How to Keep Your Employees Happy
If you want your business to grow, you need happy customers and in order to keep your customers happy you need happy and motivated staff. In this article we look at the importance of a happy workforce and how you can put it in to practice.
Most employers do not need telling that if their employees are happy they will be more productive, but some of them have no idea how to make this happen. If you are unsure of the best way to make your workers happy and more productive, here are a few tips that might help…
Have An Open Door Policy
Unless you are having a private meeting, the door of your office should always be open to employees. They could have a grievance or an idea about improving workflow, but whichever it is they should be listened to. Hear what they have to say and make sure you do some investigating and get back to them with a response. The worst thing you can do is let them think you are ignoring them.
Be One Of Them
Try to avoid a ‘you and them’ situation. This can be easily achieved by helping them with work when they are busy or taking your morning coffee breaks with them. This will help to foster a feeling of working together, which in turn makes them happier in their jobs.
Encourage Teamwork
Teamwork can be great because the team members can give each other support, and if one has a problem the others will help out. Team related activities that do not involve work can be good because they can show them how working together can solve problems and issues that they would not have been able to do on their own.
Research has shown that people who work as a team generally produce better quality work at a faster pace, so encouraging teamwork can be well worth your time.
Show Appreciation
Letting employs know that you appreciate their efforts goes a long way to building trust and respect between you and them and this will benefit your business. A simple thank you can sometimes be enough, but you could also arrange small thank you gifts. Things like buying all the lunches one day or letting them take half a day off in appreciation, can all help to foster a feeling of you realizing just how valuable they are.
One very successful boss made sure that he personally wrote and handed a birthday card to each employee when his or her turn came around. In reality, he was reminded of whose birthdays were when by a piece of software he had invested in, but that did not matter, the employees really appreciated that small gesture.
Include Them In Discussions That Affect Them
If you are buying some new equipment or may some new software, you should include the employees that will be affected by the changes in any discussions before the final choice is made. This will show them that they matter, and their opinion could well save you from buying the wrong thing. It is the workers, after all, that will be using your new purchases, so they may be much more aware of any potential problems with it.
Provide Them With Opportunities For Improvement
Employees usually want to be able to move up the ladder of their career choice, but sometimes do not have the qualifications needed. You could provide them with the opportunities to improve their education and perhaps suggest that ‘you go for your MBA with JCU online’. The more educated they become the more use they could be to your business, and you are more likely to retain staff who see opportunities in from of them.
Make Sure They Take Their Breaks
Staff needs time away from their workstation, and you should make sure they take their breaks. Provide them worth a good restroom that is inviting for them and with kitchen facilities to make dealing with their food simpler. When they have had a break they will return to their work more refreshed and ready to start performing well again.
Set Goals And Reward Them For Achievement
You should set them goals, but they should never be ones that are beyond their reach as that is demoralizing. The aims you give them should be attainable, and you should be prepared to reward them when they do exactly what you have asked. It could be a bonus in their paycheck, or maybe an evening out, but they should be encouraged to work towards goals and rewards will help to this end.
Find Creative Perks That Will Not Break The Bank
Many studies have shown that the level of salary is not the highest priority among employees. They put things such as work/life balance at the top of the list, being appreciated was next and then third came the perks that go with a job.
This could be any number of things from free teas and coffees to some concert tickets or even a healthcare package or a pension scheme. These are perks that will make their job more worthwhile and the more they feel that way the happier they will be.
Be Consistent
You need to be consistent with your approach to work and to your workers. You cannot tell them one thing one day and something the opposite the next without a very good reason, which you should explain to them if that is the case.
Consistency builds trust, and with trust comes contentment, and they will not want to move to another job if they are content working for you.
The schedules and break times should be consistent too. There will always be times when your business needs to step up a gear, but that can only happen if your staff are not too tired to do the work.
Recognize Them As People
All of your employees are people. They have feeling and emotions and should be treated in a way that does not upset their balance. They are not just their employee number but have a life outside of work that sometimes causes them problems. You should recognize this and treat them as such as this will tell them that you are a caring boss.
Support them if you can, but at the very least let them take some time out without the risk of losing their job. Of course, there have to be limits on how much time they can take, but most employees appreciate some time off in bad situations, that they do not usually take advantage.
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