Research shows a close link between employee happiness and worker retention. A happy workforce is bound to offer the best customer services. Therefore, increased sales, customer satisfaction, and the bottom line are also subject to the happiness of the employees.
Workers that feel accepted and valued in their workplaces are more likely to offer long-term services, becoming an irreplaceable resource for the company. However, achieving this requires the workplace and surrounding environment to be a healthy place that inspires and motivates the staff. An expert psychiatrist working in Chicago says if the workers are motivated, then they will be actively productive.
Many business owners and middle managers are aware of these facts, but only a few will implement them. Most of them do very little to cultivate a workplace that inspires and makes the employees feel happy and valued. In the next decades, worker retention will be an issue that no company will overlook. Soon there will be fewer and fewer people available or willing to take up job positions that they feel are demeaning or overbearing.
Given these facts, what are you doing to motivate your staff and ensure they are in a healthy work environment where they feel happy and appreciated? Below are a few suggestions that you can implement and retain your workforce.
- Empower Instead Of Micro-Managing
A leader is not meant to micro-manage what others are doing. Instead, a good leader will empower people to execute their respective duties. Ultimately, the employees will be able to note and correct their mistakes thus becoming more confident and effective. Therefore, the leader should offer flexibility to the workers. Allow them to take a break from work, give them flexible work hours, and ensure there are planned leaves or vacations. Such things will result in a work environment that the employees feel proud to be part of, and it can lead to authentic working relationships.
- Learn To Listen
A leader should cultivate a mutual relationship with the employees at both a personal and collective level. However, the relationship will not last if one person does not listen to the other. As such, those in management positions should learn to listen to their subordinates. They can do this via simple things such as holding casual conversations that may not be work-related in the break room. Setting up a formal program that solicits feedback from all the workers across all departments in the company is also another effective strategy.
- Be More Appreciative
Respect goes both ways in any relationship. If a leader is to cultivate mutual relations with the rest of the team, then respect should be a two-way thing. Moreover, the leader should praise the employees’ efforts whenever they push themselves and go the extra mile at work. It shows appreciation and is positive morale that also aids in building job satisfaction, making the workers feel happy and valued. Moreover, the appreciation can also be shown in other ways such as offering on-the-job training, career growth opportunities, as well as supplementary education programs that will help the staff develop their skills and knowledge.
- Set Clear Goals
If a worker is satisfied, then he or she knows what is expected of him or her when at the workplace. Such an employee will value the need to set individual goals that are aligned with the company’s vision and objectives. The employees that do not know what is expected of them are bound to be insecure, demotivated and on edge, thus less productive. A good leader should set clear, definable goals that focus on the daily objectives while keeping to the bottom line. Moreover, the management should communicate any new changes that are to be implemented when the job responsibilities, goals or priorities shift.
- Offer Adequate Support
‘The customer is always right’ this is a mantra that holds its weight in gold. However, some managers abide by this philosophy to the detriment of the happiness of their workforce. The force to support their workers when customers fail complaints. A committed staff is bound to feel demotivated it does not have the backing of the managers and company leaders. While customer satisfaction is vital, unhappy employees will not offer warm services with smiles on their faces and this translates to unhappy customers.
