Having a workforce that loves working for you, and having the ability to tell they’re happy when they start work is essential – After all, the average worker spends 1670.27 working hours every year. When staff members are happy, you’ll find that your business thrives for a number of reasons. Chances are, motivated staff strengths will be more productive, your best team members will be less likely to leave for other jobs and you’ll find your staff members positively reinforce other members, making them work harder because they’re happy.
If you are not sure whether your employees are happy at work, there are a number of ways to find out. You can e-mail anonymous surveys, ask for their honest feedback, otherwise you can see your staff retention rate. If your staff retention rate is better or doesn’t match the UK average employee turnover rate about 15% a year, then you might want to ask the question why your employee left.
There are many ways in which you can help increase the happiness of your employees, from offering bonuses and more flexible work to helping train and develop employees and being transparent. It may be worth using employee engagement software to help keep track of the upgrades you want to make. Below are 6 ways to increase the happiness of your employees.
Offer Performance Bonuses
Different employees will be motivated by various things. For some people, offering a financial performance bonus can really help encourage them at work. The trick with offering bonuses is to make them achievable, otherwise it can take a toll and leave employees feeling unmotivated. You can set this bonus as a quarterly bonus, half year bonus, or annual bonus depending on what best suits your business. If employees can see others receiving their bonuses, they will feel more motivated and do a better job within your company.
Tell Your Employees They Are Doing a Good Job
It sounds easy but it can be very rewarding when done right. As a company manager, many will look up to you and want to impress you. Simply recognizing when an employee has done a good job, inviting them into your office and praising them, can go a long way. Try not to overdo it and do too much otherwise it will not be as powerful, but when done right it can really help encourage employees. Also, it isn’t a burden for your business but can help improve the way your business operates.
Make the Office a Fun Place
Everyone knows Google headquarters is a powerful building. As you walk in you instantly feel a hit, you feel like they take care of their staff and the atmosphere feels motivating. This then has a direct impact on staff members feeling happier, making them less likely to leave because they enjoy working in the office. Now consider your office, how warm does it feel when employees come in? Do you yourself walk into your office and feel proud? If not, it might be worth making some adjustments. You haven’t got to spend plenty of money to do this, the plants add color, the pictures on the wall give it some character and the nice scent lasts a long time. Make sure the equipment your staff uses is up to standard and cozy while working.
Flexible Working
Flexible Working is something you have possibly heard more and more about since the pandemic? That’s because the general public really appreciates it and has many benefits for your business. By offering it you’ll find that you may get more talent applying for the job, this will help retain your current staff members and can reduce absenteeism and sickness. Why not try flex training for a few months and see how it can affect your business, for so many other companies, the results have been very positive.
Let Them Know You Trust Them
Like everything in life, trust is essential! The more trust you place in your employees, the more likely they will be willing to work harder for you to prove to you that your trust in them is justified. By giving your team members your confidence, and letting them do the work that matters, shows that you value them and can trust them to do a good job. When giving them assignments, try not to micromanage them, but make yourself very approachable so they can ask you questions if they need to. By not having the greater input, you may be surprised at what ideas or results come back to you.
Learn What Motivates Every Employee
As alluded to above, every employee is different. What motivates one person may not necessarily encourage another. By taking the time to talk to each of your employees, you can learn what motivates them, and apply that to your business. Some employees may have kids and would benefit from an early settlement to pick them up from school. Others may feel motivated knowing that you care about their development and that you’re sending employers on training courses, while others may be all it takes for the money. Everyone is different, which is why you should try and talk to each employee on an independent level to find out what they care about personally.
Overall, there are too many things you can do to help increase your employee engagement. In the short term, some ideas may cost more for the business, but in the long term, you’ll really benefit from a more motivated workforce. Instead of making drastic changes, why not try some of the ideas above and see how they work for you. If implemented successfully, you can try to make more changes.
What ideas do you have that could increase workforce motivation? Have you tried any of the ones listed above? Is there anything you would like to add to the points above? Let us know in the comment box below.
