Employee Satisfaction is the level of happiness and contentment that an employee feels for their job. This is one of the most crucial elements for any organization. A happy employee means an ecstatic boss. This is also one of the reasons why an employee’s onboarding experience needs to be a success. However, a happy employee doesn’t just magically appear. So here are some tips on how to keep your employees happy at work.
- First Impressions Count!
A first impression is like a memory that never goes away for both the employer and employee. When an employee walks in for their onboarding experience, they expect a positive welcome from the employer. This is also something to keep in mind for the way you dress. You are what you wear. As an employer, you’re expected to look your professional best so that your reputation doesn’t get affected. First impressions also matter for the new employee. They are expected to be aware, alert and poised with their behavior. Ever since the pandemic hit, people may be working from home, however that doesn’t mean that they don’t need to dress up professionally for a video call.
- Keep a Positive Work Environment
A positive work environment reflects well on an employee, both emotionally and professionally. Positive vibes are infectious. A happy employee results in them putting their best foot forward in their workload. Positive work environments are also correlated with work relationships. It is important for employees to have a good relationship, not only with their teammates, but also with their upper-level managers. This will make them feel good about going to work every day.
- Give Them Feedback
Every employee yearns to receive feedback from their teammates and manager. Feedback is a crucial element for an employee to improve at work and for employee satisfaction. If an employee does not receive helpful feedback, they will be unsure about their progress. Feedback can help build a loyal and trustworthy relationship between manager and employee. Feedback should be genuine, constructive and have positive intentions. Positive feedback is a big motivating factor to create a positive state of mind for the employee. This can give them the reassurance that they are doing well at work. Feedback should be given sooner rather than later so that the employee can breathe a sigh of relief.
- Reward and Recognize Their Achievements
Many employees leave the organization if they are not appreciated for the work they contribute. As a manager, recognizing an employee’s hard work and effort will continue to build a solid relationship with them. This will also motivate the employee to continue to thrive and achieve excellence rather than compel them to doubt themselves over their level of progress at work.
- Value Work-Life Balance
We all agree that there is more to life beyond the workplace. Employees desire time for their personal lives. This is one of the biggest struggles for first-year employees to understand. When you join your first job, you want to believe that you will give it your all, which to some means sacrificing your personal time. There is that little voice going off in your head, “Weekdays are not meant for fun. It’s meant for work.” You start believing that weekends are the only time for you to enjoy your personal life. However, it is up to you to decide when you want to take personal time for yourself. For the past year, working from home has been the most productive for employees in terms of office work so that they can spend more time with their families.
- Develop Their Skills
Skill development is another booster for an employee to be satisfied in the workplace. Professional training should be offered from the first day the employee joins the company. Creating a training plan will give them the opportunity to grow during their journey. This will also increase their work efficacy. Learning should never stop both personally and professionally. In a professional setting, skill development can allow the employee to stand out in front of their peers and manager. Recently because of the pandemic situation, LinkedIn Learning has been the most popular source of upskilling for present and future employees. According to an article from the World Economic Forum, “upskilling and reskilling are a top priority for 59% of L&D professionals in 2021”.
- Allow Them to Engage with Other Employees
Allowing employees to engage with other teammates or workmates will help them in two situations – taking their mind off work and getting a fresh perspective on assignments. Getting a fresh perspective will allow the employee to expand their knowledge on the topic for the assignment they could be working on. This could also help them build new friendships for the future. Employee engagement can also give the employees a mental health break from the office environment. Rather than being surrounded by constant shop talk, employees can take a breather by getting a cup of coffee from the pantry and engaging with other workmates at the same time.
- Give Them a Pay Raise
Pay raises will retain the employee rather than compel them to quit. For example, according to Monster.com, employees can be forced to “call in sick” because they don’t have enough money to pay for public transportation or gas. Unfortunately, pay gaps exist due to differences in gender. According to an article from the United Nations, “the inequality in average wages between men and women persists in all countries and across all sectors because work is undervalued”. Employees need to be recognized for their hard work. Asking for a pay raise is a struggle for some employees because they doubt their efforts and achievements. However, it is one of the biggest motivations for an employee to step it up.
- Allow Flexibility with their Schedule
Some companies allow flexible timings for employees so that they can have personal time as well. Flexible work timings can allow employees to work hard but also manage other day-to-day activities. It can also allow them to step away from the computer screen and rest their minds for a few minutes. A flexible work schedule can also help expand time for long and tedious assignments. Employees can split time for certain projects depending on their priority. Short and quick assignments can be done at night before sleeping whereas long and tedious assignments can be done during the day.
- Maintain a Good Relationship with Superiors
A solid relationship with the upper-level management is the goal of employee satisfaction. This will not only lead to a positive work environment, but also a reduction in turnovers. An employee-superior relationship can be boosted by the following tips – asking questions, requesting feedback, weekly catchups, or having conversations that are not always about work. At the end of the day, an employee would want a good recommendation from their employer should they want to change jobs in the future. PxidaEX can help an organization improve
How We Can Help You Maintain Employee Satisfaction
Organizations can create anonymous surveys on PxidaEX in order to better understand how their employees truly feel about their organization. These surveys could cover all the major issues that occur at a workplace so that an organization can see where they need to improve rather than suffer employee turnovers.