Employee happiness is important because it translates into better quality work, which, in turn, can equal increased customer retention, satisfaction and revenue. But what makes a happier employee? There seems to be a widespread myth that free lunches and ping pong tables drive employee happiness. Many companies spend a lot of money on frivolous things but still have employee morale and retention issues because those incentives are not meeting employee needs -- the ROI is just not there.
Today’s hiring managers are extremely competitive, and companies need to have clear strategies to attract and retain the best and the brightest. All employee benefits are not equal. You need to align with your employees to understand what is driving them.
Think of it like a car. There are things you do to make sure your car runs smoothly, and there are other things you do just to add to the joy of having a car. An air freshener, for example, may seem exciting and smell good, but it won’t positively impact the performance of the car over time. If your business is that car, you need to figure out what is going to keep it moving, or you may be parked in the middle of the freeway with a flashy but useless car as your competitors wiz by. Three key things will ensure your business, like that car, will continue to keep on running: It needs gas to make it go (or electricity for us eco-friendly drivers), maintenance to avoid breakdowns and a smart driver to keep the car on the road.
Hard Costs – The Fuel For The Vehicle
The most obvious incentive is the investment your company makes with salary, benefits and paid time off. But these also are very expensive. A Glassdoor study showed that employees ranked better health, dental and vision insurance as most desirable, followed by flexible work schedules and more time off. What’s interesting is that things like flexible work schedules cost a company very little but have a big impact, whereas things like free lunches and splashy swag are more expensive and yet rank low on the impact to employee happiness.
At TaskUs, we conducted a similar study to determine which benefits and perks had the highest impact. We found that our employees wanted three things: great facilities, benefits like health plans, 401(k) plans, a maternity leave policy and a connection to leadership. So, that is where we invested our resources to ensure we were retaining and motivating our talented staff.
Top-notch medical benefits and perks are important to employees. But if you face more limited resources, things like a flexible work schedule or investment in leadership training can set you up for success.
Soft Costs – Regular Maintenance To Avoid Breakdowns
Beyond making your business work, it’s important to create a positive work environment, especially considering that employees spend so much of their lives at the office. We created a wellness committee to help with company morale and culture. In our Q3 2015 employee survey, our wellness score was 38. But after we launched the committee, our wellness score jumped up to 74 in Q1 of 2016 and reached 89 in Q3 of 2016. Our wellness committee meets quarterly to plan activities, which have included meditation workshops, chair massages, lunchtime yoga, work-from-home Fridays and team fitness challenges. Find out what matters to your employees. If there's something that is low across the board, like wellness was for us, focus on improving that first.
Another way to help foster a positive work atmosphere is by providing a fun and unique office space that also addresses the needs of employees. All of our offices have creative work environments, such as our newest office in Pampanga, Philippines, which is a kaleidoscope of colors -- or our “coffee shop” motif in Cavite, Philippines, where the lobby is literally a coffee shop that is open to the public. But the goal is not flair without function. Make sure your offices have a mix of other benefits, such as open and bright workspaces, onsite daycare for working families, private gyms, libraries and nap rooms for employees to wait out traffic. Find out what will make your employees happier and more productive. It can be something as simple as changing the layout of the office or revamping the break area.
Creating a positive work environment, both in the physical space and the intangible environment, will help to boost employee morale and happiness.
Management Motivation -- Getting Smarter About Driving
All of this could just be lip service if you aren’t focusing on your management and leadership who will directly impact employee happiness. At TaskUs, managers’ bonuses are paid depending on how happy their employees are. This way, we really make it a priority from the top down.
Invest heavily in leadership training through online learning management software, as well as via real-world application through things like extreme ownership training. We always hear that it starts at the top -- and a lot of things do. Make sure management is motivated and sets the right tone, and watch it trickle down to the rest of the organization. If the top doesn’t buy in, it’ll be hard for employees to as well.
You can do a lot with more limited resources. The money spent on employees is an investment in the future of the company -- it's crucial for growth and the long-term success of the business.
