Effective steps to create happy employees and increase business productivity
You may have heard the term, “the customer is always right”.
This essentially became a customer service mantra to remind companies customers are the heart of business success.
Therefore, it’s been suggested that customers’ needs always come first.
Modern terms such as “high-value customer service”, “customer experience” and “consumer behaviour” have been borne from this suggestion.
Despite holding some truth, modern experts believe another suggestion.
Happy customers are a result of happy employees.
Happy Employees mean Happy Customers
Companies cannot expect their customers to be satisfied, if the people serving them are demotivated, untrained, disgruntled or hostile to their environment.
Modern business studies have concluded there is a clear link between customer and employee satisfaction. For an employee to create a high-value customer experience, it will be challenging if that employee feels pressured, unfairly treated, overworked or stressed on the job.
Building high employee morale, however, is a foundation towards customer service success. If employees generally enjoy their work, hold their company in high esteem, have solid support and rewarding relationships at their workplace, it becomes much easier to transfer this satisfaction to customers.
Particularly, in Business to Customer (B2C) industries such as banking, retail, fast-food, telecoms, healthcare, beauty or travel, where employees directly interact with the public, employee satisfaction and morale are key towards their customer success.
Other ways a happy employee culture generates business success include:
They perform at a higher level.
Happy and satisfied employees are treated well. They enjoy their work and feel strong corporate support. Therefore, they will gladly work productively to recreate that same experience for customers. They will also try to maintain the rewarding work culture they currently enjoy.
Happy employees mean more money for businesses
Companies investing in an employee-centric culture generate higher revenue. Reason being, is that customers tend to buy from companies with quality products and high-quality service.
Employees, when satisfied at work tend to provide superior customer service. Customers naturally will gravitate towards company with a superior service. Over time, this leads to customer loyalty and ultimately more sales.
Any business owner would realise, that more sales leads to higher revenue and greater profits.
Reduces turnover
When employees leave, the work flow is disrupted. Companies have to then invest time and resources to recruit and train new talent.
If turnover is consistent, companies will spend productive hours frequently recruiting and training staff. If employees are happy, turnover will be low. Instead of spending significant time finding replacements, employers instead retain their talent and maintain their productive workflow.
Tips for keeping employees happy and productive
To gain the benefits associated with a happy workforce, the following should be considered:
Building rapport and relationships
Most human beings don’t enjoy isolation. People want to engage and interact freely and closely with the people they spend the majority of the day with. Happy employees are encouraged through building good rapport and relationships.
Staff members should feel as if they have a voice within the organsiation. Management should welcome open communication, take concerns seriously, support employees and provide the training, tools and resources needed to perform their job diligently.
What is their motivation?
Money is a good motivating factor. However, a high salary cannot compensate for stressful living, health concerns, toxic management practices, consistent work conflict or feeling burnt out. Consider, from a human perspective what would motivate your employees to give their best, apart from financial incentives.
This is also a valid question to include in interviews – what motivates an individual to perform their best? Is it autonomy, the chance to learn new skills or work recognition?
Empathy goes a long way
Showing empathy when an employee experiences a personal crisis for example, is effective for building morale. Having an open-door policy for sincere dialogue, displaying emotional intelligence and providing recognition when due are also powerful techniques to create a thriving happy workplace culture.
Develop your employees
Your newly hired employees essentially start as blank canvases. Based on their onboarding, the challenges they face, management style, work culture and team relationships, they grow and even adopt some of the company’s values. However, if employees remain in one position too long or perform tasks monotonously, they tend to become restless, disengaged or even bored.
To get the most out of employees, to engage and nurture their talents, it is best to consistently develop their capabilities. Include new forms of training, new responsibilities, expand their portfolio. Don’t allow your employees to become stagnant and bored. Create a career progression path for them to grow and stay invested with your company.
Lead by example
Very often, employees feel a disconnect between them and management when certain rules only apply to people of a certain status or position. Fostering a happy workforce requires accountability for all members of the company, regardless of status or position. Therefore, gain your employees’ trust by managing and leading by example.
For example, if you require employees to be punctual, as a boss, you should also be punctual. If employees ought to observe safety practices and abide by a dress code, this should be applicable to everyone. Demonstrate to employees that everyone in the organisation is treated fairly and equally. This develops trust and cohesion within the organisation.
Less micromanaging, more autonomy
Well-trained and qualified employees know their job. No trained employee however, appreciates consistent micro-managing or having a boss on their back every day.
Allow employee autonomy. Train your employees well, have open lines of communications and give them the chance to make guided decisions and implement appropriate solutions. They will appreciate your faith in their abilities and will work diligently to make you proud.
