It has been proven that there is a strong correlation between employee satisfaction and the success of a business. Companies with strong employee satisfaction has reaped many more benefits in comparison to other companies. However, while 84% of organisations agree that employee well-being is important, only 49% of them are willing to take action to increase their staff satisfaction.
Why?
40% of all employees suffer from high stress which negatively impacts their productivity. On top of that, the costs of lost productivity are 2.3 times higher than medical and pharmacy costs which speaks volumes about their wellbeing.
We believe that employee satisfaction is one of the most important things that often gets neglected in organisations and here is why:
Firstly – higher productivity. People often say “Happiness does good for people” and it is true. It also does good for their work performance. Happy people are 12% more productive than people that aren’t happy. In fact, when people are unhappy, their productivity decreases by 10%.
Secondly, it encourages creativity and collaborations. When employees are happy, they will be more willing to work together to come up with innovative and creative ways to reach the company’s common goals. This creates a sense of loyalty towards the company, thus increasing the probability that they are willing to share the company’s content on personal social media accounts and speak positively about the business to others. This helps in boosting your brand image amongst potential customers as well as potential talent who might be interested in joining the company due to high employee satisfaction.
Lastly – lower turnover. Replacing employees is an expensive task to accomplish. For example, replacing entry-level employees would cost about 30%-50% of an annual salary. The replacement of mid-level employees costs about 150% of an annual salary and its almost three times that to replace a senior employee. It is important to keep employees loyal to your company during the raging talent wars to avoid the risk of also losing potential talents.
Employee satisfaction also leads to more happy customers. One must remember that the people you hire are the first point of contact and are ones interacting with your customers. It is important to ensure that they are well taken care of for the sake of your business reputation.
Three Examples of companies with incredible Employee Satisfaction
- American Express
American Express puts equal importance in both the fact that people achieve their goals as well as how they do it. It is not possible to reach top results, ratings, pay as well as potential bonus without considering the influence of behavior.
Behavior refers to the manner in which we conduct ourselves, react and act around others too. Successful businesses understand how behavior can impact employees on an emotional level, which is usually where most of the engagement with an employer happens. High performers must learn that their impact and behave in a collaborative and respectful way.
- John Lewis
John Lewis prefers to call their staff their “partners” instead of their employees. It builds a connection between the organization and the employee by building a sense of belonging. By being considered partners, there is now shared responsibility for the customers and outcomes of the company. They will feel personally responsible and will be empowered to create the best customer experience for clients when they are included in the decision-making process.John Lewis
- Hyatt
Similar to John Lewis, they too refer to their employees as ‘associates’.
The Hyatt is popular for having a very high employee retention in an industry that has high employee turnover. They focus on employee development and promoting from within. They encourage their associates to listen to each other and their guests, learning how to problem solve and create new solutions rather that following the basic guidelines provided to them in the hospitality industry. Continuous development is crucial in order to successfully deal with the constant change that all organisations face.
There are many ways for you to improve Employee Satisfaction in your office. Here are five more ways to better the experience for your staff :
Get to know your employees
It is important to understand who your employees are from what motivates them to what makes them tick. All employees have different needs, goals, preferences and personalities. Communication with employees should allow you to personalise a plan that fits them, ensuring higher satisfaction at work. Perhaps one of them is a new parent who requires work flexibility or an employee that requires additional assistance in terms of healthcare. When their needs are taken care of, employees are motivated to perform better. Another vital point to ensure is that people are placed into positions that best suits them. A mismatch of skills may lead to employees feeling discouraged and unmotivated. This will also lead to additional costs in training or even re-hiring.
Always Praise Hard Work
It is common for employees to make mistakes and having to reprimand them is part of the learning process. The human brain naturally seeks validation, so instead of only catching employees when they aren’t doing the right thing, try to deliberately notice them doing good as well. Verbally express appreciation right away and later again in performance reviews. Surprising employees with prizes and compliments in front of others as well can carry significant weight in the employee experience.
Employers should also encourage them to continuously improve their skills, motivating employees to put in the extra effort in everything they do because they’ll know that their work will be noticed and appreciated, making the most of their abilities and improving their productivity.
Create a Safe Work Environment
Creating a safe workplace – physically and culturally, as well as providing growth opportunities will assist in the experience. The three main environments of focus for your employees are : cultural, technological and physical. According to the Harvard Business Review, companies who focus heavily in employee experiences were included 28 times more in Fast Company’s ‘Most Innovative Companies”, 11.5 more times in GlassDoors’s ‘Best Places to Work’ list and 2.1 times more in Forbes List of ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies’. They also have four times the average profit and over two times the average revenue. However, they are also 25% smaller which suggests that the employees are more productive and collaborative as a result of a good work environment.
Letting them be heard
Build strong relationships with every employee and create a sense of community within the office. Allow them to engage each other with news, content and information sharing. During meetings, encourage employees to share their opinions and ideas. If there is a problem that they find, involve them into the solution process. Give them a chance to showcase their abilities and feel a sense of responsibility for the company.
Feedback
Having a feedback system in place ensures that employees know where and how to be heard. This system should also allow employees to submit feedback anonymously as certain issues may be internally related. Employees should feel safe about providing their opinions.
If you are part of the 84% who believe that employee satisfaction is key in any successful business, it is time to be part of the 49% that takes action.
Check out more articles about treating your employees right on GrabJobs!
