4Cs Blog: Happy Employees = Happy Customers

With the holiday season approaching, it is not uncommon to find yourself facing more disengaged employees than usual. The holidays are a very stressful time for many people. Buying gifts, cooking large meals – these things take lots of extra money. As an employee’s stress level rises, he is more likely to pull away from his workplace environment. He has worries on his mind, so he disengages himself from his job and starts performing tasks practically on autopilot.

As an employer, you can simply wait for the holidays to pass and things to get back to normal. On the other hand, you can take a proactive approach and try to find out what might make your employees feel more engaged with their jobs. Getting to the root of the problem does not have to be difficult. You can have your employees submit a satisfaction survey. These surveys will tell you how your workers are feeling, which areas of their jobs are bringing them stress, and which areas may need some change. Your workers are already feeling stress because of the impending holidays.

You can take charge of the situation and find ways to relieve some of that stress. Perhaps your workers are worried about finances – maybe the survey reveals that one of their concerns is the lack of a holiday bonus. If it is financially feasible, you can crunch the numbers to provide them with a holiday bonus – even if it is not in the form of cash, but food. Satisfaction surveys will help you uncover potential stressors and give you the chance to relieve them – the result: happier, more engaged workers. Be a smart employer and take action when it comes to keeping your employees’ stress levels down through the madness of the holidays.    

As you weigh the pros and cons of giving an employee morale survey to your workers, it is important to understand the importance of these surveys. Morale surveys are used to determine the satisfaction of your workers. They gauge the morale of your workers.

If they are happy with their jobs, the surveys will show it. If they are unhappy with their jobs, the surveys will show that, too. As the boss, it is up to you to use the information you glean from the surveys to make changes to keep your workers happy. Remember, one very important thing when deciding whether to use a survey – happy workers are productive workers. It is a simple idea, but one that always holds true.

When employees are happy with their jobs and satisfied with all aspects of it, their productivity improves. They care about their jobs, and they want to do whatever they can to help the company continue to succeed. When employees are unhappy with their jobs, their productivity diminishes. They could not care less about the company and its success, because as soon as something better comes along, they will leave.

If you truly want your business to succeed, you need to offer surveys to your employees and utilize the results. Let it be known that the opinions of your workers count; that you value their feelings and their input. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved. You get increased productivity, and your workers get a working environment that makes them happy.

If you are a new business owner, you may not realize the importance of keeping your employees satisfied. You may be under the impression that, given the uncertain economic times, any employee will be happy just to have a job in the first place.

Yes, employees will be happy to have a job – but that does not mean that they will be happy with their job. It is quite common for workers to be unhappy with their jobs. They stay, not out of loyalty, but out of a need for a paycheck. When the chance for something even slightly better comes along, they take it, leaving you in a lurch. That is why you must make sure that you regularly evaluate the happiness and satisfaction of your employees. You can do this through a number of methods. You can talk to your workers at monthly meetings, but you may not get honest answers. Your workers may fear losing their jobs if they complain to you.

You can put out a suggestion box for workers to leave their suggestions and comments about the workplace. Again, you may not get honest answers, because they may fear that someone will recognize their handwriting or see them putting a suggestion in the box.

When you start a new business, the last thing you worry about right off the bat is employee satisfaction. You are doing the best you can; you are working hard to get your business off the ground and make it a success. However, employee satisfaction is not an area that you can afford to ignore for very long. After a few months of operating your business, you need to use an employee satisfaction survey to gauge the happiness of your employees.

The survey will allow you a look into the minds of your workers. Through the survey, they can reveal any areas in which they are not completely satisfied. They can also reveal areas in which they are completely happy. Knowing which areas need improvement and which areas are perfectly fine will allow you to make necessary changes. Let’s face it – any new business is going to have to be flexible, especially during the first year or two of operating.

Being flexible will ensure that your business evolves into a successful place to work – successful for you and successful for your employees. Here at Insightlink Communications, we have been creating and administering surveys for employers for many years, and we have a very successful track record to prove that our surveys are beneficial.

How to Engage Your Employees If you have recently had your employees submit surveys about how they feel about their jobs, you may have found out that you have disengaged employees on your hands. When your employees are not engaged in their jobs, it can have serious effects on your business. Your employees do not care as much about their jobs or your business. They are simply going through the necessary motions to collect a paycheck.

If something better comes along, they will leave your business without thinking twice. So, how do you get your employees to be engaged in your business? Here are some tips to help you: Do something with those survey answers. Instead of just filing them away, pay attention to the answers. Find out which areas need improvement – then make those improvements. Keep the lines of communication open with your workers. If they feel like they have nowhere to turn with their grievances, they will not be engaged.

They need to know that they can come to their supervisor or directly to you with any issues they have – and that you will take appropriate action. Keep a suggestion box handy. This allows your employees an anonymous way to communicate their wants and needs. Pay attention to the suggestions you get and make changes when it is feasible.   Keep your employees updated on any and all changes being made.

They need to feel like they are a part of the team, a part of the business. Communication is always the key to keeping your employees engaged.  

Using Your Employee Survey Effectively

After hearing, over and over again through the grapevine, that your workers were not happy, you decided to take action. Instead of calling a meeting and insisting they reveal their grievances, right then and there, you decided to take a gentler, less invasive approach. You decide to have them complete an employee satisfaction survey. You've made a good choice.

The surveys are in and you have your results staring you in the face. Now, what do you do with those findings? Do you file them away OR do you start making changes within your organization?

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