and health are high priorities. One prime way we show our team that we care is by focusing on not only their happiness, but also their health. Apex provides a subsidized gym membership at LifeTime Fitness. This helps promote healthy living and daily excercise. We also encourage employees to live a healthy lifestyle by providing healthy snacks in the kitchen throughout the week for when you forget to bring your lunch, or simply need a pick me up. Some snacks that are provided are fruit, tea, and crackers. We even reach out to our staff members and accept special requests for favorite snacks or specific cravings.  
2. Provide great benefits. Another way we try to please our employees is by providing great benefits.  Two benefits that seem to recieve a lot of positive attention are insurance, that is paid for by Apex, and a 10% 401k match.  It is great to provide employees with warm and welcoming experiences and priveledges, however it is also very important to meet their financial needs and provide benefits in those aspects as well.  
3. Allow personalization to work spaces. In order to provide Apex employees with a space they can feel good about, we allow a $100 "space beautification allowance". This is to help them "spice up" their cubical or office space.  This also allows for employees to show their unique character traits and personality while also helping them feel more at home. It is important to not get bored or distracted while working, and creating a space that is tailored to your very own likes and interests helps tremendously with staying focused, energized, and excited.  
4. Allow for mostly free range with weekly check-ins. Another way for a more productive workplace is by not keeping our employees on a tight leash. We believe in allowing staff the autonomy and trust they need to successfully do their jobs.  Instead of making our staff feel like they have to constantly check in, ultimately taking away from the time it will take to complete tasks and meet with clients, managers schedule weekly check-in meetings. This helps to ensure all team members are on the same page, and utilizing their time as efficiently as possible. 
5. Provide opportunities to give back to the community. By providing employees with multiple opportunities to give back to the community, we are also allowing for our employees to grow as a team and form relationships with each other that are vital to success. Here at Apex, we work together to provide service to our community in a number of different drives.  Throughout the course of the year, we collect clothes, books, school suppies, canned goods, toiletries, and much more. We also host events to raise money for certain organizations.  It is our duty as members of a community to give back in any way we can.  Every week, we get together and put together snack packs for children in middle school who would go hungry over the weekend otherwise. Employees get a chance to take a break from work for about 30 minutes to help make a difference in a childs life. It is an amazing thing to help someone in need, and we try to as often as we can. 

A great workplace is vital for any company's success, and it is our hope that Apex can continue to grow with each day.  We hope you enjoyed hearing about the things that help our employees learn, grow, and succeed.  To learn more, please check out this webinar we put together highlighting our community involvement.