5 Ways to Improve Employee Satisfaction

Keeping your team happy is one of the most cost-effective paths to productivity. There are many techniques that your company might already have adopted into their general Human Resources package, but there’s always room for improvement right?

Even though you might already have a free lunch system at the office or a Friday beer day for all your staff, your team’s expectations grow as rapidly as your employee expectations do. Much like you’d want your Senior Executive to drum in the full package or expect your Business Development guy to gear in more clients than the last quarter, your employees are also wondering when you’ll next update the kitchen stock or gather the crew for an evening of celebration. It’s give and take.

How do you improve worker satisfaction?

So what are the fundamentals to keeping your workers happy? Most of them are based on basic human expectations and can more often than not, help you simulate an eager and productive team or workers willingly achieving their ambitious goals.

Improve employee satisfaction with flexibility

Control is synonymous with power; therefore lack of control signifies lack of power. It’s quite simple that when you feel as though you are not in control of a situation, you feel powerless and generally less capable of achieving a task.

Encouraging your staff to work on projects they do not want to work on at a time they are not comfortable doing it is quite simply a recipe for disaster. When your employees are given the freedom to find a work-life balance that suits them, their day is in their control and they are more willing to complete a task successfully.

Improve employee satisfaction with choices

You might have hired Bob to be your Accounting guy – that’s probably why you call him Bob from Accounting; but is accounting all there is to Bob? Can Bob possibly rise to another challenge and shine his set of skill in a new light? Well, probably, but you’ll have to find out about this.

Allow your employees to choose the tasks they are assigned – this freedom of choice will shape them into the roles they are supposed to shine in and result in a happier and more willing working environment.

Improve employee satisfaction with trust

Micromanaging your staff is probably one of the worst models to base your business structure on. It’s such a waste of time and it never makes anyone happy. Especially not your employees.

More often than not, when a manager or senior micromanages a situation at work, the employee is left with less satisfaction from the results because they feel like the work is not uniquely theirs. More so like they were not trusted to achieve the task. It’s a real bummer to feel like your expertise is not valued and trusted.

Improve employee satisfaction with rewards

While upping someone’s salary is always a good thing for employees, mid term rewards are not out of the question for your hard working staff. For those who’ve reached a high salary point or even those who are still climbing the ladder towards financial flexibility; a good old spot of recognition is always welcomed.

Think of experiences instead of monetary items. If you’ve got a single dad in your team, he might very much like a meal for two and a babysitter arranged for Friday night; on the company of course. What about a younger employee who’s been taking care of their sick relative; wouldn’t a massage do them well? Company’s treat.

Improve employee satisfaction with communication

Being transparent in your actions is the best way to keep your employees’ communication healthy and steady. Their communication with you is paramount if you want your company to succeed. Communication is key no matter who you are in the company.

When employees feel like they can share their thoughts about the company’s progress and next steps with you, it means that you’ve established a level ground where no idea is thought of as stupid. This is a major feat.

How can I improve my work satisfaction?

While the improvements enforced by your boss or line manager make a world of change in your daily work routine, there are a number of ways you can ensure your mental well-being at work. Finding the balance between expecting too much and standing up for a better work life can be controlled by the following work satisfaction tips:

Organise your routine and prioritise tasks life doesn't have to be a last minute rat race.

Do everything in its own time; multitasking is not the ideal task for a busy office.

Give distractions the boot with increased focus and a sense of calm in your work area.

Find a way to deal with interruptions, sometimes you will need to listen to your colleagues.

Be proud of what you accomplish and aim to finish tasks to deadline and do it efficiently.

Give yourself a set of milestones to aspire to; KPIs that you wish to achieve every quarter.

Put yourself in the boss’ shoes; “What Would The Boss Do?”

Ask for help and give your help. Mentoring can be your solution.

Sit back and listen to what your colleagues or managers say - you might learn something.

Make things crystal clear with your colleagues and employers.

Be ready to get down and dirty with some research - the more you know, the better it gets.

Give yourself some business courage by writing a letter to your future self.

What are your blind spots? Identify these guys to break all the boundaries.

Find an easier way to complete a task, test it out and share with your manager.

Be the one to ask the questions, this shows you care and are not afraid to dive in head first.

Be aware of the ones you need to watch your back with. There might be snakes around you.

Acknowledge your colleagues, they are as deep as you are - moral support always helps.

Read to gain knowledge, read for fun and read up on what you should do next.

Be ready to shut down; down time is so important to feeling happy at work.

Nobody likes a big headed colleague, take it down a notch buddy!

With these self-improvement tips and the collaboration of your employers’ efforts, your overall satisfaction at work will improve drastically. There are many ways in which you can help yourself to identify whether you are in the right job. If you check too many of the con boxes, you’re likely to be in the wrong job, or maybe with the wrong company. If there are slight adjustments that could make your daily work life better; it’s all about baby steps towards the land of happiness in your job!