Once an overlooked strategy, employee satisfaction has risen to be one of the more important moves that will further concretise your company’s success. Happy employees are found to have outperformed their competitors in revenue generation alone. Companies that prioritise employee satisfaction will experience low-stress levels and high productivity, which also translates to lower absenteeism, fewer accidents and mistakes.
Despite many studies showing the direct and positive impact it has on the businesses’ bottom lines, many companies have yet to incorporate this strategy in their work environments. They deem this strategy as unconventional and even unnecessary. If you’re one of these companies, read on to find out the benefits of having a happy workplace and how do you build such an environment.
Building Your Happy-Team
The primary building blocks when developing a happy workplace are the very people that make up your teams. Ensure that the teams are made up of amicable individuals who are great at what they do. Their skills and personalities are two crucial aspects that you need to evaluate during the interview or an onboarding exercise.
One particular aspect you need to also keep in mind is their immediate response to criticisms and how they handle a misunderstanding. For instance, you need to weigh the pros and cons and decide whether your company will benefit from recruiting a competent person who gets riled up at the smallest things.
Those in your teams will shape your company’s future, your brand image and overall reputation. Once you lost your clients’ trust, you’ll need to work twice as hard to regain it. Thus, it is best to pay attention now.
Acknowledging Your Team’s Value
Once you’re done with recruiting your team members, it’s time for the next step! What comes next is obvious but sometimes, things that are supposedly glaringly evident and simple tend to be the hardest to execute.
By offering a competitive pay package, not only will you attract newcomers, but you will also ensure that there is a monetary incentive for these people to stay with your company. Having their work and skills compensated by an attractive pay is not only tangible proof of your appreciation for them and the work that they do, but it will also help boost their confidence.
You can also offer attractive perks that resonate with the company’s values and beliefs. For instance, if you are a creative company, you can build a game room for your team members to let loose. Showing that you care for their physical, mental and psychological wellbeing is the most fundamental aspect to team management.
The Ideal Office Spot
Executing your daily operations, especially the administrative matters, in a separate location is ideal. Whilst it may not seem like a big deal, renting an office space in a suitable area is crucial. The office makes up the foundation of your working environment and it can very well affect your team’s culture, wellbeing and productivity. An ideal office will get your team in the right headspace whilst promoting constant innovation and communication.
Here are some of the few things you need to ensure when looking for the perfect office space on rent. You need to ensure that there are amenities available within the building or a few walking distance away. Your office needs to also be accessible for not only your staff, but also any clients that wish to drop by. Ensure that your office is neat and tidy, with a fast working internet connection. You might also want to get an office with big windows to allow natural sunlight to enter, which helps to improve brain function amongst other health benefits.
A Listening Ear, Empathy and Flexibility
Having a bunch of individuals with different quirks and mentalities, in the same room is bound to instigate a few clashes here and there. Work issues are not the only source for these conflicts, but personal concerns may come in the way of an individual’s work. In this case, you will need to have three things: a listening ear, empathy and flexibility.
Give your team time and space to register the problem and figure out a solution. Offer them a listening ear if they wish for one, and the empathy to understand where they are coming from. After all, your team is only human. Next, flexibility comes handy when coming up with a solution. For instance, allow that individual to work from home rather than clocking in from 9-5, if they require a bit of breathing space.
It is not only about physical wellbeing. A great employer needs to take into the workers’ mental and psychological wellbeing into consideration. Once you make sure that your workers are satisfied, the same will be made sure of you.