It is hard to arrive at a precise definition of employee satisfaction beyond the most intuitive one – how happy and contented employees are with their peers, the workplace, and their job responsibilities. It is more of a qualitative measure than a precise quantitative one. However, there is no ignoring it, and organizations should do everything they can to improve employee satisfaction because, let’s face it, happy employees are more productive and more likely to stay with the organization whereas dissatisfied employees are likely to move on.
Organizations should have a policy in place to measure employee satisfaction and come up with a quantitative measure like employee satisfaction index (ESI) that can tell them where they stand and where they need to go. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just compensation and benefits will lead to improved enhanced satisfaction; a number of other factors also determine how content the employees are.
Here are some tips on improving employee satisfaction:
Goalsetting, not micro management: Micro management is one of the biggest factors that cause employee dissatisfaction. Organizations should seek to set specific, measurable goals and give employees the flexibility and resources to achieve them instead of wasting time micro managing their daily responsibilities.
Flexible schedules: Advancements in technology and internet have revolutionized the way we work. Today, employees are not required to sit at their workplaces to perform at their peak strengths and monitoring them is not difficult. By being flexible in work schedules and by allowing remote working, organizations can alleviate some of the hassles employees face in coming to work every day and allow them to work from places where they are comfortable.
Listen and recognize: Instead of telling the employee all the time, it is a good idea to listen to them once in a while. Make it a policy to periodically understand employee views and opinions on how to improve the workplace and the way they function. Have a big heart to accept any mistakes and encourage employees to contribute more and more.
Also recognize employees’ contributions and reward them suitably. Sometimes, a small token of appreciation will be more valuable than the huge amount they draw in compensation.
