Did you know that happy employees remain with their organizations 4x times longer? They also dedicate twice as much time to their tasks and have 65% more energy than unhappy employees.
These are just some of the stats that reveal how important employee happiness is.
Are you struggling to maintain employee happiness as a small business owner? If so, it’s probably hurting your bottom line.
Read on read on to discover the most pivotal ways you can improve employee happiness.
Offer the Right Benefits
One of the most important things you can do for employee happiness is to offer the right benefits.
Currently, 72% of professionals say having more benefits would increase their job satisfaction.
Here are some of the basic benefits you should offer:
- Adequate sick leave
- A decent amount of paid time off
- Comprehensive health coverage
- Attractive terms around employer contributions to retirement plans
Besides these basics, you can also look into offering employees more flexibility.
Employees are increasingly valuing flexibility and a healthy work-life balance. Currently, 83% of millennials feel that work-life balance is the most important factor when evaluating a potential job.
Prioritize Workplace Culture
Another critical component of employee happiness is a positive, supportive workplace culture.
Whether you’re a small business owner or a large organization it can be easy for company culture to take a backseat.
If your company culture goes neglected for too long, the workplace can easily devolve into a toxic environment. If this happens it will impact employee happiness. As well as productivity, and ultimately, your bottom line.
Focus on creating a culture of respect and appreciation. Emphasize how important it is to treat everybody equally and with courtesy.
Make sure you address any company culture issues or transgressions promptly.
You can provide a reminder of your workplace culture policy. You can also implement concrete repercussions for infringements. Ranging from warning letters to contract termination.
Pay particular attention to how superiors treat employees. This is where power dynamics can often crop up and hurt employee satisfaction.
If superiors make employees feel respected this can increase job satisfaction by 63%. If employees feel disrespected by managers, this can instantly erode job satisfaction.
Show Appreciation
Speaking of appreciation, don’t just make this a small paragraph in your workplace culture document.
Establish methods for showing appreciation on a routine basis to employees. One of the ways you can do this is through employee of the month awards. You can also send out emails recognizing employee achievements.
Besides this, try to encourage more informal ways of showing appreciation. Such as verbally recognizing work well done, thanking employees at the end of the day, etc.
Optimize HR Processes
Finally, you should also devote resources to optimizing your HR processes.
Are your HR processes are cumbersome for employees to navigate? If so, this can result in frustration and wasted time.
For instance, if an employee is injured on the job, the last thing they want to do is jump through a million administrative hoops to file their workers’ compensation claim.
If you’re unclear on how to facilitate workers’ compensation claims for your employees, you can find more information here.
Want another example of how you can streamline HR processes for your employees? Provide an automated leave management system and easy overtime tracking.
Ramp up Employee Happiness With These Strategies
Employee happiness is vital for productivity, effective outcomes, and your bottom line.
Establish a positive workplace culture. Implement smart management for HR processes. Offer the right benefits, show appreciation, and you can significantly boost employee happiness.
Are you looking for more actionable info as a small business owner? Browse our business section for more helpful advice on business ownership.