Beyond Monetary Compensation, What Do Employees Really Crave?
All successful organizations rely on the performance of their employees. Whether you are a manufacturer, service business or not-for-profit, it’s your employees who make the difference in achieving organizational success. However, many companies fail to keep their employees engaged in their jobs, leading to low productivity and increased turnover.
Is it really that important to have engaged employees? In short, yes. As IRIS reports, the Workplace Research Foundation found that employees who are highly engaged are 38 percent more likely to have above-average productivity.
But according to research by Gallup, 70 percent of U.S. workers are not engaged at work. What can leadership do to turn these numbers around? Money can be a key factor in recruiting talent, but you can’t buy engagement on the job. So how do you get your employees excited about work?
Some might say health care, work-life balance or job security are top factors, but those are just table stakes. To really have an engaged workforce and get employees excited about where they work, you need to consider these three key factors: recognition, a clear path for advancement and confidence in your company, leadership, and culture.
Recognition
Recognition doesn’t mean gifting employees a watch after 20 years of service; it means publicly acknowledging employee contributions on a regular basis. Most managers want to recognize their employees, but few have a formalized process reminding them when, for what, and how they will recognize the members of their team. The result is that new priorities arise and people get busy, and so opportunities for publicly acknowledging team members’ successes are few and far between.
It’s critical to create and follow processes that measure team members’ progress and signal managers when recognition is due. Seventy-two percent of respondents of this Harvard Business Review study rank recognition given for high performers as having a significant impact on employee engagement. Not building frequent recognition into your management process is a big mistake, but it’s one that can be easily avoided.
Managers can keep journals or even a spreadsheet of team member activities and dates of recognition. Without tracking these events you’ll never know if your team members’ contributions are going unrecognized. Always keep the focus on real, recognition-worthy achievements; don’t invent something to recognize your team for or provide recognition where it’s not deserved.
A Clear Path for Advancement
Having a plan for long-term success at a company is a critical factor for successful employees. They need to know that there is room for them to grow and advance. Meeting with employees, discussing their goals and determining their path is a crucial job for any manager. Helping them visualize the path to achieving their career goals in this way gives employees the motivation to excel in their current role.
Tweet ThisConfidence in the Company, Leadership, and Culture
In order to feel great about what they do, employees need to feel like it’s going to make a difference. Organization leaders need to communicate how the company is going to be successful, and how the employees contribute to that success. Seventy percent of employees who lack confidence in leadership aren’t engaged, according to Dale Carnegie Training. Employees must have confidence in the leadership and the success of the company in order to believe their work will make a positive impact.
Linking your corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts to company success metrics is another way you can build employee confidence and engagement. The Dale Carnegie Training study showed that 54 percent of employees who were proud of contributions their companies made to society were engaged. So be sure to share and celebrate your CSR involvement with your employees. Feeling confident and proud of the company they work for is a reward employees crave, but they may not share this point on feedback reports or in one-on-ones.
Do employees crave a high salary? For sure they do, but to really have an engaged, high-performing workforce you need more than just good pay. Regularly recognizing your employees’ successes, showing them a clear path for growth and giving them the confidence to feel great about the company they work for are things that all employees crave. Be sure to include these points in your HR planning, even when employees may not verbalize these needs out loud.
Did I miss something in this post? Do you agree? I value your feedback and would love to hear from you in the comments below.
