The world of work has rapidly changed over the past few years. Millions of people have started working remotely, technology has taken over the office, and employee collaboration is being actively encouraged. All of these changes are great — but it’s a lot for employees to adapt to. As a result, businesses are tasked with keeping their employees happy. This is something that was already a tough challenge before recent workplace trends emerged, so it’s now been made even more difficult. However, rather than worrying about it, you should embrace this challenge. To help you along the way, here are five methods you can use to boost employee happiness and create a positive company culture.
1. Improve Your HR (Human Resources)
Having a high-quality HR department in place will positively affect employee happiness and your organization more widely. This is because HR is designed to:
- Pinpoint problems in departments and provide solutions to them
- Handle employee payslips
- Fix employee problems (such as workplace bullying)
At the moment, countless businesses are using HR software to make their daily operations easier and free up their staff for other tasks. If you were to do the same, you could drastically improve your HR and provide a memorable employee experience, from the initial onboarding to their continued stay with your company.
2. Make Breaks Fun
During the day, your employees will have several breaks, like when it’s lunchtime. Of course, you can’t turn every break into a party, as this would be unprofessional. However, once or twice a month, it’s a good idea to give back to your employees by doing something fun, such as ordering pizzas for everyone or buying them a coffee. Think of this as a small token to reward employees for their efforts.
Although it is not much, it is a great way to boost employee happiness and motivation levels. You can even take it a step further by arranging work social nights, which (in most cases) will take place at the end of the month.
3. Allow Flexible Working Schedules
Over recent years, one of the biggest trends has been the emergence of flexible working schedules.
Essentially, this is how it works:
A company will allow employees to choose the hours they work. For example, some employees prefer to work 8-4, while others prefer to work the standard 9 to 5. It’s simply a case of empowering employees to choose what works best for them.
When you post job vacancies, make sure you advertise that your company offers flexible work, as this will also help you attract the best employees possible.
4. Offer Training
Training is great for employees. Not only does it help them to become better at what they do, but it also opens up more career progression opportunities for them. In a nutshell, you (the company) and the employee benefit from it — what’s not to love?
No matter what role your employee works under, you’ll be able to provide them with training in various ways. At the moment, online training is a big trend. Now, there’s no need for employees to travel long distances to complete one or two-day training courses. Instead, they can do it all online from the comfort of their homes or during work hours, depending on the circumstances. Offering training also encourages employee retention as it demonstrates that you are invested in their development, making them more likely to stick around.
5. Keep Collecting Employee Feedback
It is more than likely that you currently collect employee feedback, whether once a month or once a year. If you don’t, you should start doing it, as employee feedback is key to improving employee happiness.
You will be able to identify many interesting trends from the feedback you collect. Generally, 80% of your employees might want better office equipment and tools (such as faster internet). In response to this feedback, you’ll then be able to implement the improvements and make the employee experience better. It’s a no-brainer.
Remember, employee feedback should be collected from everyone. This includes new hires and established company veterans who’ve been with you for 10+ years. The more feedback you can collect from them, the more you’ll learn, and the more valued your employees will feel.
Final Thoughts
Above are five proven methods for to keep your employees happy in the workplace. If you want to see fast and measurable results, use these methods and experience the benefits that come with them, such as increased employee loyalty and higher motivation levels.
