Staff are returning from their holidays, the kids are back at school, and the best weather of the year is likely to be behind us. With the end of summer fast approaching, the happiness of your employees can really take a hit. Staff happiness is crucial to your business; it reduces your staff turnover, and, according to the University of Oxford, workers are 13% more productive when they’re happy. If you want to make your business a happier place to be, here are the things that you can do.
Listen, and receive feedback well
Ensuring that your employees are happy starts with the ability to hear when they are unhappy. If management are unresponsive to complaints, dismissive of requests or actively ignore feedback from your staff, this negatively impacts your company culture. Staff are unlikely to feel that their happiness is important if they often find their concerns minimised or neglected.
Ensure that you are making opportunities for your staff to raise issues with you and are pro-active in responding to these when they do. There should be a clear line of communication between your teams, so that when something is raised by an employee, the feedback gets to the people it needs to. Listening to your staff does not mean that you have to agree with their perspective; it means that you are hearing what they have to say and respect their opinion, even if it is one that you don’t share.
Express your appreciation
Your employees are the backbone of your organisation, and a representation of your company. An employee that is respected, that is regularly recognised for their performance, and knows that the work they are doing is appreciated is going to represent your business far better and work harder than an employee who feels that they are unsupported, overlooked or only ever receives criticism.
Thank your staff for their efforts, and make sure that they know you’re aware of their successes. Create a culture of appreciation and recognition in your organisation; this is essential for employee retention. This also includes paying your employees a fair and liveable wage, where staff are appropriately compensated for their time and energy. You can find out more about the Real Living Wage here.
Embrace adaptability
Businesses that stand the test of time are great at adapting; whether that’s adapting to market trends, the needs of a client, or changing direction when they need to. When managers are fixed to certain ideas, they refuse to deviate from a plan or they have a strict goal in mind, things can start to go wrong. Managers that are flexible in their approach are likely to be more creative, intuitive and respond better when something goes wrong.
Your employees’ happiness is also impacted by your ability to adapt. This can be as simple as allowing staff to work from home when they need to and being flexible about the hours that they work. Cultivating a culture where it is possible for things to change allows your employees to think creatively about ways that your business could run more smoothly. Your staff know how your organisation operates on the ground and how things could improve; give them the space to bring those suggestions to the table, and your company might just go from good to great.
