Happy Employees are Productive Employees
One of the more common challenges that organisations face is to keep their employees productive. But if you hire the right people and spend some time to develop and nurture their relationship with the organisation, it is not that difficult. If you can increase the happiness quotient of your employees, they are likely to be much more productive and enthusiastic at work.
Google is known for providing amazing perks to its employees such as massage booths, ping pong tables, free food etc. However, to increase the productivity of your employees and to keep them motivated and excited, you need not only think of providing them with tangible perks. Let’s take a look at some simple ways in which you can keep your employees happy, motivated, and productive.
- Displaying respect
Trust is indeed a great motivational element. Whenever managers display trust in their team and allow them to accomplish their tasks, it automatically makes them more productive. No employees like to have a manager who is constantly breathing down their necks. Employees tend to lose their motivation if they feel their work is going to be repeatedly corrected. Hence, it is of utmost importance to give respect to your employees and also provide them with the space that they need to excel in their respective positions.
- Being as supportive as possible
Whenever you have employees who are working in various schedules, it is quite important that you display your support to them and also expect every employee to support their colleagues. For instance, if an employee wants to take the day off to support a child’s activity, encourage another colleague to step in and pick up the slack. If they do so, ensure that they will also receive similar treatment at some point in future. In other words, if employees know that their company has their back in times of need, they are likely to be much more motivated and productive.
- Giving back to the community
A financial incentive is no doubt a great motivator, however, in case you do not have the funds to pay out above benchmark salary, don’t panic. According to a study conducted by Stanford Graduate School of Business, around 90% of graduates opted to work for a socially responsible company, instead of an organisation that just pays well. The present millennial trend is such that today’s workforce is much more socially responsible and they are the ones who will be making up 75% of the workforce by 2025. As an organisation, you should look for a social cause-driven company that aligns with your personal values and goals. When an organisation takes steps to make other people’s lives better, it acts as a great motivating force for today’s young generation.
- Asking for insight
For your employees to remain happy at work, it is important that they feel valued and appreciated. One of the ways you can demonstrate this to your employees is by simply asking for it. Have regular sessions where the primary objective is to not think about limitations and disadvantages, but focus purely on creativity instead. Apart from creating an excellent problem solving and brainstorming opportunity, it also helps to keep the employees engaged and excited.
- Mixing solutions to keep your employees motivated
If you continue to focus on the same questions and problems, it may get monotonous for your employees. To break this monotony, you should do a mix and match by providing your employees with an opportunity to think differently and innovate. Have regular problem-solving sessions or hackathons so that their creativity and innovation is sparked. These type of sessions need not always be related to their ongoing projects. By conducting such activities, you encourage your employees to stretch this minds and limits and don the creative hat which would result in benefitting the company in the long run.
- Hiring the right kind of people
While this may sound to be quite obvious, it is one of the most important components of having a productive and happy team. A lot of startups are still trying to figure out the skillsets of the people that they hire so that they can turn around things for them. Lookout for passionate all-rounders who can multi-task and also step in for someone as and when required. People who are keen to do some good for the community are also assets if their interest aligns with your company’s goals.
- Providing the right kind of incentive
It is quite important that you provide your employees with the right kind of incentive to remain motivated and productive. Some organisations try to achieve this by giving perks and other associated benefits such as flexi-time extra annual leave, discounts and gym memberships. There are also others who focus on offering opportunities for career growth, employee recognition, onsite travelling opportunities etc.
If you wish to improve the motivation level of your employees and increase their productivity, you must focus first of all on making them happy. If you do so, you will be able to reap not only financial benefits but also earn the loyalty of your employees and retain them in the organisation thereby creating a win-win situation for the organisation at large.
