10 Employee Satisfaction Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Leaders

With the "Great Resignation" wave derailing organizations last year, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that at least 4.5 million American workers quitting their job last year. The resignation rates have risen by at least 20% between 2020 and 2021 in the 30 - 45 years of employee age group. People have started actively reconsidering what's vital to balance their professional and private lives. Employee satisfaction has become the top priority for leaders in 2022 as it’s directly linked to the organization's retention rate and overall success. 

Whether an organization is trying to bring attrition down and retain their top talent, or hire new talent into the workforce, focusing on employee satisfaction is a no-brainer.

Let's explore more about employee satisfaction and what organizations can do to improve the satisfaction index.

Understanding employee satisfaction 

It is a measure of the happiness of an employee at their workplace, with their role, and with the overall organizational culture. A wide range of factors impact the scale of employee satisfaction, like growth opportunities, acquiring new skills, and of course, compensation.

Why is the term so crucial in the current environment?

An organization with higher levels of employee satisfaction will observe lower turnover rates.

Content employees experience a stronger sense of loyalty to an organization’s core values and are likely to feel pride in their work. It improves the output quality and thus the organization's overall productivity.

Reasons behind employee “unhappiness”

Generally, low employee satisfaction levels are not due to a single factor, but typically is a compounding of several factors that an employee faces at the workplace. Let's look at some contributing factors to dissatisfaction:

Lack of growth opportunities: If employees feel stagnant at their job roles, they feel dissatisfied. It encourages them to look for options elsewhere.

Work-life balance: Organizations need to set realistic expectations and boundaries with their workforce, and it is vital to encourage a healthy work-life balance. This is a key factor in this day and age.‍

No recognition: When an employee's efforts get constantly underappreciated or unrecognized, they will lose motivation and be dissatisfied.

Inefficient leader: An ineffective leader will directly impact the company morale. The work environment may turn chaotic without solid leadership and clear goals.

Underpaid: Fair compensation is essential if not the sole factor of loyalty towards an organization. Employees may feel compelled to search for other opportunities and openings if they receive unfair remuneration according to industry/market standards.‍‍

Let us now look at how organizations can improve employee satisfaction.

Top 10 hacks to boost employee satisfaction

1. Celebrating milestones: It is important to celebrate milestones like birthdays and work anniversaries. Small acknowledgments like a simple email, a dinner coupon, paid leave, etc., make the employees feel valued and unique. Small gestures go a long way in bolstering employee motivation.‍

2. Recognition: Employees do not like being underappreciated and overlooked. Organizations need to look into different ways to recognize or implement appreciation days to ensure people feel constantly recognized for their excellent work. When people feel recognized, appreciated, and valued, they are more engaged in their work and strive to reach their top potential levels.‍

3. Training & Development: Empower employees with relevant training to work at their full potential. When employees feel equipped to handle and grow in their roles, they are confident and thus satisfied at their workplace. Modern work environments demand modern training solutions like LMS train employees on niche skills. Modern LMS provide detailed analytics, making it an advantage for administrators and learners.‍

4. Rewards: While recognizing and appreciating people for their excellent performance is essential, it is equally important to reward them. The rewards can be monetary, gift vouchers, online coupons and are instrumental in making people feel seen and satisfied at their jobs.‍

5. Career Growth Plan: Organizations should provide a clear roadmap for growth to all employees. Nicely charted-out growth plans linked with the organization’s goals can help them quickly envision their future. An organization should value people for their unique talents and take the time to build a growth plan according to an individual's skills, interests, and capabilities. ‍

6. A flexible schedule: The work environment and expectations have vastly changed in the last two years.  Organizations no longer expect their employees to stay in office between 9-5, 5 days a week. They have gradually understood the importance of flexible work schedules and remote work, directly influencing employee satisfaction. With flexible work schedules, employees have autonomy over their work and schedule, resulting in productive and happier employees.‍

7. Transparent culture: An organization with transparent work culture encourages its employees to communicate comfortably and pitch in ideas without the fear of being dismissed or ridiculed. Employees are involved and informed in their organization's decisions that impact their workdays with a transparent culture.‍

8. Importance to wellness: In the current times, everyone has so much going on in their professional and personal lives. Unfortunately, employees tend to neglect their well-being when focusing on their work. However, encouraging employees to prioritize their wellness will help prevent employee burnout. There are numerous ways that organizations can promote healthy living, like encouraging employees to take 15 min walks to relieve stress, discounted gym memberships, conducting meditation and mindfulness seminars, fostering a culture of no emails after work hours, etc.‍

9. Positive work environment: Everyone is aware of the term "toxic workplace" and how it affects an organization’s bottom line. Organizations with a positive workplace culture have higher employee satisfaction levels, low turnover rates, and better productivity. Positive work cultures make it easier to handle sudden emergencies or issues in the team as everyone gets treated respectfully and fair treatment of everyone's opinions.
   ‍
10. Encourage innovation: Organizations should embrace change and look forward to innovation. They should not adopt the tune of, "this is what we have always done." Such an approach is detrimental to business growth and curbs creativity. An appreciated workforce can use their imagination to develop innovative solutions to unravel obstacles in their job.

How can organizations evaluate employee satisfaction?

A well rounded employee engagement strategy encompasses measuring employee satisfaction. The most effective way for organizations to measure employee satisfaction levels is by directly going to the source, i.e., employees themselves. Conduct periodic surveys, take anonymous feedback, encourage people to voice opinions on workplace management. Understanding factors that can be improved and removing obstacles that prevent people from efficiently delivering to their potential makes it easier for the organization to improve the work culture and promote higher job satisfaction.

Conclusion 

Leaders and organizations must leverage these practices to boost satisfaction and engagement. Remember, “teamwork makes the dream work”, and a happy workforce is a bedrock for success.

Employee satisfaction is one of the top drivers of employee loyalty and productivity. An enhanced corporate journey enriched with better learning opportunities makes employees happier. VideoKen’s video solutions help improve the L&D journey… reach out to our experts and learn more.