The backbone of any business is the staff that works there, they are the people who are present, day in and day out, so keeping them happy in their roles is vital to the success of any business in any industry.
A happy and valued workforce will go above and beyond for their company, all with a smile on their face, however, studies have shown that those who are unhappy and unappreciated in their jobs can become distracted and disinterested, this, in turn, means less productivity and a poor face for your brand.
What are the Benefits of a Happy Workforce?
There can be many benefits to your business if your workforce are happy in their place of work, they include:
Increased productivity – if your team are happy they are less stressed, this, in turn, will allow them to focus and not become easily distracted when undertaking tasks, therefore improving targets, sales and overall general productivity.
Happiness is contagious – If you are able to create even a small number of happy employees, this infectious attitude can spread through a workforce via good role models. This can engage staff to be more like their happy team members and create a positive workplace for all.
Happy and positive employees support each other. This is key, if your team feel happy and content in their role, they are more inclined to support other workers with their tasks. This, in turn, will allow them to feel more confident when asking for help with one of their tasks. A workforce that is able to support each other in this way will ensure that all tasks are completed quickly and to a high standard.
Happiness inspires creativity – A workforce that is able to take pride and joy in their work is able to see things from a good perspective. They will be able to understand their role fully, therefore they may become inspired to find an easier or cheaper way of doing things.
People like to work alongside happy people. If you manage to fill your job roles with the right people, then keeping them will be important for the running of your business. People tend to leave jobs, not so much because of the role itself but due to the people they are working alongside day in and day out. To reduce high staff turnover you should aim to create a happy workforce, that will make your team never want to leave.
The manager should lead by example. Staff who are working for a miserable manager will find it hard to feel happy in their workplace, in most cases managers and team leaders often set the tone for the staff as a whole. It is therefore very important to choose the right person who can lead your workforce in a happy, positive direction.
How to Keep your Workforce Happy?
Once you have realized that you need to create a happy, positive workforce to drive your business forward, you then need to understand how you can achieve this. Below are some tips on how you can create the best environment for your team.
Ensuring lines of communication are always open. To ensure your staff is happy, you will need to hear this from them, and if not why not. If your team are able to convey to line managers their true feelings of unhappiness at work, this will allow you to be able to do something about it as quickly as possible.
Any issues or employee concerns can be easily reported and tracked with HR software such as CIPHR. The worst possible position for your workforce to be in is to be unhappy and feel unable to share this with higher members of staff. You could then think your workforce are content in their roles, when really they are not, this could then lead to poor morale and an underperforming workforce as a whole.
Investing in your workforce. The staff that feel truly valued in their workplace will go above and beyond for the business, and what better way to show value and appreciation in a team member than investing in them as a person.
Ongoing professional development and offering employee education provides a number of benefits to your business. Firstly it shows your staff that you are confident and proud to back them personally, giving your team a great boost. Secondly, a more knowledgeable and educated workforce will enrich your business in every way.
Offer consistent praise. If your team are doing a good job, then tell them. This seems obvious but it can be very easy to undervalue a workforce that is consistently achieving. You can offer a cash bonus, an employee of the month award or even offer a staff day or night out. However you choose to praise your team, you should ensure that it is done on a consistent basis when targets are met. This will ensure that hard work does not go unnoticed, therefore supporting a valued workforce.
Allow movement throughout the workplace. This can be a challenge for some job roles, however wherever this is possible you should strive to encourage your workforce to not remain in one place for long periods of time. Being in one place all day can lead to boredom and unhappiness.
If your teamwork at desks, find ways you can allow them to move around the office, perhaps for meetings or group discussions. If your team are on the shop floor, you could think about rotating the staff from one position to another, therefore offering some variety to their day. Small changes like this can have a huge impact on the day to day mood of a workforce as a whole, also allowing them to feel appreciated and valued.
To summarise, there are many reasons to ensure that your team are happy at work, all of which will ensure that your business flourishes. The way to maintain a positive workforce does not have to be expensive or time-consuming, it just requires a plan which will enable all members of your team to feel valued and appreciated.
