Companies can’t do anything without their employees. That’s why retention, productivity, and employee engagement are becoming more important to be measured. Companies can’t achieve this without the desire to improve employee satisfaction.
Employee satisfaction refers to the contentment of working employees within a company. Through employee satisfaction, you can know how well an employee’s expectations are met, their comfort in the office environment, and their overall experience within the company.
Employee satisfaction is often influenced by various factors, including compensation, work-life balance, job security, opportunities for career growth, the relationship with colleagues and superiors, and the company’s culture.
A high level of employee satisfaction is generally associated with several positive outcomes for both employees and the organization.
Of course as mentioned earlier, these outcomes can include increased productivity, improved job performance, higher employee retention rates, and a more positive workplace atmosphere.
Satisfied employees are more likely to be engaged in their work, committed to the organization’s goals, and less likely to seek employment elsewhere.
According to a 2016 Gallup report, actively engaged employees can show an increase in several aspects, including 10% higher customer ratings, 70% fewer safety incidents, 17% higher productivity, and also can contribute to 21% higher profit.
Hence, measuring and understanding employee satisfaction is essential for organizations to identify areas that need improvement and to develop strategies for creating a more fulfilling and productive work environment.
Various methods, such as surveys, feedback mechanisms, and performance evaluations, can be used to gauge employee satisfaction and gather insights for making necessary changes within the organization.
So, how can we improve employee satisfaction and what are the small things that can be implemented in the workplace?
11 practical tips to improve employee satisfaction
Improving employee satisfaction is crucial for creating a positive and productive work environment. Here are 11 practical tips for HR professionals to enhance employee satisfaction in the workplace.
Understanding what employees desire
Understanding what employees desire can be pivotal in elevating job satisfaction. For starters, you can conduct surveys and interviews to inquire about the resources, tools, and benefits that hold the most significance for employees.
Then, you can use the data to create programs and initiatives that surpass employee expectations. This can lead to increasing satisfaction.
Having respect for employees
Companies should create a secure and healthy work environment that upholds fair treatment for all employees. They must also promote a safe space where employees feel comfortable voicing their concerns.
It is also important to acknowledge and respect their feedback and subsequently implement changes within the workplace based on their input.
Employees who feel that their voice is heard will think that their company respects their beings. This will lead to a better satisfaction.
Evaluate how you do your compensation and benefits
If employees express dissatisfaction with their compensation and benefits that they receive, companies reevaluate the pay structures with input from executives and relevant stakeholders to ensure better compensation.
Ensuring competitive compensation and offering opportunities for employees to earn a better income is important. Therefore, you can also do market research and evaluate your compensation and benefits structures accordingly.
Assurance to job security
Provide assurance to employees about their positions in the company and also the stability. One must know that job insecurity can lead to anxiety that may impact job performance.
Ultimately, employees who feel secure and confident in their roles can be more engage in their job.
Opportunities for skill development
Companies can also align employees’ skills and talents with their job responsibilities. Mapping their talents can also be a way to know their potential.
You can provide job training, and external resources for education to support their career advancement.
Employees who know that the companies care for their growth and development will feel satisfied with their job and eager to do more in their job.
Improve relationships with manager
Companies can also encourage one-on-one interactions between employees and their direct supervisors.
This can be done in many ways, such as informal check-ins during lunch. One-on-one can also be done virtually through video conferencing.
Doing this regularly can give an insight on how the employees current state. Are they okay? Are they overwhelmed by their job? Do they need a break? By knowing this, companies can do some mitigation in case the employees show signs of losing motivation.
Demonstrate stability in the company
Employees may feel concern about the company’s financial well-being when a crisis arises. When that time comes, companies should inform the employees about the condition and how they are doing giving the condition.
But, companies should emphasize on the resiliency and the will to explore cost-effective ways to celebrate and recognize employees, such as through awards and additional time off.
Acknowledge employees performance
No matter how small it is, any informal forms of recognition can be a way to motivate employees.
You have to implement regular initiatives of acknowledging employees achievements. This recognition can instill a sense of pride in employees and inspire them to continue achieving their goals.
For example, a simple employee of the month program can motivate employees to do better so that they can ‘fight’ for that status with another employee through a healthy competition.
Create a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program
Most employees care for companies’ involvement in social issues. You can create initiatives that enable employees to contribute to causes that hold personal meaning.
Explore opportunities for the company to engage in charitable activities. For example, a trash cleaning activities on certain areas like beaches is a good way to start.
Openly receive feedbacks from all employeesÂ
Establish a platform for all employees to share their ideas and feedback. Whenever possible, incorporate this feedback into policies and procedures. Also, ensure that employees who provide valuable suggestions are recognized.
Create a more engaging work environment
As a bonus and a more fun way to create a safer place, consider the following approaches to enhance your office environment.
- Playing nice music around the office
- Providing snacks
- Offering relaxation areas
- Scheduling team-building activities
- Encouraging regular breaks
- Providing discounts on wellness services as a part of benefit program
The most important thing is that you have to remember that every company is unique.
So it’s essential to evaluate these tips to fit your specific workplace culture, industry, and the needs of your employees.
Regularly assess employee satisfaction levels and be willing to adapt your strategies as needed to improve a positive and satisfying work environment.
Measuring employee satisfaction: Pros and cons
There are several methods to measure and improve employee satisfaction in a company. Each method serves a different purpose and can provide valuable insights into the overall employee experience.
