How To Boost Employee Satisfaction
(and Why It Matters For Your Business)
Employee satisfaction matters so much to the success of a business that some organizations have created employee happiness indexes, which act as an indicator of how well an organization is treating its employees and affecting their work performance. When companies implement programs designed to increase employee satisfaction, they find that their businesses tend to grow and perform better than those that don’t. Here are seven ways you can help your employees feel more satisfied with their jobs and boost your company’s success in the process.
The Importance of Employee Satisfaction
Getting employees to feel satisfied is a crucial part of running a successful business. Employees who are dissatisfied will eventually leave, lowering the talent pool and decreasing the chance of retaining them in the future. Engaged and satisfied employees can help you gain a competitive edge because they exult a sense of pride in their work and in the brand. This is crucial to providing better products and services to customers while also remaining loyal to your company.
More importantly, employee satisfaction is also an index of success for many companies. Indeed, it gives a unique insight into a business’s growth potential. Employees are your most valuable asset, as they are the best advocates for the brand and also the most creative and productive agents within the company. As the startup environment can be stressful with a lot of uncertainties to navigate, making team satisfaction your top priority ensures that employees are more likely to stay with the business.
Ensuring Employees Are Heard
The first way is ensuring employees are heard. This may seem obvious, but without giving them a voice, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Employees want to know that they matter and are being heard. They also want their needs met and will look elsewhere if they don’t feel like the company understands or targets their needs.
There are many different ways to create a space where employees can share their views safely. First of all, one-to-one appointments are essential and provide a platform for managers and employees to grow together. One-to-one catch-ups need to occur frequently, on a monthly or fortnightly basis to help identify and resolve issues together. A common mistake in the business world is to replace the one-to-one with an annual performance review, which fails to address an employee’s ongoing needs.
Another important resource to bring on board is an external expert who can confidently listen to employees’ complaints, thoughts, and opinions. Many companies look for counselors or even chaplains in the workplace who can ensure problems have a safe platform to be shared and resolved.
Targeting Invisible Bias and Discrimination
Most people are aware that discrimination exists in society and the workplace. But what about invisible bias? The difference between the two is subtle. Discrimination and unconscious bias is based on individual perceptions of traits such as gender, sexuality, and religion. Discriminatory behavior is typically more recognizable, such as actively picking on a team member. On the other hand, unconscious biases lead to stereotypical judgments that can modify behaviors in less obvious ways. These biases are so ingrained into our culture that we may not even realize when we’re being biased against them. For example, a female applicant may get turned down for a promotion because her male boss assumes she will want time off after getting married or having children. This kind of bias doesn’t come from anything the woman has done wrong and can be hard to identify unless you know it’s there. According to a gender bias study from Harvard Business Review, men and women are treated and rewarded differently in the workplace, even when their behaviors are the same. So how do you combat this kind of bias?
Unfortunately, unconscious bias can influence decisions in the workplace. It is crucial to take meaningful steps to reduce the impact of bias in the workplace. Training and honest self-questioning can be instrumental in determining what influences decisions in the workplace. Additionally, new hiring processes are also actively tackling biases by anonymizing candidates’ names and removing background information and professional experience to focus on task-based performance. Applied, an anti-bias recruiting partner startup, is determined to eradicate unconscious bias from the recruitment strategy with these methods.
Putting Employees’ Health First
Working long hours and working too many days in a row can take a toll on your team’s mental health, which is why it’s important to introduce some time off. If they can’t step away from work for an extended period of time, then the business must come up with other strategies to help employees unwind and relax. Take advantage of the breaking rooms that can encourage everyone to regularly take a few minutes to stretch or do some deep breathing exercises. Consider flexible time arrangements that contribute to a healthier work/life balance.
Contrary to common belief, while health insurance plans are important for your team, they do not contribute to employee retention or satisfaction. Instead, employees prefer to work for companies that go above and beyond to reduce mental health burdens linked to:
- excessive workload
- unrealistic pressure and expectations
- too many meetings
- not being able to let go of stress
Supporting Their Growth
Why would an employee stay with a business? The prospect of a meaningful career can make a huge difference in long-term satisfaction and retention. Employees who feel stuck in a path where there is no professional growth are likely to look for other options elsewhere.
Businesses can support employees’ careers in different ways: training, promotions, and long-term strategies. Training is a great way to get employees up-to-speed and familiar with the industry’s policies and procedures. Promotion opportunities are a way to give employees new challenges and responsibilities that will help them grow professionally. And long-term strategies can include mentorship programs or providing time for professional development outside work hours.
Employee satisfaction is one of the most important aspects of a business. A company can have a great product and exceptional marketing, but if its employees are not happy, it will never be able to reach its full potential. Indeed, satisfied employees become valuable assets, not just for growth but also in terms of branding benefits, expert knowledge acquisition, and communication inside and outside the office.
