With recent studies revealing that more than half of UK employees are unhappy at work, and productivity at its lowest since the 18th Century—it’s time to start thinking about how you keep your employees happy in the workplace. Your staff are your most important resource, so it’s vital that they’re happy! At our top London recruitment agency, we love to see happy workers, so today we’ll show you how to create a happy workplace for your employees.
Speak to staff
The first thing to do is speak to your staff and discover the actual state of affairs. Find out how happy they are, and get feedback on what they feel could be improved and what they perceive the company culture is. This might mean conducting an employee survey, asking managers to sit down with their staff for an honest discussion, and having a feedback/suggestions box. It shouldn’t just be a one-off event though, but a regular thing.
Improve the company culture
With a third of UK employees reporting they’ve quit a job due to company culture—this is a really big area of employee unhappiness—one that reportedly costs the UK economy £23.6 billion! Now you know what employees think of the company culture, think about what culture you want and how you can make it happen.
This may mean allowing more creativity and accountability, empowering staff to make decisions, promoting openness and transparency, removing silos, and encouraging cross-team working. It also means ensuring all staff understand the company’s values and seeing the purpose of their role—from the receptionist to the senior management team.
Deal with problems
One of the big issues affecting UK workers is workplace problems such as bullying, harassment, and work-related stress. As an employer, you need to show staff that these problems won’t be ignored, and that bullying and harassment will not be tolerated. Encourage staff to report any issues to their manager, and have a process in place to really deal with these situations.
Help managers
With over a third of employees reporting their unhappiness as being caused by their manager, employers need to do more to help their managers succeed. You should be regularly evaluating and training your managers. Give them the support they need to look after your workforce. Ensure they understand and promote the company’s values, listen to staff, deal with issues, and are empowered to make decisions.
Provide training and development
One way to keep employees happy is offering training and professional development at all levels. Have career pathways in place for staff who want to move up the organisation. Provide opportunities for staff to take on extra responsibilities or temporary promotions, and develop new skills in their current role. Ensure your managers are regularly meeting their staff to assess their development, not just a once-a-year appraisal.
Offer benefits
To show you value your staff, consider offering perks such as complimentary tea and coffee, free theatre tickets, or matching employees’ contributions to their pension scheme. You can also offer healthy living benefits, such as free gym memberships, complimentary fresh fruit, or cycle-to-work schemes. Don’t forget to reward your high performers by offering incentives such as a free holiday or bonus.
Promote flexible working
Studies have shown that the UK is falling behind in offering flexible working and work-from-home options. To keep your employees happy, consider offering better flexible working options, improved leave for parents and carers, and work-from-home possibilities. Staff appreciate an employer who is flexible and enables them to create a better work-life balance.
Recruit the right staff
To keep your employees happy, you also need to ensure that the new staff you hire believe in the company’s values and are right for the role. We can help with this! If you’re looking for the best candidates to fill your temporary or permanent PA jobs, office support roles, secretarial jobs, or other vacancies in the capital, get in touch with our team of recruitment experts today.
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