Employee satisfaction doesn’t need to be the equivalent of a Rolling Stones lyric*. It’s totally achievable. In fact, healthy, functioning companies don’t even need to fret about it – it kind of comes about all on its own. However, if things are not on an even keel at your business, job satisfaction levels may not be where you want them to be, and this could be creating all sorts of problems for the HR team and management in general.
If this is the case, odds are you’re also dealing with recruitment issues and major talent churn, which is obviously not ideal. Fortunately, there are very effective ways to influence employee satisfaction that you can start implementing today, and we’re going to share them with you right here.
*Here’s the YouTube link, you know you want to go listen to that Rolling Stones hit now.
Go on, let your rock ‘n roll flag fly!
Welcome back! First things first let’s get the definition out of the way, shall we? It always helps when everyone is on the same page going in, after all.
Definition: Employee Satisfaction. Employee satisfaction is defined as how content or satisfied employees are with their jobs based on factors such as compensation, workload, perceptions of management, flexibility, teamwork, resources, room for growth etc.
So, as you can probably tell from the definition alone, this employee satisfaction spiel has the ability to directly affect your company’s bottom line when it comes to productivity, employee retention, the recruitment of top talent and more. And we’re not the only ones who think so – scientific data backs us up. Take a look at this illuminating paper called, ‘The satisfaction and retention of frontline employees: A customer satisfaction measurement approach’ that was published in the International Journal of Service Industry Management.
Now that we’re clear on the fact that any business that wants to keep its star players around in 2020 needs to be au fait with all things relating to the employee experience at their company, here are a few things you can do to improve morale around yours:
1. Find out where you’re starting from
First things first, you need to know where you stand. Make employee satisfaction surveys a regular part of your work landscape. Keep it short, relevant and to the point, and make it anonymous, so your data won’t be skewed. Pulse surveys are a great tool that allows businesses to keep their finger on the pulse of employee satisfaction.
Read more here: Why pulse surveys are all the rage right now.
2. Open the lines of communication
When your HR personnel and management team are viewed as approachable, small problems are less likely to spiral into big problems. Employ an open-door policy and then stand by your word – take the time to listen when an employee presents an issue, and then (most importantly!) take action. Continuous listening without continuous action is not worth much.
3. Invest in employee wellness
Healthy employees are productive employees. Find small ways to nurture wellness in the office. It could be as simple as adding a few plants and a water purifier, or you can go the whole hog and invest in ergonomic chairs, standing desks, lunch-time yoga instruction and a high-powered juicer. Start small and work yourself up to the big leagues.
4. Roll away those stones
Give your people the tools they need to do their jobs well. If your PCs are outdated or your employees struggle to use internal organisational systems that add to their workload instead of lightening it, make a point of addressing these pain points.
Read more here: 10 Powerful reasons you need a great company culture.
5. Recognise and reward achievements
One of the first things we are taught as children is to say please and thank you. Bring back those elementary modes of interaction at the office – be courteous to your staff members and thank them for a job well done. When effort and achievement is recognised and rewarded, it will happen more often.
6. Leave room for creativity
Always, always, always support those out-of-the-box thinkers. Sure, not every idea is going to hit the mark, but when you leave room for ‘what if’’ and ‘how about’, good things often follow.
7. Chuck away the cookie-cutter
Be tolerant of differences and encourage your staff members to express their personalities in the course of their daily duties. This is particularly useful in client service settings. Naturally, you want to focus on the positive aspects of their personalities, but it all starts with being inclusive in general.
8. Create opportunities to upskill
Give your employees the opportunity to become better at their jobs by providing opportunities to upskill. This could include anything from in-house motivational talks or training sessions, to e-learning courses, peer-to-peer mentoring and more.
Read more here: Improving employee satisfaction is great for your business! Here’s 4 reasons why.
9. Stop helicopter managing
Micromanagement is one of those 90s ideas that needs to go the way of the dinosaur right now. The Baby Boomers didn’t like it, Gen Z is irked by it, Gen X runs for the hills as soon as it becomes apparent that they’re not trusted to do their job, and Millenials, well, they simply don’t stand for it.
10. Don’t foster fear
If your employees are so scared of failing that they won’t even try to come up with new ideas, innovation is never going to be a part of our corporate landscape. Make a point of introducing blue sky sessions in which everyone can brainstorm without fear of ridicule and allow your employees with some leeway when it comes to the implementation of new ideas.
There you have it – 10 top tips to get you started on boosting employee satisfaction in the workplace in 2020.
If you’re here because you skipped to the end of the article for the no-fuss summary, you’re in luck! Here’s the gist of it. Good ways to improve satisfaction and engagement include:
- Measure satisfaction levels.
- Ensure that management is approachable.
- Make employee wellness a priority.
- Do away with needless job-related frustrations.
- Don’t be shy with recognition and rewards.
- Encourage creative thinking.
- Allow employees to be themselves.
- Make training and skills development available.
- Trust employees to do their jobs.
- Don’t let fear become the enemy of innovation.
Following these guidelines will have you well on your way to enjoying the benefits of working with a merry band of satisfied employees.
Are you serious about improving workplace satisfaction at your company? Why don’t you get the ball rolling with our employee recognition platform for free? Simply click the button below to get started.