4Cs Blog: Happy Employees = Happy Customers

Only in your wildest dreams would you have thought that offices would be full of bean bag chairs, ping pong tables and nap pods. Work spaces have been changing drastically in the last several years to catch up with the millennial lifestyle and technology. While some of these changes may be just the current trends, others look like they're here to stay. Let's take a closer look at what your office may look like in the next decade:

People around the world report that they feel stressed up to 80% of their time, with the number one cause being attributed to job-related reasons. Stress doesn’t only affect efficiency and concentration. In the long-term, it can impact a person’s physical and mental health, and that’s not to mention the damage absenteeism can do to business productivity.

So, it’s of little wonder that companies like Sage are offering guided mindfulness courses to help employees take some time to meditate at work. As companies realise the dangers stress can pose to business and employees, it’s worth implementing ways to reduce it and make work a more relaxing place to be. 

 

The ManpowerGroup, whose job is to find work for 3.4 million people, about half of whom are millennials, surveyed the careers and working environments of 19,000 millennials to find out. The report aimed to find out how different they are from the rest of the workforce, which development opportunities they are motivated by, and why they choose to stay with employers.

Despite the role technology has played in disrupting business, corporate structure as we know it today isn't going anywhere. Now, it's no secret businesses that are able to scale operations and develop teams whose employees work more efficiently are better able to focus on tasks, and thereby create better synergy and output. 

Too much structure, however, and these efficient teams become silos, a term for departments that, like a mischievous kindergartner, don't like to share. Ultimately, this lack of collaboration leads to a lack of transparency. What's the point of sharing information company-wide if workplace teams are only concerned with their own department's goals? It's hard to quantify how much damage this situation causes. 

Perfecting the hiring process is about more than merely finding the right candidate — it should also be about saving valuable time and money for your company. According to research from Bersin by Deloitte, the cost to fill an open position has ballooned to $4,000 per employee — and nearly three-times that amount to train them. Talk about hiring right the first time!

Additionally, recruiters are bemoaning the fact that the time to find the right hire is increasing, too. While there may be no way around getting company decision-makers on board at the same time, there are steps you can take to enhance your hiring process and find the right candidates. Here’s how:

When we focus on methods by which to improve employee engagement levels, and how to boost productivity, we tend to think about performance management processes such as regular performance discussions and clear personal development objectives. We might also consider benefits such as flexibility and casual dress codes.

All of these elements are critical considerations, but what you might not know is that the physical office environment is just as important when it comes to improving employee performance.

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