Keeping employees satisfied is something that every business should strive for. Unhappy employees will always seek out new opportunities that will provide them with better job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can have an impact on both individual and team performance.
Statistics revealed that about half or 49% of employees are very satisfied with their current job. Meanwhile, three in ten are somewhat satisfied and the remainder are somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
For this reason, it is important for businesses to ensure that employees are satisfied with their current jobs. Aside from its impact on individual and team performance, job satisfaction can also have an impact on organizational success. Dissatisfied employees are disengaged employees.
A Gallup study revealed that only 21% of employees were engaged causing businesses to lose $7.8 billion in productivity. Now more than ever, you need to improve job satisfaction and keep your employees engaged. Here are some tips on how you can improve job satisfaction and ensure the loyalty of your employees.
How To Increase Employee Job Satisfaction
- Set Clear and Realistic Expectations
- Give Employees Some Autonomy
- Focus On The Long-Term
- Take Care of Their Health
- Make Employee Well-Being Your Top Priority
- Share Frequent Feedback
- Maintain Work-Life Balance
- Reward Good Work
- Strengthen Employee Relationships
- Invest In Career Development
Increasing Employee Job Satisfaction
A business is only as good as its people. As a business owner, you need to understand that employee satisfaction plays an important role in the success of your company. You must realize the fact that happy and engaged employees can bring financial benefits to your organization. This article will guide you on how to increase job satisfaction.
1. Set Clear and Realistic Expectations
Nothing can be more frustrating than working without knowing what to expect from the job. A Gallup survey revealed that only 26% of employees felt they could maintain a healthy work-life balance. This could lead to the employee feeling overworked, stressed, and overwhelmed. You can keep this from happening by establishing clear and realistic expectations.
Without clear expectations, there will be confusion among your employees and they will not know what to do. As a result, they can become less motivated leading to lower productivity and fulfillment at work. Likewise, expectations should be realistic or your employees can experience job burnout. Asking your team to work long hours, for example, is not realistic. It may be necessary from time to time but not on a regular basis.
From the time the employee is hired, you must already set expectations. The onboarding process is the perfect time to set clear expectations. This is where you can define their roles and responsibilities. Employee performance can increase by 11% when there is an effective onboarding process. When setting expectations, use the SMART approach. Ask yourself if you can meet the expectations yourself, if not then you need to change them to more realistic ones.
2. Give Employees Some Autonomy
Allowing employees to do their work without you always looking over their shoulders is a great way to increase job satisfaction. It allows them to decide how and when they want the work to be done. Micromanaging your workers is not always healthy as it could give employees the impression that you do not trust them.
Autonomy in the workplace can contribute to employee engagement. By allowing your employees to approach their work according to their way, they are more likely to become engaged in your company. For them, this means that you trust them and that they can get the job done.
For customer-facing employees, allowing autonomy may have an effect on customer relationships. Nowadays, customers can easily distinguish genuine interactions from rehearsed ones. Trust your employees and you will be amazed to see how well they perform because of the trust that you gave them.
3. Focus On The Long-Term
Focusing on your long-term goals to keep your employees motivated and satisfied. When you and your team are setting your sights on the long-term vision and strategy of your company, employees can easily connect with company goals and aspirations. This means always looking at the bigger picture. Knowing that they are part of your long-term vision for the company will help increase job satisfaction.
Long-term goals give clarity to your business. They give your growth strategy a purpose, which is very important for 86% of business leaders. When employees know that they have something to strive for, they will exert effort in order to achieve that goal. By setting long-term goals, you also define your future success.
Show your team that they can contribute to the success of your company by asking them for their feedback or suggestions. Ask what they agree with, what they would do differently, and what they would add. This also shows that you value their input and feedback. By knowing your long-term goals, your employees will stay motivated and work with you in achieving your long-term goal.
4. Provide Opportunities For Learning
When employees stop learning, expect them to look for that opportunity somewhere else. A study by Indeed revealed that nearly one-third of employees seek opportunities for self-improvement as part of their benefits. The study also revealed that employees with opportunities for learning have 34% higher retention rates.
Encourage your employees to hone their skills by attending conferences, webinars, and events. Instill in them a mindset of curiosity and a passion for continuous learning. Technology has changed the way people work so your employees also need to evolve in order for them to stay competitive.
Providing learning opportunities for your employees can help fill in skill gaps that your business may require in the future. Instead of hiring someone from the outside who may not be the right fit, you can just address them from within your ranks. You can also save time and resources by upskilling your employees.
