What do you do to keep your employees happy to come to work each day?

[tranguyen]

Hey everyone, I'm back with another question on my mind✨!

Hiring has been a hot topic lately as the landscape keeps changing. But once you've hired great members for your team, it's important to retain them.

As such, we'd love to know:

What do you do to keep your employees happy to come to work each day?

Can't wait to read all your tips and best practices! 

[Purple_HS]

Great topic/question, @tranguyen

Here are a few of our thoughts:

• While there's been a lot of talk in past years about random perks, we believe compensation is foremost in most employees' minds. So, from our perspective, comprehensive, competitive compensation is one important factor.
• People are increasingly more in touch with the need for work-life balance and have diverse needs. So, flexibility goes a long way to help attract different types of valuable employees.
• Trust. Don't overly micromanage. Hire well so you can delegate and give your employees a chance to be of great value. In our observation, the ones worth keeping are most ROI positive when given room to shine.
• Resources. Don't leave them without resources. Ensure they have access to the tools, management help, etc, that they need!
• Respect.  This one is obvious. Good communication, trust, etc, goes a long way. Business is, after all, ultimately, just people. 
• Investment in them! You get the most value when your staff is invested in. Paying for additional training, helping them to prepare to move to other roles, etc can make your staff super happy, and the ROI can be awesome!

What are some of your tips, @tranguyen? I'm sure you have some great ones!

[Jayslugs]

I'm just starting so it's just me but I would find out what motivates them by being a boss and a friend and also being there for them if and when I can

[Stacelyn24]

First and foremost our team is paid well...with the added touch to increase their pay by earning commission in the retail they sale.  We also have team meetings where everyone leaves input and each team member is designated to lead the meeting once a quarter.  We also host team outings, and our technicians have the possibilities of earning paid education and classes.  We embody the saying that we have a "faceless team" and that everyone upholds the brand at the highest standards...helps keep individual egos in check 🙂

[Purple_HS]

So agree with the well-paid part! 

What's your team size? And, how have you managed to keep those high standards as you've grown?

[JNB]

Allow everyone to be themselves professionally. I learn that the best environment for me to be able to function properly and still be myself is to maintain a space where employees complete daily tasks because he or she knows the importance of doing so

 I also believe in servant leadership....kindness can be implimented with being the boss.

[Organiciris]

I tried everything I could to keep them happy, perks, high pay, company vehicles, etc.  when I needed them to step up and try to work a little harder with more attention to detail they did not, they stepped back.  Needless to say, I am working solo now.  I have raised my prices, have less overhead( payroll/workers comp/etc.) and  my clients are happier than they ever been. Some have come back after years of not calling.  And I am only responsible for my clients and my family now.  Basically what I am trying to say, in some cases and some industries ( mine is landscape design/ installation/ maintenance) , no matter what you try, some employees refuse to be happy with their job and always think they need more to give more.  But I am old school, and if you want more, you got to give more.  They are now working for lower pay, less perks and their new boss is constantly hearing how they miss my company. Too little, too late. So don't break the bank for employees.  If they are not doing what is asked or needed, cut the line and let them go.  

[PartyManiaMD]

Food for thought. If your ex employees left for lower pay and less perks it might be time to ask yourself WHY they left. There is more to working for someone than compensation but also compensation is a huge motivator.

You can only push people so far before they step back for their health and you can only grow a company so far on your own.

Best of luck.

[Bronze_Palms]

There are 2 things I do for employees to keep them happy. 

I believe employees thrive on structure. I do not think they are responsible for reading my mind. I have a how-to sheet for everything in the salon. I do not assume any task is intuitive or known already. Assuming employees already know how and what to do is a recipe for disaster. Much easier to create these simple, 4th grade level "how to" documents and dish out "thank you"s than it is to consistently correct and make employees feel foolish for not knowing.

As a leader, I am not emotional. I remember going into work with anxiety thinking "what is my manager going to be like today". That is not a fun or enjoyable work environment. Also, my staff are not my friends or my family; I do not tell them about my life as if they are. It is not their business and it creates an odd dynamic. I am not saying work has to be all business; my staff and I laugh and joke and confide in each other, but we don't trauma bond or gossip. I leave my personal negativity at the door because my staff is responsible for the client experience, not my feelings.

Those two have really changed my business and, I believe, is why I have such a great retention rate at work.

[pigsnoseinn]

We offer good competitive pay and a 25% staff discount on food & drink. 

