A happy employee is a productive one. Many HR personnel will attest to the fact that employee satisfaction is the key to keeping employees well motivated. While salary and benefits play an important role in keeping employees motivated, these are not the only reasons that workers stay on their jobs.

In a study conducted by the American Psychological Association, among the top reasons why employees stay at their current workplace are:

1.Satisfaction at the work they perform;

2.Their job fits perfectly well with other aspects of their lives;

3.Company Benefits

4.Salary

5.Connection to the company

6.Co-employees

7.Opportunity to make a difference

8.Direct supervisor/manager

In the eight reasons provided, only two are related to salary and benefits. While these aspects of employment cannot be provided on a regular basis, there are other work-related reasons that can be developed.

As such, employees can focus on three key areas that will keep their people happy, namely:

•Work environment

•Rewards and Recognition

•Inter-office relationship

Conducive and Friendly Work Environment

A work environment is like a home—it fosters creativity, productivity, and sense of belongingness. It is very important, therefore, that employees look forward to reporting daily by:

•Personalized work space and encouraging work ambience

Providing desks or work tables allows employees to perform their tasks individually. It also gives them their own personal space within the office. Also ensure that the whole office is always clean and free of clutter. Assign a space for storage and filing so that their work desks are not full of paper and other office stuff.

Make the office feel comfortable with cooling, heating, and lighting. Not all offices have the benefit of windows, but if you have one make full use of it by allowing natural light to come in. Allot an area within the office where employees can sit around and work to break the monotony of being at their desk.

•Provide for what they need to work efficiently

Make sure that all office equipment are working properly. There’s nothing more frustrating to an employee than not being able to use a photocopier when he is expected to produce several copies of a report.

Always maintain a stock of office supplies that employees need to work efficiently. Making materials available when needed lessens the employees’ frustration when they have things that need to be done.

•Delegate tasks

Employees appreciate being given tasks in the office no matter how small. Keeping an inventory of office supplies, for example, is a trivial task, but the one assigned to it will feel that his or her role is very important in the overall productivity of the workplace.

•Make use of walls

Posting on walls has taken a different meaning now with the popularity of social media. You can use the same idea within the office. Assign a wall where employees can share their photos, thoughts, and writings.

•Break some office routine every now and then

If your employees have office uniform, you can allot a day in the month when they can come in casual working clothes. You may also try to adjust working hours when suitable. Ordinary office meetings can sometimes be held in the nearest coffee shop. Infusing some variety in the normal office routines will help keep the working environment dynamic.

Rewards and Recognition

All of us have this deep desire to be recognized. This is especially important in the work environment. Recognizing an achievement doesn’t always have to be about plaques, certificates, and trophies. There are other forms of recognition that are equally appreciated:

•Personalized recognition

Dropping by the work station of an employee and thanking him or her for a job well done will make an employee feel appreciated. You can also make it a point to spend five to ten minutes to be with individual employees just to talk about anything. Developing an open line of communication will help make conversations a lot easier especially when it comes to company concerns.

•Acknowledging the role they played

When discussing company achievements, mention the name of the people and the work they did in achieving the goal set. By naming those who are responsible for the success, you make the achievement more personal and other employees will be challenged to perform their best to contribute to the overall goal of the company.

•Mentoring

Requesting employees to become mentors of colleagues or new hires acknowledges their proficiency. You may also ask them to mentor supervisors and managers about the task they perform especially when they are really good at it. Let’s face the reality that not all people assigned in supervisory position are knowledgeable of all aspects of the enterprise. Allowing rank-and-file employees to share their thoughts will empower them.

•Fire

If absolutely needed to maintain a harmonious work environment, do not be afraid to fire people. This may be a bit harsh, but you always have to make sure that your productive employees do not develop resentment towards colleagues that drag them down. Removing people who do not contribute to the overall goal of the company is, in a way, giving recognition to those who are productive.

Inter-office relationship

Although employees will come to work thinking that they have individual tasks to perform, they are still bound to interact with their colleagues. Fostering a healthy inter-personal relationship encourages each individual to be more open to others. Here are some suggested activities:

•Potluck lunch

Sharing is giving and when everyone is sharing something to everyone, you can build a strong relationship among your employees.

•Be sensitive of your employees’ concerns

Every now and then, there are events outside the office that affects almost all your employees. At times, these events become disruptive in the daily work routine because they sneak behind your back to talk about it. Rather than reprimanding them for not working, gather everyone around and talk about the concern openly.

•Out-of-office activities

It is good for the morale of everyone to be together and not think of work. A weekend barbeque, an outreach program, or a game of baseball can do the trick.

These are just some examples of how you can make employees stick to their jobs and perform to the best of their abilities. Giving salary increase and other monetary benefits do notcome often; but acting on things that affect their daily performance will have a significant impact in their motivation.

(Article Written by Rico Enginco)