4Cs Blog: Happy Employees = Happy Customers

When your employees are happy, it results in your customers also feeling happy when they interact with your business. Employee satisfaction translates to better customer service, productivity, quality work and ultimately higher sales. You may be tempted to "think big" to maximize employee satisfaction, but the truth is, it's the little things that go a long way. These are the things that are often neglected. Here are four things you can do for your employees to boost their morale: 

1. Facilitate a Sense of Autonomy 

According to a Gallup poll, what employees care most about is having freedom from micromanagement. Although many employers think employee morale is solely tied to salary, the truth is, fostering a sense of autonomy in employees may achieve better results at less of a cost. Allowing employees to manage their own time and complete tasks with minimal oversight makes them feel more motivated to achieve. 

2. Alleviate Commuting Stress

What does employee engagement look like at your organization? And more importantly, what is the primary reason to invest in it?

Research shows that it is worth investing in because employee engagement levels are interwoven with business outcomes. Simply put, the most important reason is because it relates directly to your employee’s willingness and ability to help you succeed.

As for what it looks like at your organization, that is a big question and difficult to answer because you can’t ask an employee if they are engaged. What does that question even mean exactly- are you engaged? Being engaged is a combination of several different attributes, that sweet spot where employees love where they work, what they do and are proud to work for you and feel they are getting something back from you that makes it all worthwhile. Engaged employees are your best employees, productive and willing to go above and beyond. If you have lots of them, you are lucky because that is what most of us are shooting for but have difficulty obtaining. We know it is important, yet the truth is most of us really have no idea what employees think or want. So, if turnover or morale is a problem for you, it might be time to get to the bottom about what is going on. 

To even begin to understand the employee engagement challenge and where you stand with your employees, you need data. This is not a time to guess what is going on, instead you need to ask everyone what they are experiencing about how they feel and what they think and the very best way is the proven way, with an employee survey.

 More business owners are swapping rigid 9-5 schedules and traditional office environments in favour of flexible space and remote working as an option for saving costs, retaining employees and encouraging a healthy work-life balance. With this in mind, Instant Offices investigates what industries are leading the way for remote working and how to overcome the typical challenges of managing a remote team.

A 2016 study conducted by Vodafone involving 8,000 global employees and employers found that three-quarters of companies worldwide have already switched to flexible working options. 61% believe that it had increased the company’s profits and 83% reported a boost in productivity. Additionally, numerous studies suggest that workers would choose flexible working over a pay rise, indicating that more people are interested in a better work-life balance and a schedule that fits their agenda.

Millennials currently represent the largest and most distinctive generation in our workforce, with expectations and values that are significantly different from past generations. By 2025, these innovative and tech-savvy workers are expected to comprise more than 75% of the entire workforce. These rising numbers, coupled with the knowledge that nearly 60% of millennials remain perpetually open to new job opportunities, signal an immediate need for organizations to deliver a millennial-friendly workplace culture.

A recent Deloitte Millennial Survey revealed that millennials are now more open to the idea of staying with an employer more than five years, if given the right opportunities. With annual churn rates reaching nearly $30.5 billion in the U.S., organizations have a fiscal responsibility to engage their workforce. So, what strategies can you implement to ensure retention and a millennial-friendly workplace? 

Lots of managers contact their staff members outside business hours and 28.57 % expect to get responses with three hours, according to a survey conducted by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Bothering employees outside business hours may feel necessary. However, doing so will be detrimental to employee engagement. In the digital age, it’s all too easy to text or email staff members when they are trying to enjoy some downtime at home. When you avoid contacting your employees off the clock, they’ll be less prone to burnout, will be at lower risk of developing mental health issues and illnesses and will feel more respected.

Recent studies have shown that workers are more likely to be engaged and productive when working for an eco-friendly company. In fact, 51% of Americans would not work for a company that doesn’t have strong commitments to environmental or social causes. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that people are starting to become aware of how serious climate change is, especially when you consider the fact that America alone produces over 5 billion tons of carbon emissions every day. Employees these days don’t just work for the paycheck, but they also want to feel part of a cause. Here’s how you can increase employee engagement by going green:

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