Dale Carnegie once said, “People work for money but go extra mile for recognition, praise, and rewards.” It implies that salary is good to retain your best performers – but not enough.

In fact, a survey shows that 80 percent of employees wants to stay with their current employer simply because they like their job. This emphasises that employer needs to provide them work-life balance that makes employees love their job. Yast mentioned that 67 percent staffs enjoy what they do as a reason to not want a job elsewhere. Other reasons are reward and recognition, benefits and pay, job security, listening to music, break in daily grind, and relationship at work. These reasons are what makes your employee stay and happy.

Unum added that happy employees are key to business to thrive. There are many ways to achieve a content, motivated, and engaged employees. Aside from what have been stated, here are some other ideas adapted from Unum you could adopt in your company.

See also: Employee Turnover: Understanding Why Top Talents are Leaving

Idea #1 Improve company environment

Dull and dreary offices can result to demotivation as office environment can affect employee morale. Therefore, keeping your office spaces light and bright is crucial. If possible, you can provide a break room where employees can relax and spend their lunch breaks. Getting away from desks can help them refocus and come back re-energized.

Allowing individuals to bring their pets to work can also create an added sense of companionship. Pets can bring calming effects on their owners which can be beneficial to your office environment. After all, you should make sure that your employees have everything they need to excel in their job. If they have all the tools that support them to accomplish goals, they will go a long way in keeping them engaged and motivated.

Idea #2 Set goals and give excellent reward

Whether it is a birthday, festive holiday, New Year holiday, anniversary, or engagement, you should know that celebrating small things can mean something bigger to your employees as it can retain their happiness. You can use newsletter to highlight employees important date or use a Popularity Board that shows who have performed well in particular month. Allow their success to be celebrated by the entire company.

Keeping staff engaged by setting together company goals will also keep them motivated as it is beneficial to ensure that everyone is involved in the organisation’s decision making process. Don’t forget about incentive that can help motivate employees financially as well as show that their work is appreciated. When you offer them benefits, don’t forget to show them that you care about their wellbeing as well.

Idea #3 Lighten employees’ mood

Office theme days can be fun, can’t it? Increasing your staffs’ happiness and boosting their morale by giving a fun theme day in office could be a good idea to try. Simple theme such as ‘cat day’ or ‘dog day’ can break up the monotony of work and help employees to feel as part of the team. Let your employee’s individuality and personality shine by allowing them to wear what they want (within reason). You can still provide some guidelines, but try to not be too strict.

It is easy to get stuck in a rut. Therefore, every now and then try to give employee an early leave on Friday or start later on a Monday. It is a small gesture but can make all the difference. Physical activity can also improve your employee health issue. So, if possible, arrange for discounted gym membership or encourage walking meetings or whatever it is as long as your employees can move from the routine of workday. Moving helps release endorphins, making individuals happier and more motivated.  

Idea #4 Intrigue management

Instead of applying the same management over and over again, try something new or different at least once a month. You can create challenges or competitions with reward. It can increase productivity and camaraderie, as well as encourage staff to become more engaged in a project. As an employer, you should ensure that all of your management have appropriate training. Pay attention to line managers and their relationships with their team as this can impact heavily on performance and happiness. You should also deal with issue in morale or behind closed doors instead of announcing it to whole company. Show your staff value in their work because everyone wants to feel that their work has higher purpose.

Idea #5 Encourage individuals

Training can encourage your staffs to work with their strength. You can as well differ each employee’s courses to hone their skills. If you have the resources, allow your employees a day or two to work on something they passionate about – whether it is volunteering in the local community or working on a new project. While money isn’t everything, it certainly is an important factor for many people. For employee to be happy and productive, they must not be paid less than they are worth as being underpaid often results in unhappiness.

Lastly, to find out what motivate your staff, simply ask them. Have conversations about what they want to see happened in company and what they need to make their jobs easier. Once you know, you can work out how to implement it.

Idea #6 Encourage team  

Teamwork and synergy is important but can be tricky to nurture at times. Allow your employees to create mutual objectives and values to build up good relationship and develop a positive environment. You can set up internal networking events to help employees build contact within company and to learn more about how it operates. If an employee gets to know colleagues and the way of business run, they will feel more involved.

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