Keeping employees happy at work is a key part of any manager’s job. Several steps will keep employees happy. Scheduling and time-off flexibility allows employees to have a life outside work. This translates into higher morale. Recognizing different personality types and the contributions they make goes a long way towards an atmosphere of fairness and respect in the workplace. Training and education programs are a win-win for employees who advance their skills and employers who get extra value from better-trained employees. A fair rewards system for superior job performance will act as motivation without harmful competition and backstabbing between employees. Aside from morale and workplace atmosphere considerations, happy employees result in lower turnover. Employee turnover is a significant cost and drag on many businesses.
Allow Scheduling Flexibility
Flexibility in scheduling may cause short-term stress to management, but give greater overall employee satisfaction. Employees will not be tempted to change jobs or sacrifice performance at work if they know that an employer considers their needs. This results into a much better work output for your workers as they are allowed a change of pace from their routinary tasks. Studies show that employees who get to adjust and adopt a flexible work schedule are more likely to perform better when compared to those that have a much more rigid work timeline.
Accommodate Different Personality Types
An extrovert personality is encouraged and rewarded in most jobs. Many professional advisers repeat: bring attention to your accomplishments, work in groups, speak up and market yourself. Nothing wrong with that, but employers should keep in mind that not all employees are gregarious life-of-the-party personalities. Contributing and important employees who are not sociable may feel undervalued. Accommodating and valuing quieter, less flashy individuals will go a long way towards showing respect for diversity of personality.
As a manager, you should be able to identify the strong points and weaknesses of your employees. And to some extent, be able to assess their areas of expertise wherein they are able to perform much better, thereby allowing them to excel and prove their worth.
Relevant Training
Employees have evolving personal and professional ambitions. Employer-sponsored training or education helps to retain valuable employees and satisfy employees’ desire for further advancement. Sales skills, technical expertise, competence in public speaking or computer programming can all add value to an employer and give employees new challenges and opportunities to excel.
Performance-Based Rewards
Objective performance metrics are important in handing out rewards. Examples of such metrics would be a certain dollar amount brought in through sales, the completion of a tough or unusual assignment or staying within cost/time constraints without sacrificing performance. Focus on objective, impersonal metrics of success cannot be overemphasized. “I like employee X” or, “employee Y seems to go above and beyond,” not backed up by anything that can be measured or counted, reek of arbitrariness and favoritism, even if none is intended. O. C. Tanner is a great source for expertise in employee rewards programs and general factors affecting employee turnover and retention.