Are Your Employees As Happy As They Can Be? Here Are 3 Ways To Boost Employee Satisfaction

Despite the historically-low unemployment rate, a study from Linkedin found that90 percent of U.S. employees would be open to new job opportunities. So once you have qualified employees on board, your team needs to do everything possible to ensure employees are excited to come to work every day -- or they won't hesitate to look into jobs elsewhere.

A recent study from SurveyMonkey found that 85 percent of employees are happy with their jobs. And employees who are satisfied with their roles are more likely to stay with a given company for the long haul. How can you ensure your employees are among the 85 percent who are happy at work? Based on data from the SurveyMonkey study, I've outlined several tips below.

1. Give Employees a Sense of Meaning

According to the study, meaningfulness is the biggest contributor to employee happiness. In other words, employees want to feel a sense of purpose and know their work is actually making a difference.

You can help employees feel as though their work is meaningful by getting them to understand how their individual contributions support to the company's overall success. For example, you can let your sales team know that every dollar counts toward reaching your overall revenue goals -- motivating the team to work together toward a common goal. And consider giving each employee across teams measurable goals that align with the overall company goals, so employees can see the impact they're having on company growth.

Beyond better understanding how their roles tie into the company's success, employees want to feel as though their jobs help make a difference in the world. Think of ways you can make employees feel empowered by your company's mission. While my company sells recruitment marketing and hiring software, at the end of the day, we're helping businesses hire great teams and thousands of individuals find jobs. Understanding this makes our employees excited to do great work every day.

2. Recognize Employees for Great Work

Another top factor that contributes to employee happiness is recognition -- or how much colleagues value employee contributions. If employees don't receive feedback -- both positive and negative -- from their colleagues, they'll have no way of knowing if they're succeeding in their roles.

One way you can recognize employees is by highlighting success stories on your company's career site or social media. Showcase employees of the week or month, or employees who have been with your team for some time and have grown in their careers.

In addition to highlighting employee success stories on your career site and related channels, your team can encourage employees to recognize their peers. For example, each week at my company, employees share call out peers who have exemplified our core values during an all-company huddle. Also make sure to support a work environment where employees appreciate and thank one another on an individual basis.

3. Outline Career Growth Opportunities

The SurveyMonkey study found that career advancement is the biggest drag on the overall happiness index, meaning employers need to be more intentional about outlining defined career paths. In fact, the study also found that only 13 percent of workers who say their companies provide excellent opportunities for advancement were thinking of quitting their jobs.

It's important to highlight career paths on your company career site and elsewhere to help you attract top talent for your open roles. On the career site, list the potential paths for various roles and include examples of employees who have grown in the paths.

Once you have employees on board, continue to be clear about what it takes for employees to grow. For each role, outline measurable goals employees need to achieve to reach the next level. Also provide training and professional development opportunities to employees know you're invested in their continuous growth.

In today's competitive hiring market, your employees have many opportunities to consider other jobs. By focusing on your team's overall satisfaction and growth, you can encourage employees to stay with your team and make positive contributions for the long haul.

Source: Inc

 

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