It’s a well-known and logical fact that a happy workforce means a more successful business. If your employees are happy, you’re likely to benefit from fewer absences, higher rates of engagement and increased productivity. And this entire links to your bottom line – companies with high employee engagement were 21 percent more profitable than those with lower morale. So, what can you do to make sure your staffs are happy at work? Not only does this increase their productivity at work but it also makes for a happier workplace with your employees feeling valued. There are ways that you can inspire your employees to make the most out of the opportunities available to them, and here are a few ideas.
Talking to your employees and allowing yourself to be approachable is essential for maintaining good employer, employee relationships. You want to make sure that your employees would feel comfortable to come and talk to you about their work. You should also make sure that employees feel comfortable enough to talk to each other about what they are working on (unless it’s confidential) to bounce ideas off one another.
Create an inviting environment
Boredom or lack of motivation at work is one of the main reason’s employees choose to leave a job. If you want to prevent clock-watching, try to create an environment that is inviting. You could try creating designated breakout areas for brainstorming, revamping your staff areas, adding sofa areas or involving your employees in an office redesign.
Introduce a rewards programme
More than one-third of workers consider recognition as the most important thing a company can do for them. This can be anything from praising an employee on a project to introducing an incentive programme that rewards people for good work. A great example is Zest, an engaging platform that introduces a host of benefits and rewards that employees can earn. Your company could easily employ benefits administration from Zest to manage your employee benefits in one time-saving platform.
Offer flexibility
In today’s world, there are many jobs that can be carried out remotely, and workers value the flexibility to work in their own ways. Consider introducing a flexible working policy that includes working from home or working from different locations. You could also try hosting some meetings offsite, such as in a local café, or having a group brainstorming session in an outdoor park. Breaking down silos of a structured and rigid working environment will help to keep employees engaged and will help to build trust.
Ensure career progression
Do your employees see themselves with you in two years’ time? Chance are they don’t if there are no promotion or progression opportunities. Taking the time to understand your employees’ goals and ambitions can help you offer them a means to achieving them – within the company. If there are no positions they could directly be promoted to, offer your staff the opportunity to expand their scope, take on a new variety of work or receive financial recognition. If they can see these are possibilities in the future, they’re more likely to be motivated to achieve them with you.
The same routine day after day can become really uninspiring in a work environment. Encouraging creativity and dynamic thinking can be effective in giving employees inspiration to do well and progress. For example, could you hold your meetings outside or on a shop floor (if your company is in retail)? There are numerous ways to switch things up, and if you talk openly to your employees, they may have some ideas themselves as to what would help them feel motivated and valued.
