Today’s business landscape is very different from that of 10 or 20 years ago. In the current hyper-competitive recruitment environment, earning and retaining top talent and dedicated employees is paramount to the success of a brand.
Lower turnover rates tend to correlate with bolstered bottom lines as employees with higher job satisfaction are more engaged and productive than those who feel disenfranchised or dissatisfied. All of this equates to a solid foundation for moving forward into the future.
While many organisations believe that providing bonuses and increasing salaries is the key to keeping talent, money is not always what employees are seeking.
More and more, employees are looking for companies that provide robust cultures, meaningful relationships and work that lends a sense of purpose and fulfillment to an individual’s life.
Therefore, modern business leaders must look outside the realm of finance to find methodologies that will engender employee satisfaction, happiness and productivity.
Instead of just padding paychecks, here are five workplace benefits that have proven to keep employees satisfied with their organisations and productive in their positions.
Many organisations that provide their employees with work-life benefits top the “best companies to work for” charts year after year. According to a study from CEB, the most asked for benefit in this category was a flexible work schedule.
This perk is something that employers should seriously consider given that many professionals seek a greater degree of freedom in their professional lives, particularly as it relates to time. People have an immense amount of obligations and aspirations to meet, and that requires a higher degree of flexibility than ever before.
There is, in fact, a corporate benefit to granting employees the pliancy they desire. Those who reported being happy with their work-life balance worked 21 percent harder and were 33 percent more likely to anticipate remaining with the company.
It’s for this reason that firms such as the eCommerce search marketing agency, Visiture, provide their employees with unlimited paid vacation time and allow them to bring their dogs to work.
Speaking to these harmonising contributions, Katharine Corona, the company’s director of HR, stated:
‘There are a few things that stand out as “‘must haves”’ when it comes to happy and engaged teams. Some of these “‘intangibles,”’ as I like to call them, are flexibility (generous PTO, work from home as needed), a friendly and comfortable office environment, and a culture that promotes innovation and growth.’
Employers that seek to engender satisfaction and engagement craft work environments that help add richness and fulfillment to an individual's overall life experience.
Speaking of ‘a culture that promotes innovation and growth’... —
People are the greatest advantage that a company can possess. Therefore, businesses should invest heavily in the development of their greatest asset.
To craft a robust and spirited culture, businesses should seek to invest in personal and professional development initiatives that enable workers to grow beyond their current limitations. When an individual becomes more capable, competent and educated, they become more likely to contribute to organisational innovations.
Companies can support the development of their employees through the implementation of growth plans and time built into their schedules to pursue such activities. Numerous notable organisations — from Yelp to Amazon — utilise various programs to help empower employees. For instance, when speaking to Pixar’s assorted in-house classes, company President Ed Catmull stated that ‘Pixar University helps reinforce the mindset that we're all learning and it's fun to learn together’.
Let’s be honest. Most anyone who has ever worked a job in a drab office setting, sat in a cubicle for 8–10 hours a day or had to dress in a way that makes them feel unlike their usual selves likely had a miserable experience with that company.
For this reason, creating a robust and accepting company culture is a significant factor in keeping employees satisfied and productive.
Not only does this sort of paradigm foster greater happiness among employees as they feel they’re able to be themselves in the workplace, but it also facilitates the development of more authentic relationships. When employees have deeper and more intimate connections with their coworkers, they are more likely to gain a sense of fulfillment from their jobs. In fact, office friendships boost work satisfaction by 25 percent.
Because of how effective this perk is to cultivate happiness, this concept has spread through some of today’s largest and most well-known organisations. For instance, famed online shoe retailer Zappos takes its unique company culture so seriously that the brand hires and fires based on if a person is a ‘“culture fit,’”, as defined by the brand’s core values.
To help support the company’s culture, 10–20 percent of a department’s time is meant to be spent on team-building activities, ultimately keeping the culture alive while also building in-office friendships.
Similarly, Google promotes a culture that is flexible (employees can work when and how they like) and spirited (nap pods, ball pits, game rooms, etc.). Moreover, collaboration is a crucial component of the company's culture, so Google has instituted a ‘Googler to Googler’ program that enables employees to coach one another. The company also features a variety of personal and professional development programs.
Since Google goes to great lengths to ensure its employees are happy and satisfied, the tech giant recently earned an award for best company culture.
One of the most looked- at perks that keeps talented folks with an organisation is a prime benefits package. By offering top-notch health, dental, vision, disability and other insurances that help keep employees happy and healthy, businesses can attract and retain those who might have a multitude of competing offers.
Providing these kinds of benefits (healthy snacks and a gym membership doesn’t hurt either) shows workers that an organisation is willing to invest in their health, which is extremely important to many people.
It's for this reason that companies like Cisco Systems offer their employees incredible benefits packages that include comprehensive health insurance, on-site healthcare, four weeks PTO for newborn care, 401(k) plus matching, child care and tons of other benefits that help enrich the lives of their employees.
With all of this investment into their workforce, it's evident as to why Cisco was named one of the Best Places to Work in 2018.
Enhancing employee satisfaction and productivity is about so much more than money. Many people want to feel like they are a valued and essential part of a team that cares about them and their well-being. Therefore, by providing employees with the flexibility, growth, intimacy and support they crave, organisations can build a workforce that feels respected and appreciated, which often makes their employees eager to reciprocate.
Ronald Dod is the Chief Marketing Officer and co-founder of Visiture, an end-to-end ecommerce marketing agency focused on helping online merchants acquire more customers through the use of search engines, social media platforms, marketplaces, and online storefronts. His passion is helping leading brands use data to make more effective decisions that drive new traffic and conversions.
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