While the pandemic may have motivated more workers to seek new jobs, unhappy hires are nothing new. For decades, Gallup has been conducting an ongoing “State of the American Workplace” study. Over the years, they’ve interviewed over 25 million employees, and the results are conclusive: people leave bosses, not companies. In other words, if a manager doesn’t know how to keep their employees happy, staff will quit. Happily, supervisors can use a few tried and true strategies to keep staff happy while still reaching all their professional goals.
One: Share Your Intent to Create a Happy Workplace
This is an easy first step, but it comes with real consequences. When you tell team members that you want a happy workplace, it instantly becomes a goal. Your staff may make proactive suggestions on ways to improve morale. Or they may complain about demoralizing elements. Employee input is essential and should be encouraged (even if you can’t fulfill every request.) Conversely, anything you do to demotivate hires will make them doubly resentful. So, make sure you’re 100% sincere and committed when you share your intent to make your business a happy workplace, or it will backfire.
Two: Include the Purpose Behind Requests
The “just do it” approach does not make workers happy. Instead, help your employees feel valued by sharing the corporate purpose behind initiatives. Of course, staff members need direction on personal duties and responsibilities, but it helps them feel vested if you share the rationale behind those tasks.
By sharing the bigger picture when explaining duties or new procedures, a person no longer feels they are just a “do-er.” For example, instead of sending a memo about new requirements, explain that additional steps are being implemented to protect against potential lawsuits. In another instance, requiring cleared hallways is not as effective as telling your team to keep hallways clear to make it safer for people with disabilities to move through.
Three: Praise Publicly, Correct Privately
When an employee does their job well, praise them. Even if, especially if, they always do it well. Don’t stop, even if you’re constantly saying, “great job” or always giving high fives. Feeling appreciated and noticed is a key element of a happy workplace.
When things go wrong, discuss it in private. Be kind. Be empathetic. And provide steps or suggestions to correct the behavior.
Four: Encourage Social Behavior
Gallup research has repeatedly reported that having a best friend at work is a strong motivation for staying at a job. While many managers dislike office chatter, experts agree that friendships improve the quality of work and the likelihood of staying on even when other factors are not ideal. Having good friends at work increases feelings of trust and inclusion. In addition, friendship makes work more emotionally satisfying.
That doesn’t mean that the manager has to become a best friend. However, encouraging social behavior, including traditional “timewasters” such as chatting in the breakroom, birthday celebrations, and going out to lunch with coworkers, is actually a sound investment in employee satisfaction
Five: Be Transparent
Some managers believe that restricting access to corporate vision, career paths, or workplace challenges is a professional expectation. However, when managers are open about strategy, rationales, corporate initiatives, and even personal failings, they increase trust, encourage team-building, and build company loyalty.
The more company information supervisors share with their teams, the more involved and engaged their reports become. So instead of gatekeeping, share as much as possible. While it’s not smart to share information marked “confidential,” when possible, share data, P&L statements, business reports, marketing materials, and other business information with your entire team.
Six: Eliminate “Gotcha” Management
A friend once told me about the reaction she received to a 21-page report. It was a significant document, full of research, charts, and hard-to-find insights that represented about two weeks of work. When she submitted the report, the supervisor started reading, eventually found two minor typos, and then rejected the report angrily. That friend quit three weeks later.
That’s what happens when supervisors insist on total perfection. They actively search for any excuse to call out missteps. But the truth is that no matter who you are or how well you do your job, mistakes are inevitable. And that means any team will make errors. Eagerly looking for any issue, big or small, and unkindly reprimanding your staff is a foolproof way to lose employees.
So how do you eliminate a “gotcha” environment safely? When the stakes are high, assume some mistakes will happen and proactively put proofreaders, fact-checkers, reviews, or inspections in place. When the stakes are low, gently point out issues without reprimand. Finally, when the error is of no consequence (a small typo in a text about cake in the breakroom), ignore it.
And remember that using humor to point out mistakes does not soften the blow. Always position corrections as evaluation tools designed to promote professional growth.
Seven: Promote From Within
At CIS, we have always believed in promoting from within. We are committed to training our teams, and when we see talent, we try to cultivate it. As a result, we rarely hire outsiders for management positions. This approach has all kinds of benefits.
Many of our employees stay with us for years, even decades. They know that we are always looking to promote staff. An entry-level hire can be promoted repeatedly, eventually landing in a top-level position, and examples of this are all around them.
Employees who can see a future at your company are more likely to stay. The promise of future rewards motivates them to excel at their current job and to be vocal about their skills, ambitions, and preferences.
Skilled Managers Result in Lower Turnover Rates
If your company is having issues with high turnover rates, remember that improving supervision skills is one of the most effective ways to increase employee satisfaction. By creating a more employee-friendly management style, you will also increase productivity, amplify engagement, and improve retention rates.