Common Mistake in Employee Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction is crucial. The number one reason people quit their jobs is not salary or the work itself, but feeling unappreciated. This insight from a 2004 Labor Department study highlights the significance of prioritizing employee satisfaction, as turnover incurs both financial costs and frustration.

It’s not a coincidence that most of the companies you read about in “best places to work” articles are also massively successful. There is a straight line between employee satisfaction and company profits, and there is plenty of research to back it up.

When your employees are happy, when they feel appreciated and they are engaged in their work, your customers benefit. You retain the best talent, and that talent provides your customers with better products, services and customer care.

Gather The Right Feedback

Where companies often go wrong is assuming they know, without asking, what would make employees feel most rewarded. What makes one employee happy may not do a thing for the next.

It may sound like this solution is too simple to be effective, but gathering feedback is crucial for two reasons.

You learn the truth about what your employees really want – which may actually surprise you.
You make the employees feel heard.

When you understand what your employees value, you can motivate them with the right incentives and you can create truly effective employee satisfaction programs.

The second point, making employees feel heard, is often overlooked by larger companies. After all, the focus is usually on listening to your customers, right? Listening to employees shows that you care about them, and makes them feel more appreciated.

Survey More Often and at Real Moments of Truth

Another mistake we often see companies making is that they only survey their employees once a year, most commonly during the review cycle. While this gives you a macro view of employee satisfaction and opinion, it is narrow and doesn’t offer the holistic view you really need in order to make lasting change. Read more about how to give feedback.

Gathering employee feedback throughout the year, at strategic intervals, gives you more accurate information to work with – information that is untainted by the stress and presumption of the yearly review cycle.

Your employees are the direct line between your company and your customers.

Get their feedback about what really makes them happy, and do it often.

Your bottom line will reap the benefits.