Your efforts in making employees happy at work could create a domino effect on other HR strategies. When employees are satisfied with their job, this will boost their engagement with the company and when they are highly engaged, employee retention will improve. When employees are on an all-time high, it will positively affect productivity, and eventually, company’s bottom line. But then, how do you ensure employees are happy in the first place?
What is the best way to keep your employees happy and motivated in their job? If you consider that competitive salary and cool benefits are the only driving factors behind high performance, then perhaps you need to rethink the idea.
In the era of Covid-19 today, it takes more than a paycheck to keep employees thrilled and motivated to show up every morning. There are other important factors that influence employee satisfaction, and it is for you to pay attention and fix these areas. Here are five things, HRs miss out in their employee retention strategy:
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Culture matters. In general, workplace culture is the way businesses run – how people within the organisation interact with each other, and how the company gets things done. Workplace culture does not just happen out of nowhere, but it is moulded and built over time.
To ensure that your employees are satisfied right from the first time, they walk through the door, you need to maintain positive culture that upholds respect and integrity. Establish value-driven culture as the main motivator such that employees feel supported at work.
Business leaders play a crucial role in making employees happy. According to a study by Willis Towers Watson titled, Global Workforce Study and Talent Management reveals that leadership and management are among the top five drivers for sustainable employee engagement. And this comes with reasons.
When the workforce places trust in organisation leadership, they will be far more engaged and committed. If the leaders are able to communicate the company strategy clearly and effectively with their employees, then this will ensure smooth and seamless overall business operation.
The more you give control to your employees, they will be happier with their job. Rather than merely following orders from the higher ups, employees want to be involved in managerial decision-making processes, especially on issues that directly affect their lives. Therefore, you should empower your employees by giving them sense of authority, asking for their feedback, and then acting on their suggestions accordingly.
The previous Towers Watson study finds that career advancement opportunities drives talent retention efforts of an organisation. Every employee yearns for a chance to be recognised, and achieve a better position in their careers. So HR managers should work towards providing employees with clear career pathways.
Promotion, training and development program, as well as other career advancement opportunities can be some of the methods to encourage professional growth.
Healthy employees are happy employees. One of the best way to achieve this goal is by promoting healthy balance between professional work and personal life. Enabling flexible work arrangements could be a great alternative to encourage work-life balance among employees. It is also important to assign them for projects that suit their skills and abilities.
As the old adage goes, ‘Money can’t buy happiness.’ It applies to your workforce, too. While it is true that good compensation attracts potential talents to your organisation, it does not guarantee their long-term satisfaction and retention.
People might draw higher salary as their first consideration, before accepting a job offer. But through time, they seek for a better work-life balance as well. As pointed by Glassdoor’s survey, money does not have a huge impact on employee satisfaction.
Read also: Unveiling 5 Signs of Unhappy Employees at Work