[Phoneix01]

I'm probably the least experienced business owner here. Maybe that also means I've spent the most time recently on the "Streets" so to speak. There were some replies/aspects of some replies here that match what I believe to be the answer. Structure seems to be a good one, seeing as how 2 or 3 of what I understand to be "biggest" or "most common" complaints of employees about their jobs. You guys have looked at the studies on pay and motivation, right? The studies show that, no contest, people would work harder and to a higher standard based more on appreciation and feeling valuable than they did for a pay raise. I don't remember the numbers, but I want to say it was around a 20% increase in productivity vs. a very insignificant productivity increase from the raise alone. Side note that I just remembered, and it also supports structure as part of the solution. Another study on productivity was related to breaks. One phase of the study (the final one if I recall correctly) the assembly line worker had a supervisor next to him with a stopwatch dictating his every move. Sounds like it sucks until you learn that he only had to work 15 min per hour and was still more productive than the workers who took traditional breaks the way we do currently. I refer to productivity because I believe that productivity is the inevitable byproduct of a proper work culture where everyone appreciates and is appreciated. Happy employees + Common goal = Productivity.

[Twpchair]

I do every Friday lunch which is usually pizza day! We have 4 guys younger in their 20s that are awesome and hard workers and actually get better reviews than I do 😆 🤣 😂 they lift and carry heavy furniture all day and that is the least I can do is get lunch every week!

[rtfulk]

We have 2 employees I guess you can say are full time and one that works about 3 months. Our situation is not the norm, as we travel the country working. Our Season runs Jan. To the middle of May, 2 months off, then Middle of July to December. Our 2 that is full time is like family, they have to be because we rent VRBO’s and pretty live and work and travel together for 5 months straight. They are well paid and get to see the country, the work is hard, but we have fun.

[Purple_HS]

How unique! 

Why do you travel to rent them? I didn't realize that requires traveling. 

[lawnbrook]

Our staff are hired in the hospo side of the business. Typically they are younger folks. The No1 we do is create a pleasant and friendly environment. We strive to not be the typical hospo boss, and in addition our chef is very calm and nurturing. At the end of the day we all sit down and eat together and the chef will prepare whatever anyone wants... We rarely lose anyone other than when the leave to take on a 'grown up' job.

[willowsky]

This is easier said than done, but some of the best advice for this topic I have ever come across is in the book called "Know What You're FOR"  by Jeff Henderson.  It is a growth and Strategy for Work and an even better strategy for life.  

Here are a few quotes from the book that stood out to me. 

'When customers realize an organization is truly for them, they return the favor."

'Its no longer about being the best company in the world.  Its about being the best company for the world" 

"A brand is no longer what it tells it consumers it is- it is what consumers tell each other that it is"

"We must learn to care more for the customer than we do for the business. We must learn to care more about people than we do about our organization.  This isn't bad for business because customers are the business."

"When what you want to be known FOR is actually what you are known FOR, customers become a sales force for free by telling others about you" 

"The more personable you are the more remarkable you are." 

The above quotes are all from Jeff Henderson in the book I mentioned above. The book makes businesses think differently and I truly loved the ideas presented though out this book so I thought I would share. 

[alexandriak]

I treat them how I wished I would have been treated working retail. Their requests off are almost never a no (and I mean almost never. I think I've denied 1 request off in the last 5 years) even when it's not the best time for me. I'll figure it out. 

They get an entire month schedule about two weeks before the next month starts. 

I surprise them with lunch a few times a month. They sell a big ticket item sometimes they get a surprise $20/$50 bonus. 

I pay them well and do yearly raises that are about 8-9% of their current hourly rate. All employees have some sort of yearly PTO. while it doesn't roll over yet, they all have something. I'll be increasing that PTO for my full timer next year due to how long she's been with me (10 years)

[Purple_HS]

Love, this @alexandriak 😀

It's simple, but not common to do your best to see things from their perspective. So many don't. Surely that makes a big difference for your staff!

[alexandriak]

Thank you! Sometimes the best things are simple basic things. 

I have many stories from working in retail 16-21. Started my business at 19, almost 20. Some retail companies treat their employees like crap and I knew if I ever got the chance I'd remember those moments and make sure I was never that boss in anyones story. It seems to be going well (11.5 years in!)

[HomeShareBlue]

FEED your people.

Literally always have a small craft service of snacks and drinks. If you want people to be more productive in a physical workplace setting, make sure they can go hunt down some protein, caffeine and water if just for basics.

People get tired and hungry hanging around an office or other workplace environments at various points in their day. People will tend to keep their heads in the game if they can go simply quiet that hunger pang with a quick trip to the kitchen, then right back to their computer station, or work bench. A cup of coffee goes a long way. 

Cheese sticks, jerky, bag of nuts, bags of chips, and other Costco snack attack items welcomed. Water, tea, coffee at the least.. ...nobody will ever be mad if you at least give them these three basics.

If you really have an intense work environment, you may do well to up the protein game to even say Cold cuts and sliced bread, all come together nicely to save people in the brain power department if they cannot leave their work place easily. The more you bring your craft service game for your employees, the more time they will have to better serve your companies best interest. 

I had a 15 year career in TV and I learned feeding people all day goes 1000 extra miles in productivity results, not to mention human happiness. So FEED your peeps!

[Purple_HS]

Love this input 🙂

Feeding people is quite a morale boost with physical labor! And, with students and younger people, too! 😁