Keeping your employees happy is essential to the success of your business. Evidence proves that happier employees translates to higher stock prices and stronger overall business performance.
That said, knowing you need to keep your employees satisfied isn’t the same thing as knowing how to accomplish such goals. Do you offer free lunches? Holiday bonuses?
There’s nothing inherently wrong with those types of employee appreciation methods, but they don’t have as substantial an impact on employee happiness as you might think. For the best results, it’s necessary to focus on communication and implementing employee feedback strategies.
Why Perks Are No Longer Effective
When employees are truly engaged and pleased with their roles, they want to genuinely contribute to the company. A perk is something you offer to distract workers from their lack of fulfillment. It doesn’t promote lasting contentment or enthusiasm.
For a long time, businesses generally considered the ideal employee to be someone who was dedicated to their organization to an extreme level. They’d do anything and everything asked of them. Employees were resources who needed to be mined for all that they were worth.
Actually companies are more successful when they make a point of taking care of their employees’ overall well-being. When workers feel physically, mentally, and even spiritually fulfilled, they’re less likely to burn out and more likely to stay dedicated to their roles.
The Role of Feedback Loops
It’s becoming clearer and clearer that the best way to keep workers engaged is to make sure they’re constantly getting feedback. By prioritizing regular communication, organizations can boost staff retention and productivity.
Occasional performance reviews do not qualify as effective feedback loops. Performance review sessions often feel artificial and intimidating. A couple of times a year, a supervisor and an employee conduct an awkward meeting involving time-wasting paperwork and a lack of genuine communication.
Effective Feedback Strategies
You need to facilitate methods of communication in which everyone’s voice has value.
- Gather Information
Give employees the opportunity to address any shortcomings in the company. Acknowledge that no business is perfect, and there’s always room for improvement. You may have to ask questions to get your employees to speak up. Work hard at finding out what you can do to make them more fulfilled.
Once you have some information provided by employees, analyze it. Listening to your employees is just one step – now you need to determine if their complaints are valid and if there is anything you can do to address their concerns.
- Plan
Establish an action plan. Let your employees know that you intend to correct the problems they’ve identified. Collaborate with them on this process. Give your workers the chance to offer their own solutions. Make it clear that you’re going to take action, otherwise they’ll be reluctant to offer advice in the future.
- Organize
A feedback loop is most effective when it’s a regular part of your overall processes. Over time, this will lead to greater trust between you and your employees.
How You Benefit
Letting your employees voice their concerns shouldn’t be a token gesture. Instead, it should be an opportunity to address minor issues before they cause major problems.
Feedback loops boost your company’s agility. They give you the chance to make improvements swiftly and effectivel
Feedback loops boost employee happiness by letting them know that they truly are valuable. Instead of feeling like cogs in a machine, they’ll feel like genuine participants in the company’s success.
This is a guest post by David Mizne, chief contributor and editor of the 15Five Blog.