Being appreciated, feeling a sense of belonging, getting compensated, experiencing all the progress of a business from the beginning to the end and seeing it succeed in the end. These are probably some feelings that everyone wants to experience not only in their professional lives but in every single part of their lives.
"The primary rule for succeeding is to bring happy people together."
Institutions that ensure the happiness of their employees can easily achieve customer satisfaction. But what exactly do we need to do to ensure their happiness?
Before we start talking about this issue in more detail, we can look more closely at the congratulatory message feature designed by Pisano application to help improving employee motivation. This feature simply takes users' positive reaction to the feedback process and sends this reaction to the call center employee. The intended purpose of this feature is to increase the motivation of call center employees by notifying them that they have completed the process successfully. The need for respect and appreciation, ranked fourth in the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, is one of the most important human needs following the physiological and safety needs.
Designed to meet the desire for respect and appreciation, which is one of the most basic feelings of human nature, this feature has proven its effectiveness in the studies conducted so far. Now let's take a closer look at what steps institutions should take to increase the happiness of their employees.
Persuading The Employees That They Are In The Right Place
Institutions should convince their employees that they can move forward within the company and improve themselves. Motivating an employee who does not believe that they can work in that institution for a long term and it is quite difficult to persuade them on a common goal. Employees are more successful in institutions where they believe that a successful career path is offered to them and they show dedication to provide better service to their customers in such an environment.
Presenting Realistic Goals for Employees
One of the moves that an institution must make in order to achieve success is to set a common goal and to persuade all stakeholders of the institution that they can achieve this goal. It is of vital importance that the goal to be determined should be realistic enough to convince all the stakeholders of the institution. It creates a very dangerous situation for an institution when employees consider their determined goals as unrealistic.
At this point, the rewarding system offered by Hilcorp Energy to its employees, which we mentioned in our article "What do Customers Expect from Brands?", is a noteworthy example. Hilcorp Energy announced in 2010 that its employees will be rewarded a $100,000 reward if the company doubles its production and amount of reserves by 2015. Realizing a part of their goals before the expected date, the company rewarded its 400 employees with $50,000 and cars. We can consider the fact that the employees finding the presented goal as realistic and the reward as an incentive are the two most important factors that transformed this goal into reality.
Employees Must Feel Supported by Their Institutions
The relationship between administrative staff and employees is of utmost importance in a company. Employees want to feel that they are important to their managers and that their managers support them and help them grow with all their experiences. Managers who create this type of a healthy and secure environment for their employees can train the managers of future and keep the future of their institutions safe. How can a manager show their support for their employee? Here are some tips:
- Support your employees not only in issues regarding the business, but also personally. If you are able to help an employee who has to move out of their home or is looking for a good doctor because of health problems, you should definitely use this opportunity.
- Set up a friendship with healthy boundaries, rather than behaving in a manner that will constantly remind your employees that you are their manager. The friendship established within the frame of respect allows your employees to see you as a teammate, and this also reflects on their performance in a positive sense.
- Respect the personal lives of your employees. This makes them understand that you see them as individuals, not just employees.
- Always be honest and transparent towards your employees. If an employee asks you to evaluate their performance, always tell them the truth.
- No matter how busy you are, always make time for your employees. Even a lunch or coffee break you will share during the day can help you in that sense.
Creating a Fun Work Environment
We're afraid we don't mean night-long parties or game console tournaments when we mention a fun work environment. Even institutions operating under the heaviest conditions can create a working environment where their employees will enjoy being part of. At this point, the physical conditions of the working environment should be improved first.
Light, spacious and roomy environments where employees can easily access open air are certainly the working areas of choice for everyone. Open office environments where employees can easily see each other and communicate with each other are of great importance in order to strengthen communication within the institution. A working environment that is partitioned into cubicles may cause some communication disruptions.
Although plaza-style isolated work environments have a positive impact on employees' focus on their work, it can also lead to concentration loss if employees stay in an isolated environment for a long period of time. According to a research, employees working in a spacious office with openable windows feel less claustrophobic compared to those working in a fluorescent-lit windowless environment. In addition to all these wide-ranging factors, sometimes hanging a painting at the entrance of the office, or even a small flower pot placed on a table can change how the working environment feels.
A Fair Rewarding System
We can consider this step as part of a fun work environment that we mentioned in the step above. In a work environment where it is believed that a good employee will achieve what they deserve, this can be a driving force for other employees to perform better. We can consider applications like employee-of-the-month implemented in most institutions and businesses within the rewarding system step. Although the employee-of-the-month system seems to have lost its reputation due to some misapplications, researches indicate the contrary. The article "Why You May Need An 'Employee Of The Month'" by Forbes writer Rodd Wagner appears as one of the impressive researches on this subject.
In a study conducted in the USA, employees are asked "What was the most important reward you have received in your career so far?" and "Why was this reward unforgettable for you?" Here are some answers to these two questions:
- Employee-of-the-month reward. Because I was rewarded and I had the chance to set my own work schedule for that month.
- Employee-of-the-month reward. I gained the appreciation of my colleagues and it made me very happy.
- Employee-of-the-month reward. I was delighted to see that my efforts were acknowledged by my colleagues and managers.
- Employee-of-the-month reward. Because the dedication I showed during that month was rewarded.
- Employee-of-the-month reward. I enjoyed being rewarded and the popularity it brought me.
The fact that employees answered the question "What was the most important reward you have received in your career so far?" with "Employee-of-the-month reward." could be surprising for some of us. But the main underlying reason for this answer is the desire to be approved and appreciated by all people and among employees. If implemented properly, rewarding systems like employee-of-the-month become very effective methods to provide motivation for employees.
We tried to briefly summarize what steps institutions should take to ensure the happiness of its employees. The number of institutions who work on this matter increases day by day, as they realize that happiness of the employees is the basis for customer satisfaction. Institutions that prioritize happiness of their employees gain reputation and are increasingly preferred to work with. The secret to providing a better customer experience lies within happy employees. Get happier, motivated employees and take your institution forward confidently!
