Keeping Employees Happy May Be Harder Than You Think

According to recent employment retention statistics, about half of all workers (51 percent) are thinking about leaving their jobs.

If you want to keep your top talent, it’s important to be thinking of new ways keep your employees happy and satisfied.

However, keeping your employees happy is not as easy as giving them a larger paycheck. In fact, the same survey shows that when it comes to workplace happiness and loyalty, only 22 percent of respondents said compensation and pay were their biggest considerations.

Here’s why keeping your employees happy may be harder than you think.

1. Employees Want To Feel Fulfilled In Their Job

Because the job market is very competitive, some job seekers will settle for whatever job they can land, even if it is not in their chosen career path.

Actors may become office workers, or artists may find themselves looking for a stable 9-to-5 job. While employees like these might stay for a while because the job pays the bills, what happens when they find something that’s better suited to their plans and passions in life?

Employers need to think outside of the box in order to find ways the company can boost employees sense of fulfillment in the job they currently have, so they don’t feel the need to look elsewhere.

If you have aspiring actors, artists or any other creative group, you might think there’s no place for them in a corporate business setting. However, people with creative skills may be happy and could work wonders in creative roles like marketing.

If you have people that need to know their work is having a greater impact, offer access to things like charity events that allow them to fulfill that need. The point is to give your employees a chance to shine, especially for skills and talents that are not used regularly at work.

2. Employees Must Be Engaged To Remain Loyal

How employees feel towards their company is very important. If people feel like they truly belong, and their efforts are being recognized, they’re less likely to look for a new job — even one with better pay.

Communication is a key factor to increasing employee engagement. Employees feel like they belong if people in management positions freely interact with them.

Employees also feel a sense of accomplishment if their hard work is recognized, even if it’s a simple “thank you.” Another factor that builds employee loyalty is when they’re trusted with sensitive information and kept up to date with matters pertaining to the company’s growth and plans.

While all this may sound easy, many employers aren’t doing these simple things. Around 30 percent of employees say that their talents and skills aren’t being recognized in the workplace, and this is a problem that starts even during the recruitment and onboarding process.

Onboarding is the process by which an employee is introduced to the workplace in a way that will make them feel important and vital to the company. Experts say that just by improving a company’s onboarding process, employee retention is likely to increase by up to 53 percent.

3. Employees Need A Work/Life Balance

According to a recent survey, 82 percent of employees feel their work is stressful, mostly due to a lack of work/life balance. And, 80 percent said that most of their stress comes from the fact that they don’t spend as much time at home as they want to. Overburdened with work, some employees have to go into the office on their days off, and some even bring work home with them.

Demanding too much overtime from your employees frequently will result in burnout. Deadlines are important, but if there’s still time, allow employees to go home and get a break from work. Having a better quality of life makes for happier and more productive employees when they are at work.

Final Word

Keeping your employees happy is an ongoing process, but it’s in your best interest to take some time to figure out what will make them more loyal to your company.

Employee turnover is responsible up to a $550 billion a year in business losses, so it’s worth learning how to decrease losses that are the result of lost productivity, absenteeism, and money wasted on training employees who leave after a few months.

Authors

Christy Hopkins

Christy Hopkins, PHR, is a Human Resources consultant and writer at Fit Small Business. Her areas of expertise include recruiting, performance management, organizational change, and implementing HR systems. In addition to writing for Fit Small Business, Christy maintains an HR consulting and recruiting firm that boasts over 30 small business clients across the U.S. Follow Christy on Twitter @4pointconsult, or connect with her on LinkedIn.