Happy employees create a happier work environment than disengaged employees. When employees aren’t happy, no one is.
What’s the difference between happy employees and disengaged employees? There are many differences. Performance and attitude are the first areas to be impacted, but unhappy employees also cost businesses in time and money. While these factors may be hard to quantify, there is no doubt that unhappy employees cost more when it comes to dealing with customers, quality of work, and having to hire and train staff to replace those who quit. It’s essential for companies to invest in creating engaged and happy employees. By making employee happiness and engagement a core initiative, there is a bigger bottom line return, and the workplace is less stressful.
How to Create a Culture of Happiness
Recently, the Corporate Leadership Council performed research on employee happiness and engagement, and they discovered that up to 76% of employees could swing either way when it comes to happiness and engagement. The impact this can have on an organization can be substantial. Apathetic employees can lower overall staff morale and create a stagnating environment.It’s essential to create a culture of positivity, but how do business owners do that? Here are some great starting points:
Obtain a Clear Picture of Employee Satisfaction Levels
It’s best to keep tabs on the levels of satisfaction employees are experiencing at any given time. Find out what employees enjoy about the work place, and what they could live without. Obtain insight into overall sentiment, not just input from key players. Use this intelligence to set a baseline, and set sights on creating a realistic goal for keeping morale going strong. These base measurements can assist in obtaining accurate measurements during future engagement incentives for employees.Outsource Engagement Measurements if Necessary
If a business isn’t capable of analyzing and measuring the effects of engagement incentives in-house, it’s wise to partner with an outside organization. The intelligence and information collected during the process could be well worth any initial costs. Make employee happiness a core goal for your company. These numbers should be read and reviewed frequently. Take note of successes and areas for improvement.Keep the Lines of Communication Open
Sometimes it’s hard for employees to visualize how individual goals merge with company goals and the bottom line. It’s essential for business owners to make sure that employees are aware of how their hard work positively affects an organization. It helps keep everyone on track, and it helps keep employee morale up as well.Invest in Professional Development Programs
Employees gravitate toward companies that support them and provide resources and incentives for growth and professional development. This information isn’t new; however, with the rise of social technology and the methods for delivering these programs is becoming increasingly meshed with how employees perceive a company’s support.Complacency Should be Avoided at all Costs
Business owners don’t want employees to be complacent, and business owners shouldn’t be either. It’s vital to seek out new ways to assist employees with developing new skills. Employees are much happier in organizations that foster a culture of happiness and innovation.Empower Managers to Manage Employees Effectively
Managers should be trained to motivate and inspire employees. By providing additional support from management, it is much more likely that employees will be happier and more engaged. Coaching and training programs for managers are a good investment to ensure managers are capable of bringing out the best in their employees.Offer Coaching & Constructive Feedback for Everyone
Managers should be aware that their primary job is to coach their subordinates. Coaching and constructive feedback is necessary for employee happiness and optimum performance levels. Sometimes managers need coaching and constructive feedback. Encouragement is a two-way street, and employees should always feel free to approach management with any issues.Support Professional Development at all Levels
It’s easy to invest in key players, but professional development is important to all employees. Provide mentoring and learning opportunities for everyone and develop a culture where discourse about career paths is encouraged.Offer Rewards & Recognition on a Regular Basis
Rewards and recognition shouldn’t be a yearly occurrence. Employees should know that they are appreciated year-round. Timely, value-driven recognition keeps employees happy and connected. Happier employees are engaged.Why Employee Rewards & Recognition Should be Public & Social
Regular recognition of employees by managers and peers is an extremely effective method for making objectives and values meaningful in day-to-day work life. There is no better way to offer encouragement than saying thank you for a job well done, and no better way to make sure employees stay happy.Old yearly recognition programs should be revamped. These types of programs rely a great deal on HR and involve yearly reviews. Programs designed to provide continuous recognition should be encouraged. Recognition programs should be less mechanical and more human in nature.
Recognition programs should be public and share with everyone involved. Older types of programs tend to offer isolated experiences instead of group recognition. It’s easy to leverage the use of social technology to share recognition of employees across multiple social media platforms. This is a great way to provide public acknowledgement.
Successful Engagement Efforts Depend on Engaged Business Owners
Of course, all the proceeding points are suggestions, not rules. It’s really up to individual business owners to assess employee happiness and create customized strategies and realistic programs that encourage employee happiness and engagement. Of course, a successful program will inevitably lead to satisfied employees who can offer exceptional performance levels and an increased bottom line.Happy workplaces are effective workplaces. A positive work environment spills over into every aspect of an organization. Happy employees work harder, and they perform better overall. Satisfied employees also interact with customers and peers positively.
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