Do your employees enjoy coming to work? Because such a large chunk of our lives is spent at work, it’s so important that everyone in the workplace is happy and content, not only for the future success of your business but also for the mental health and wellbeing of your team.
Employees are the lifeblood of any business, so if you’re not meeting their needs, your business is likely to suffer – and your most valued staff members may move onto another workplace that’s far better at giving them what they need.
According to a recent study by Kelly OCG, only 44% of employees globally feel valued by their employers. At Future Fitouts, we believe every business has the power to lift up their team and make them feel appreciated.
Not sure where to start? These five ways to meet the needs of your employees will set you on the right path.
1. Be Inclusive
Redii have some valuable insights into how you can do more for your employees and ‘being inclusive’ has to be at the top of the list. Make sure your employees are aware of where your business is heading and where they fit in the bigger picture.
Remember you’re not sailing this ship alone. You have a whole team behind you who want to be included in the future direction of your business and see it succeed because when your business succeeds, they succeed also.
CEO and founder of Insightly, Anthony Smith, agrees that employees should be given the opportunity to make a difference and guide the course of the company, as this has a huge impact on employee happiness.
2. Listen to Employee Feedback
Too often, upper management loses touch with their employees. To prevent this from happening, ensure that the lines of communication are always open so employees can provide feedback anonymously.
Because your employees are the ones taking on the bulk of the workload for your business day in, day out, they’re often in the best position to make calls on changes and improvements to the company.
By listening to and taking on feedback from your staff, not only do they feel more valued because their opinion is being heard, but it also helps identify fixes in your business you may not have known about yourself.
3. Provide Meaning & Direction
What is the end goal your employees are trying to achieve? You may know the answer to this question, but do they know? If not, they may feel directionless and less motivated to do their best in the role. By setting clear KPI’s and goals for your employees, it gives them something to work towards. Psychology studies show that people work their best and hardest when trying to meet a specific goal.
Research from the Stanford Graduate School of Business also shows there’s a strong correlation between happiness and meaning. Most people like to think they’re having a meaningful impact on the world around them. However, having meaning and direction attached to a role also leads to better results for staff retention and productivity, with University of Alberta statistics showing a 60% drop in absenteeism and a 75% drop in staff turnover.
4. Make Them Feel Valued
When employees feel like they fit into the bigger picture, they gain a sense of belonging and feel like a valued member of the team. Without this, your employees may feel disposable. Make sure they understand how important they are to the business and the contribution their role is making to the success of the business overall.
Being valued also strengthens internal loyalty, and this can be achieved by setting aside time to interact with each employee one-on-one. Arranging social gatherings with the team outside of work can also help build a strong bond. Neuroscience research points out that developing a bond can greatly help boost employee dedication.
Recognising success also helps to build value. Whether that be providing a reward, or saying ‘well done’ and openly acknowledging their success amongst their peers, your employees will soon realise that it pays to do good work and to be recognised as a valued member of the team.
5. Create the Right Workspace
Believe it or not, the right fitout can also have a significant impact on meeting the needs of your employees. Your staff should have everything they need to work to the best of their ability in their workspace. Depending on your business, this will often include:
- A comfortable office chair to sit in
- Plenty of desk space
- A functioning computer with all the programs they need to do their job
- A selection of stationery
- A functional kitchen
- A boardroom for private meetings
- A break room for some much-needed downtime
These are just the essentials, but you can go even further to make sure their workspace needs are being met by getting employee input on how your office design could be improved. You may even be surprised by the answers. For example, perhaps your employees are currently laid out in an open floor plan however you may find out that they’d prefer separate cubicles for added privacy and to help with concentration.
Taking the time to get that valuable feedback before going ahead with your fitout plans can really go a long way towards meeting the needs of your staff.
Are You Meeting the Needs of Your Employees?
Show your employees how much you value them by implementing these five concepts into your workplace!
Although many other factors are likely to come into play, we think these are all great starting points to ensure your business is heading in a successful and positive direction for your employees.
If you think a fitout is one area that has the potential for improvement in your business, give our team at Future Fitouts a call on 1300 368 461.