You’ve hired the right person – and hopefully we helped you do this! – so what now?
When it comes to job satisfaction, financial rewards may be lower on the list than most people think. Gone are the days where employees ‘put up’ with less-than-ideal situations and environments, there are just so many more opportunities for them elsewhere. Being happy/content with your job often depends more on intangibles such as feeling part of a team, feeling valued and appreciated and opportunities for training and skill development. In fact, these factors consistently outrank money when employees are polled about job satisfaction.
A survey by LinkedIn found that “94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career” and 87% of millennials believe the availability of development opportunities is important in a job.
Here are some quick tips from us on keeping employees happy:
- Set and clearly define your business vision. Communicate this to everyone and ensure they understand it, and can see their role in this vision.
- Communicate. A lot. Creating a culture of communication in which managers and employees share common goals and work together can make a good company great. Ask questions and listen. Work out together how often, how much and what you want to cover on regular catch ups. A weekly WIP might work for some but more often than not, a casual chat each day or every second day is more beneficial.
- Keep the learning going. Don’t assume you know what training and learning your team needs, ask them and work together for solutions. Having a 12-18 month plan for training and upskilling is motivating and makes the employee feel valued and part of the process. If an employee is struggling with something at work, take the time to find a program, or mentorship to keep their confidence levels high. Conversely, take a risk on a promising employee and give them opportunities they may not be expecting.
- Understand their needs and be flexible. Beyond the all-important regular communication, put programs in place to show you care – walk the talk. A wellness program could offer paternity and maternity leave, medical benefits, gym memberships, flexible working options etc. Tailor this to your industry. If you don’t know what they want, try a companywide anonymous survey. They will tell you!
- Recognition. From a simple thank you, well done, to a more public reward system, it is so important to get regular recognition. And it doesn’t have to be planned, although we do love plans! As an example, someone here tells the story of starting out in the workplace, minimum wage and trying to make an impression. She had to leave early one day to catch a flight home to her parents for Xmas, her boss recognised her anxiety in working out how many buses and trains it would take to get to the airport. He simply booked her a taxi and said, ‘off you go, it’s on us, thanks for all your hard work this year’. Cost the employer less than $100 and the employee felt valued and appreciated.
- Build a clear Career Pathway – let your employees know how they can move forward, get promoted, find new challenges and new opportunities. This helps employees feel part of the process and for them to see that there are better things ahead – even when things are good. This shows your employee that you value them and care about their future success.
Of course there are way more tips and let’s be honest you have heard most of them before! But if there is one, we hold above all else? Communication. And if all else fails, you’ve got us to help you out!
We are keen to hear thoughts – Do you have any recommendations for retaining staff? Let us know in the comments section below!