5. Make Employee Well-Being Your Priority
Employees are more likely to be satisfied with their job if they know that their employers are taking care of their health and well-being. With the rising cost of healthcare, employees cannot afford to pay their hospital bills. According to a MetLife study, 66% of employees believe that management has responsibility for their mental well-being.
Workplace stress contributed $190 billion to US healthcare costs. As an employer, you can support your employees through wellness programs and health education. Encourage them to take regular breaks during their shifts and utilize their annual leaves. Motivate them to achieve their fitness goals or disconnect when they feel burned out.
Putting in place an employee wellness program can help reduce health risks among your workers. Activities like sportsfest, team building, or annual physical checkups can help improve not only their mental and physical well-being but also their social relationships with their peers.
6. Share Frequent Feedback
Providing frequent feedback to your employees will help improve their efficiency and their overall performance. The key is to construct the feedback properly for your employees to receive it well. 75% of employees who receive feedback feel that it is important for their work. Giving feedback is important for boosting employee confidence and helps them thrive in their roles.
Providing feedback helps make employees feel like they are part of something greater. When they feel like they are valued by the company and they become engaged with the vision and values of the company. In addition, feedback helps clarify expectations and for employees to learn from their mistakes.
In giving feedback, utilize the sandwich approach. This method involves giving positive feedback first, followed by a negative, and then wrapping it up with another positive. If possible, make it face-to-face as it would not leave any conversations open to misinterpretation. Do it as frequently as possible.
7. Maintain Work-Life Balance
All work and no play make one a dull person as they say. In the same way, too much work is bad. As an employer, you need to understand that your employees also have a family of their own that they need to attend to. It can become frustrating for them if you will make them work beyond their shift without overtime pay or other benefits.
Studies show that spending more than 55 hours at work weekly increases the risk of anxiety and depression. In addition, 72% of workers believe that work-life balance is an important consideration when choosing a job. Companies should avoid creating an environment of constant overwork.
Give your workers the option to work remotely on a flexible schedule. This way, they can excel at their work and take care of their personal well-being outside of work. Ensuring a work-life balance is beneficial to both you and your employees. It makes them more productive and can also boost their performance. This could mean more sales and more income for you.
8. Reward Good Work
Nothing can be more satisfying to an employee than knowing that their efforts and good work are being recognized by management. Financial remuneration is not enough as a reward for your employee’s good work. It should both be recognized and valued. You can announce it on your website, internal newsletter, or in a staff meeting.
In addition, you should also consider the smaller but significant perks such as a voucher, free parking for the whole month, personal time off, or others. But don’t emphasize the perks because there is no guarantee of employee retention.
Create a rewards system that will help employees become motivated. It will show your employees that they are being recognized and appreciated by their superiors. Give them promotions, salary increases, or bonuses to encourage them to be more productive.
9. Strengthen Employee Relationships
Job satisfaction is also related to your employee’s relationship with their co-workers. Sometimes it is not just the feeling of being overwhelmed but also how they feel about other employees that can cause them to be frustrated. Maybe they are not happy with working with some members of your team.
Right on their first day, work on employee relationships right away. Introduce them to their co-workers and help them get acclimatized with the environment and the team. Making the new hire feel valued and welcome from their first day will set a positive tone and ensure that they stay engaged for as long as they want.
It is important to build on employee relationships right off the bat. Making employees feel that they belong to the team not only benefits you but them as well. Building a strong relationship between workers and your team will help establish the foundation of trust. It can lead to better communication and collaboration.
10. Invest In Career Development
Employees do not want to be stagnant in their positions. They want career advancement opportunities and growth whenever there is an opportunity. 94% of employees would stay longer at a company if offered learning and development opportunities. This will have a significant impact on your employee turnover rate. In addition, 30% of employees consider career development and personal growth very important.
Providing career development opportunities is very important for employees. Why? Because 70% of employees would consider leaving their current company for another that offers career development opportunities. By doing this, the employee will see that you are committed to their success and willing to invest in their development. The more you support them in their career goals, the happier and satisfied they will be.
While waiting for a higher-level job opening, you can conduct coaching and mentoring sessions, leadership training, or succession planning to prepare your employees for handling bigger roles in the future. This will result in employees being more engaged in their roles and increase their productivity.
Job satisfaction is vital to improved worker productivity and performance. In the end, this will guarantee employee retention and loyalty.
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