With employment rates on the rise and big tech companies seemingly on a mission to snap up member of the workforce, it’s more important than ever for SMEs ever to ensure that employees are happy and aren’t tempted to shop around the increasing number of options.
Increasing employee satisfaction can seem a very daunting prospect but in reality there are a number of quick steps you can take without having to break the bank or reinvent the wheel.
Give Your Staff A Voice
It can be difficult to take the time out to ensure everyone feels listened too. Companies should actively look for opinions on the business every 6 months both anonymously and face to face. Maybe their are small issues which are really hampering morale like toilet facilities, office hygiene or working hours which can be easily amended. Obviously it’s great to give employees a chance to offer opinions on wider companies challenges such as managing workload, unlocking growth etc.
Surveys can also be great tools to allow for feedback at scale and key topics can include:
- Management
- Empowerment
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Coworker Interaction
It’s important to take feedback on board and to demonstrate this to employees, if you receive large amounts of feedback on one issue, don’t simply ignore it because you don’t like to hear it. Address the key issues with employees and give them a chance to take ownership of changing the things they are passionate about.
Take The Pain Out Of The Commute
One of the biggest challenges facing many employees in the modern era is how to get to work, many people simply don’t even apply for jobs if they feel it won’t be easy to get there. Many employers are increasingly looking to locate themselves close to public transport links but this doesn’t work for all staff. One of the biggest nightmares for many employees in the lack of parking available surrounding their workplace. Not only can parking be a stressful matter for employees it can also be time and cost assuming, which will lead to a negative working environment.
Is this a problem for your office? Solving it could be as simple as looking at how you manage your available parking spaces. ParkOffice automates you office parking management, allowing you to keep track of who uses space and when, more importantly automatically allocating empty space to staff if they are empty due to holidays, meetings, illness etc.
Make Your People Feel Loved
It is vital that employers both reward and recognize employees for their work and achievements. Personal recognition is a powerful tool in building both morale and motivation. This can be done through verbal acknowledgement and physical acknowledgement. Study shows that a serious of small informal celebrations can be more effective in acknowledging staff rather than one formal event a year. This will help boost a more positive working environment and hopefully more productive and satisfied staff.
So next time you hit a sales target, ring that bell, raise a toast, bring the team for lunch!
Grow From Within
Promotions in the SME sector are by their nature hard earned. In bigger companies with hundreds of roles available at the next level if can be easier for staff to fly through the levels with the right effort and attitude. However, vacancies at middle and senior management are less frequent in the SME sector. If you don’t have an immediate fit in your organisation, it’s easy to assume you need to recruit from outside. However, more often than not their is an answer internally. The last thing you want is staff leaving because they feel their progression has been hampered by another new hire.
If you’re worried your staff mightn’t have what it takes to leap a level, now is the time to act. Internal training & education programmes can ensure that people will feel more motivated and will make them more productive and innovative. Well trained employees are capable and willing to assume more control on their jobs, they will have a better understanding on the business and through this they will be able to build a better relationship with present and future clients.
Not only are these skills important to the business but they make the employee feel more valued and capable. If an employee feels like they have a purpose and reason for being part of the team they will feel more satisfied in their workplace. This will mean happier employees and less confrontation in the office.
Alan O'Donovan
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