If you own a business, you will know that your employees are right at its heart. Without the loyal and hard-working people in your workforce, your business would be very difficult to run. As an entrepreneur, ensuring that your employees are happy, satisfied and motivated in the workplace should be a main priority. Here are some fun, interesting and useful ideas to help you achieve a workforce filled with happy, loyal and productive employees.
1. Offer Training
According to market research, one of the main things that new employees want from their employer today is training and development opportunities. Rather than giving your employees a raise in their wage slip, you might want to think about instead helping to invest in their future, for example, helping employees with funding for an online accounting degree, or offering on-the-job training programs that will help them improve their work performance. Since learning new things at work and becoming good at them often leads to promotions, investing in training and education won’t just benefit your employees, but it will also be useful for you. For more information on the online bachelors of accounting degree, see Maryville University.
2. Give Incentives
Sometimes, everybody needs a little extra push in order to re-motivate themselves. This is especially true of workers who are stationed in environments such as office blocks, where they will quickly get bored throughout the day. Providing your employees with something extra to look forward to, whether it’s the chance to finish the working day one hour early, take a longer lunch, dress casually on Fridays, or even win some free food, can be a great way to boost productivity and increase employee satisfaction.
3. Have Some Fun
All employees know that the workplace is mainly for working hard in, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to have some fun. Often, workplaces which encourage their employees to take part in fun activities throughout the day and have a laugh are the ones with the best results when it comes to productivity. For example, you could run friendly competitions throughout the day, with fun small prizes for the winning individual or team.
4. Encourage Healthy Living
Encouraging healthy living in your workplace is another great way to promote better happiness, motivation and satisfaction amongst your employees. For example, you could provide your workforce with free healthy foods such as fruit and vegetable snacks to help themselves to at work, or you could even try things such as office yoga to encourage physical activity. If you don’t have the room or the resources for this, why not consider teaming up with a local gym to offer your employees a special discounted offer on a membership?
5. Communicate
Lastly, promoting a culture of honest and open communication in your company is one of the best ways to improve the overall satisfaction and motivation of your workforce. When employees feel that their voice is heard and that their superiors are approachable and reasonable when it comes to handling any problems, they are much more likely to be satisfied at work and loyal to their employer.
How do you keep your employees happy? Share your ideas in the comments below.
