There are many separate factors that come together to form an overall picture of business performance but one of the most significant of all is staff satisfaction.
The simple reason for this is that happy, engaged workers are much more likely to be productive and to feel driven to do a good job for their employer.
With this in mind, organisations should always be looking for ways to maximise workforce satisfaction. Here are five things you should be doing to keep employees happy.
1. Pay them on time
It’s true that getting paid isn’t the only reason people go to work – but it’s equally true that employees expect to receive what they have earned on time, in full, with no delays or problems.
As an employer, this is one of the fundamental parts of your side of the contract with your employees, so it’s vital to get it right.
One way to achieve maximum efficiency in your payroll management is by investing in a comprehensive system that encompasses everything from basic pay and bonuses to tax, pension contributions and student loans. Using advanced software to manage these tasks improves efficiency and minimises the risk of human error.
Furthermore, your business can use payroll software to ensure it is fully compliant with new and changing regulations such as pensions auto-enrolment.
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2. Use data to understand your people
If you want to keep your employees happy by helping them to achieve their goals, first you must understand them and what makes them tick.
This can be achieved through the deployment of workforce management systems and data analysis technologies, which can provide you with usable insights into issues such as whether people have the requisite skills to do their job properly.
If you find that staff in some areas are underskilled or have ambitions to further their professional development, investing in meeting these needs can have a huge impact on job satisfaction.
A strong understanding of your employees and what is important to them will put your organisation in a much stronger position to build workforce morale and, consequently, earn staff loyalty.
3. Deploy staff where they are most effective
People want to work where they feel they are making a positive difference to the business and where their skills are being deployed most effectively.
It’s unlikely that someone with years of experience and proven skills in HR will feel satisfied working on repetitive, routine tasks. This is where technology can come in and make a big difference to the employee experience.
Automated systems can oversee everyday processes such as managing expenses claims and tracking timesheets, freeing up the human professionals in your workforce to focus on valuable tasks such as relationship management and talent acquisition.
If a member of staff comes to you with concerns that their potential is being wasted, consider how they could be reassigned or possibly retrained to rekindle their passion for work and help the business.
4. Encourage community and collaboration
All organisations, regardless of their size, are reliant to some extent on teamwork, so it’s important for colleagues to feel comfortable around one another and to value collaboration.
In a recent study by professional recruitment firm Robert Half, most workers said they expected to feel happy in their jobs (84%), to get on well with their teams (68%) and to have friends at work (62%).
There are many methods businesses can use to encourage employees to engage and work with each other, one of which is to introduce dedicated collaboration tools that help co-workers stay in contact and share ideas.
A focused people management platform can also help your organisation to improve workforce visibility and stay in compliance with employment regulations.
5. Take a broad view of benefits
For modern-day employees, salary and bonuses are an extremely important part of what they get from their job but financial remuneration is not the only factor in job satisfaction.
To acquire and retain the talented people they need, employers are increasingly having to take a broad view of the things that matter to workers today.
Flexible working options, employer brand, professional development opportunities and workplace culture are some of the issues people are likely to take into account when evaluating their current role or considering a new one.
To maximise staff satisfaction, engagement and productivity, it’s becoming more and more important to find the right balance between various incentives and priorities.
If your organisation is able to strike this balance and get people working happily and productively alongside one another, the long-term business benefits will be clear.
What are you doing to keep employees happy at your business? Let us know in the comments below.