4Cs Blog: Happy Employees = Happy Customers

There is a difference between happy employees and engaged employees. Happy employees are most likely to say they are ‘satisfied’ with their work. They are the ones who come to work every day and put in their time and may even enjoy their jobs but they aren’t the ones willing to go the extra mile for your organization. 

 Our research conducted across thousands of workers across the United States from a wide array of companies and organizations tells us that fewer than six-in-ten employees think their boss is doing a good job No wonder the Leadership training industry is booming; there are a lot of bad bosses out there who need help. Part of the problem is that even though we know good bosses act as coaches and teachers, the reality is there are very few people who end up as good bosses. Reasons why this happens is that sometimes talented people are forced into management or power-hungry people are drawn towards management. Often times it’s just a bad fit.

As humans, we have a need to be appreciated and a need to belong both at work and at home. This sense of belonging and feeling appreciated means so much to us that employees will often leave their jobs because they don’t feel needed. One of the key drivers of an employee’s attitude towards job satisfaction is the quality of communications.  We found in our 2014 Insightlink National Employee Survey that a shocking 60% of employees in the U.S. are not satisfied with the overall effectiveness of communications within their organizations. This suggests that many U.S. organizations are failing to make their employees feel needed and are at risk of low morale, high turnover and poor productivity.  

Anyone who has ever been an employee – or managed one – knows that there are many elements that contribute to a satisfying work experience. Because at Insightlink, we continuously conduct employee surveys for organizations across a range of industries, sizes and countries, we have a finely tuned sense of those elements. As a result we know how much and in what ways HR initiatives, programs and policies can move the needle on the key drivers of employee satisfaction.

For example, our research shows that the #1 driver in the US that determines job satisfaction, is having work that is satisfying, enjoyable and respected yet slightly more than 6 out of 10 employees actually feel this way. This represents a real opportunity for HR to influence job satisfaction but what are the best ways to make a positive impact on employees?  Here are just a few suggestions:

1.   Know where your organization currently stands and then make a commitment to plan for change as well as to invest in the tools and resources required to create change. Consider implementing an Employee Satisfaction Survey to benchmark your staff, then devise a plan.

2.   Make caring your mantra. Talk to people, learn everything you can about your employees, put yourself in their shoes and be honest about areas that need attention and improving. For example does your company censure mobile phones and use firewalls? Perhaps you should leverage that technology and enable it to your advantage and theirs. You may lose the respect and trust of many employees if you don’t find a way to embrace mobile in your workplace. Statistics show that that almost 70% of Americans will soon own a smartphone and they use them 24/7.

3.   See the person not the employee. Begin by changing your vocabulary through simple words like ‘please, thank you, and well done’. Show you care through words and actions because when you care about someone they will care in return.

Our advice based on years of experience helping companies transform themselves is to know where you stand in real-time using a meaningful employee survey so you have the facts to evaluate where you are so that you can plan where you need to go.

Contact us at Insightlink Communications to find out more about employee satisfaction surveys and how we can help you start to make work a better place.

Commitment

Employee commitment is one of the factors that can help prevent turnover in an organization. According to the 2014 Insightlink National Employee Satisfaction Survey, almost one-quarter of employees expect to leave their current organizations within the next two years. The National Survey also shows that six-in-ten employees see themselves as being highly committed to their organizations but less than one-half believe their organizations are committed to them as employees. 

Although there are many factors that influence turnover, organizations must recognize the need to demonstrate that they are committed to their employees if they expect their employees to remain loyal to the organization. Some of the elements that contribute to employee commitment include sharing open and honest communications, offering opportunities for employees to participate in training and development and helping them with their career advancement. 

Contact us at Insightlink Communications to find out more about employee commitment.

Reward and Recognition

The 2014 Insightlink National Employee Satisfaction Survey shows that less than four-in-ten American employees are satisfied with the level of reward and recognition in their organizations. It is surprising to us that companies don’t realize the importance of reward and recognition. After all, they want their employees to perform at a high level but they do not recognize and reward the behaviors that they want employees to repeat.

When you recognize and reward your employees, they feel appreciated and bring higher levels of energy and commitment to their work. You can do a lot of things to make your employees feel they are valued, from tangible rewards, such as gift cards, to intangible rewards, such as time off, but the reward must be meaningful to the employee being recognized. Why not ask your employees what is meaningful to them?

Contact us at Insightlink Communications to find out more about employee engagement surveys.

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