The WoW Style

It is no doubt that employees are at the heart of all businesses. Despite the hierarchy that exists within many companies, employees from all areas of the business are essential to the smooth operation of a company. Therefore, they must be cherished, valued, and well taken care of. If you fail to look after your staff, there can be detrimental consequences to the success of your business. So, continue to read on if you wish to find out some ways in which you can improve employee satisfaction and ensure your business is a successful one. 

1. Be open and transparent 

One of the first things you can do to improve employee satisfaction is to be open and transparent. What does being open and transparent entail? Simply put, it is important that you communicate well with your employees and ensure that they are well informed at all times. So, if there are any minor or major changes being made, make sure that your employees are kept up to date, as the actions of the company will most likely impact them in one way or another. It is important to note that being transparent can help to build trust. Everyone deserves to feel secure and safe. Therefore, do not underestimate the importance and value of building trust in the workplace. 

While it may seem like a challenging task at first, there are many ways in which trust can be incorporated, built, and embedded. For instance, you can hire managers who are able to form trusting, interpersonal relationships. As much as traditional skills, qualities, and traits like organization and communication are desired, emotional intelligence is becoming increasingly important. If you want your employees to trust the company, they must trust and feel comfortable expressing themselves with their managers. Other ways to build trust include acting with integrity, keeping commitments, and listening to employees when they have concerns. 

2. Have great employee benefits 

It is important that hard work is appreciated in the workplace. Have you ever spent an incredibly long time and put a lot of effort into working on a project to be the best that it can be, only for all your hard work to go unnoticed? If so, feelings of discontent may have emerged as you are left wondering what the point of it all was. Do not let your employees feel this way. If you notice that one or more of your employees has done a great job and has positively contributed to the company in one way or another, make sure that their hard work is rewarded. By doing so, you can massively improve employee satisfaction as they know that they are appreciated and valued. There are many creative ways to reward employees which are listed below:

• Reward them with experiences. Material possessions and rewards can be great. Who doesn’t love receiving free wine, chocolate, or mugs after all? However, what will most likely leave a positive impression is experiences. So, if you really want to build connection and community, reward your employees with experiences that they have always wanted. Experiences such as afternoon teas and problem-solving activities are excellent treats for employees which also promote team bonding. 
• Wall of fame. Another great way to reward your employees is by formally acknowledging their contribution by putting them on a wall of fame or something similar. In this way, their hard work will be remembered by many for years to come. 
• Host an end of year party. A party is a great way for employees to relax, have fun and get to know each other better. Since most people love parties, a party is almost guaranteed for success. It’s a simple yet effective way to show your employees that you care. 

3. Create a supportive working environment 

Since most people spend the majority of their time at work, the work environment must foster good health and wellbeing. So, another way that you can improve employee satisfaction is by creating a supportive work environment. To create a supportive working environment, it is important that you treat employees well and like they are family. While it is common for employees to be treated as resources, employees must be treated as the human beings they are to truly improve employee satisfaction. So, give them autonomy, and include families in business. 

Importantly, make sure that the physical space they work in is pleasurable. If you spend many hours a day in a dark, poorly lit, and dull room, your mental health can take a turn for the worse. So, where possible, ensure that there is as much natural light as possible entering the space and that there is a lot of greenery as this can help improve mood and reduce eye strain. It is also important that employers provide their staff with the appropriate equipment needed to do their jobs. For example, chairs and desks should be checked that they are a suitable height to ensure comfort while working. A supportive work environment also means that there are proper procedures and measures put in place to ensure workplace safety. The importance of workplace safety lies in reducing stress, improving awareness about the workspace, improving productivity, and preventing workplace injuries.

 

4. Listen and ask for feedback 

You cannot know how your employees feel or what they want if you do not ask for feedback. 

Linking back to the first tip mentioned above, asking for and listening well when given feedback is essential for trust formation. Also, feedback can help you identify the areas where the company is performing well and the areas that it needs to improve and work on. Employee feedback is important for the following reasons: 

• It empowers employees. When asking for feedback, employees can feel empowered as they have a say in how the company conducts itself and how they are treated. This can, in turn, encourage employees to engage and perform better 
• It taps into unique perspectives. The experiences of employees will no doubt vary from person to person. So, it is important to avoid overgeneralization and acknowledge the distinct experiences of employees. 

5. Offer a competitive salary 

While money is not the be all and end all, it is unarguably one of the key reasons why an employee will join the workforce. After all, the cost of living is high, and people need money to buy food, water and pay the bills. So, another important consideration is salary. 

How much a company is willing to pay its employees is usually a key factor that influences whether employees will want to work for you instead of a different company. Therefore, if you want to attract the best talent and make your employees feel like their work is valuable, you must pay them well and offer a competitive salary. 

Importantly, offering a competitive salary benefits the employee and the company too. How do you ask? This is because paying a competitive salary can help to reduce the employee turnover rate. Suppose a company is constantly losing employees, largely due to poor employee satisfaction. In that case, it will have to continue spending and investing lots of money in re-hiring and re-training. If you want to avoid these costs, offer a competitive salary and improve employee satisfaction. 

6. Promote social interaction amongst colleagues  

Work is not only just about work; it is also about social interaction. If you want to make your employees enjoy being at work, then it is important to promote and encourage social connection. This is because if employees like, get on well with each other and enjoy being at work, productivity increases, and you are more likely to see positive business results. On the other hand, when employees do not respect or enjoy working with one another, the ability to collaborate and work well is reduced. So, if your business has not done so already, host a wide range of activities and events for your employees to attend and enjoy. These activities can be sports-related, like creating a football club, or perhaps charity-related, like hosting a fundraising event for staff to get involved with. They can even be remote team building events, like virtual games. If this is something your team would be interested in, check out https://escapely.com/ for ways to create unforgettable experiences. Whatever the event is, it is important to ensure that it caters to a wide range of people. If you are stuck for ideas, get your employees involved in the planning as they are the ones who will be interacting and engaging with the event. 

7. Encourage creativity 

It is becoming increasingly clear that innovation and creativity are qualities that are desired by many workforces. To solve and tackle the many problems that we face, we need minds and thinkers who are able to think outside the box and creatively. 

Encouraging creativity can help to improve employee satisfaction as it makes working more exciting and enjoyable. As opposed to doing things in the way that they have always been done, by encouraging creativity, employees can feel empowered, satisfied, and fulfilled with their job if they are given the chance and opportunity to unleash their creative side. This does not mean doing arts and crafts, but it can if this is something that will engage your staff. Simply, it means encouraging innovation and having fun at work.