Here are some common methods for measuring employee satisfaction and their functions:
Employee surveys
Employee surveys are a widely used method to gather feedback from employees. They can be conducted annually, semi-annually, or more frequently.
How this works is that companies often send some online surveys or forms to all employees that contain multiple questions.
Those questions can cover various aspects of the work environment, including job satisfaction, work-life balance, compensation, benefits, and overall company culture.
Surveys provide quantitative data, making it easy to identify trends and areas for improvement. They also can allow for anonymous feedback, which can encourage honest responses from employees.
However, surveys may not capture the full depth of employee feelings and can be limited by the quality of the questions and response rates since most surveys only have a rating scale or Likert scale option.
Focus group discussion (FGD)
FGD involves small groups of employees discussing their experiences and feelings. These sessions allow for in-depth qualitative feedback and can uncover underlying issues that surveys often miss.
FGD can provide rich, qualitative data, and they encourage open dialogue and idea sharing. They can also help HR professionals gain a deeper understanding of employee concerns.
However, one of the common problems from FGD is it can be time-consuming and may not be representative of the entire workforce. Some employees may not feel comfortable sharing their thoughts in a group setting.
But if companies have the time and resources to conduct FGD for better and upgraded policies, it is a great way to do it.
One-on-one interviews
Conducting individual interviews with employees can offer personalized insights into their experiences, concerns, and suggestions. These interviews are typically confidential.
Individual interviews allow for in-depth discussions and provide an opportunity to build trust with employees. Employees may be more open to sharing their concerns in private.
But same as FGD, interviews can be time-consuming and may not be feasible for larger organizations. They may also introduce interviewer bias.
Pulse surveys
Pulse surveys are short, frequent surveys that focus on specific topics or questions. They are designed to capture real-time feedback and trends.
Pulse surveys allow for continuous monitoring of employee satisfaction and quick responses to emerging issues. They are less burdensome for employees than traditional annual surveys.
They may lack the depth of information provided by more comprehensive surveys. But it can be a quick thing to do to gather data faster for immediate changes.
Anonymous suggestion box
Suggestion box is physical or digital platforms where employees can submit anonymous feedback, ideas, and concerns.
It encourages employees to share their thoughts without fear of reprisal. It can provide insights into specific issues.
They may not yield as much feedback as other methods, and it can be challenging to address issues without knowing the source.
Exit interviews
Although it is unfortunate that some employees want to leave the company, it is important to have an exit interview with them.
Conducting exit interviews with departing employees can reveal the reasons for their departure and provide insights into areas that may need improvement.
Exit interviews can help identify systemic issues within the organization and provide valuable feedback on the employee experience.
Of course they are retrospective and may not help prevent current employees from leaving. But it can also give an insight on how the company should improve based on the feedback.
Benefits of employee satisfaction
Essentially, there are three main benefits of high employee satisfaction. If you’re trying to improve employee satisfaction, you can see the improvements of these advantages.
Reduced employee turnoverÂ
Employees that are more satisfied with the company and their work are less likely to leave their current positions. Their sense of fulfillment at work strengthens their attachment to their roles, co-workers, and the organization.
By valuing your employees’ job satisfaction and proactively addressing any concerns to improve their experience at work, you can encourage them to remain with the company.
Enhanced productivityÂ
That statement is not a secret at all. Satisfied employees tend to be more productive in their roles.
Their dedication and commitment drive them to work diligently in pursuit of meaningful contributions and the achievement of the company’s objectives.
Happy employees are also less likely to take time off, enabling them to accomplish more compared to employees who feel not satisfied with their job.
A positive company culture
In a 2019 survey by Glassdoor, 77% of adults indicated that they consider a company’s culture before deciding to apply for a job there.
Employees find greater happiness in working toward company goals that align with their own values and priorities because they are engaged in work that holds personal meaning.
When you establish a positive workplace culture that nurtures a sense of purpose aligned with your company’s vision, your team members are more likely to feel connected to their roles and colleagues.
Conclusion
Employee satisfaction is not just a ‘feel-good’ concept where it stops as long as employees are happy. It’s the core of a thriving and successful organization.
Companies who prioritize to improve employee satisfaction will definitely get a grasp on how it can lead to reduced turnover, enhanced productivity, a positive company culture, and so much more.
You can also select the right method or a combination of methods depending on the company’s size, resources, and the specific goals of the employee satisfaction assessment.
By the end, you’ll have a comprehensive understanding of why investing in your employees’ happiness is a strategic move that can propel your business to new heights. It plays an important role in the overall organizational strategy.
And to enhance your strategy to improve that, companies need the right tool. One of them is HRIS software like Mekari Talenta which has many features to improve HR administrative and strategic processes.
From simple tools like Forms for online survey needs to Advance Recruitment for a better recruitment process, Mekari Talenta has many solutions for companies who want a better and automated HR process.
With Forms, you can manage multiple forms, surveys, and other employee feedback within one place. This is especially useful for HR to gather insight from employee satisfaction survey, for example. Employees can also fill the survey easily through Mekari Talenta’s mobile app.
Additionally, Advance Recruitment can also provide a comprehensive and centralized recruitment process from job posting, scheduling interviews, and also employee onboarding within one integrated dashboard.
So, what are you waiting for? Try free Mekari Talenta’s demo for yourself and discuss your HR needs with our dedicated team.
