Over the years, multiple studies have shown that employee happiness is a crucial factor in developing a successful business. Employees who are happier tend to be more productive and also stay with the company long term.
Unfortunately, like all forms of feedback, pinning down employee happiness depends on asking them the right questions. Many workers may be uncomfortable sharing their real opinions on the business, for fear of reprisal or displeasing other employees. Thus, companies need to be thoughtful about sourcing this feedback from their employees.
These six professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights into how businesses should gauge employee happiness to determine whether any changes are needed to promote employees’ physical and mental well-being.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Ask And Listen
To learn how your employees really feel in the workplace, talk to them about their dreams and goals, and ask them how they are feeling on their path to achieving those goals and how they can be better supported. I find that having solo conversations often leads to a better understanding of where your employees are and how they are feeling. – Rachel Beider, PRESS Modern Massage
2. Determine If They’re Loyal
Loyalty is one of the best ways to know if your employees are happy without really asking. Employees stay for a lot of reasons (most of the time good ones) and just like loyalty for a brand, an employee won’t stay if they’re not happy or satisfied with the company they work for. Along with that, a good performance also reflects how happy they are in keeping their job with you. Loyalty and consistent excellence define what a satisfied employee means. – Daisy Jing, Banish
3. Organize Pulse Surveys
Job satisfaction is defined as an employee’s level of contentment with their job based on its functions, their overall compensation, company policies, culture and trust in management. We’ve found the most effective way to gauge employee satisfaction is through regular and consistent surveys. Things are quickly evolving with COVID-19, so we are pulsing our team with surveys every two weeks with the same 10 statements for the remainder of Q2. The survey includes statements like, “I have trust in the leaders at BAM” or “I am able to arrange time out from work when I need to” and “I see myself at BAM in 12 months’ time.” With biweekly pulse surveys, we will have consistent data from Q2 to gauge and monitor the level of satisfaction our team feels with BAM during a unique and complex time. – Beck Bamberger, BAM Communications
4. Hold One-On-One Meetings
Since we’re a small team (seven people), I like to hold quarterly one-to-one meetings with my staff to determine their satisfaction levels. If there’s an issue with a client or another team member, I know that my team won’t hold back in providing insight as we’ve cultivated a culture and environment of trust. – Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
5. Make Sure You Can Keep People On
There are many ways to gauge satisfaction, but the true tell for me is if you are able to keep the people you want to keep. People might complain from time to time, but if they stay, then ultimately they prefer where they are to whatever else might be out there, so that’s a pretty strong indicator. – Ashley Merrill, Lunya
6. Assess Their Sense Of Initiative
The moment when your employees start taking initiative and acting like entrepreneurs, they’re more likely to be happy and satisfied with their work life. There are many ways to measure that, such as if they are working beyond normal hours, developing unique customer relationships, having a sense of belonging and always doing more. It’s also important to identify those traits and compensate for them regularly. – Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz