Keeping your employees happy on a tight budget

Many entrepreneurs start their own business to pursue their passions or in essence, make themselves happy.  Starting your own venture can be an exciting and fulfilling challenge that brings one joy, especially if success is achieved.  But once you expand and hire staff, how do you keep them happy as well and subsequently, productive?

Experts believe that happy employees are better leaders, becoming less adverse to risk and bounce back more quickly from failures; that they are more productive – there is less burnout and stress and they become more focused on their work and are up for new challenges.  Experts also believe that happy employees are more creative and are better team players.

So how to keep them happy you might ask?  One idea is to make employees feel like they belong or in essence, make them feel like they have a friend.  People need to feel like they “know” one another, which in time yield more positive results.  Think about taking your employees out for after-work drinks once a month or allow them to engage in other social activities, such as company softball leagues.  When I worked as a paralegal, my company provided Friday desserts and end-of-the-month lunches so that there was a sense of community and a nice way to break up work-flow and a long, grueling work week.

Reward contributions.  Obviously people are always looking for monetary rewards such as salary increases and bonuses but if you can’t afford to do that, applaud your employees in other ways.  Recognize milestones when employees make progress.  Give them more responsibility or promote them.  Often giving a title change makes an employee feel more valued.  Think about congratulating employees on success publicly.  Social recognition fosters growth.  If you find a particular employee shy that might not take well to that, bring them into your office and praise them in private.  Highlight their successes.

Provide regular, consistent feedback or as I mentioned above 1-on-1 meetings where you can commend hard work privately.  “Employee feedback is a critical part of the education process, and shouldn’t just be relegated to the annual review.  To be effective, feedback needs to be specific and actionable.”

Create a culture of education.  For employees, one of the single most important motivational factors is the ability to learn.  Bring in specialists to teach employees new skills or incentivize actions.  Think about sending your employees to seminars or conferences where they can learn new things and engage and network with others in the same industry.  They may come back with new knowledge and skills to offer your company.  “In all cases, make it clear that these are rewards for people’s efforts in order to create an association with going the extra mile for the company.”

Take an interest in who your employees are.  Make them feel like their role in the organization is a necessary, vital one.  Show your employees that you care about them and want to help give them the tools to succeed.

Foster a fun environment.  Give employees some time to wind down and get to know each other better.  Let them joke around and take breaks when necessary.  The daily grind doesn’t always have to be so gruesome.  “When mistakes happen, people can see the funny side and are not just focused solely on the downside.”

Don’t be a micromanager.  Let your employees feel like they have some control over the work they are producing on a daily basis.  While you need to keep an eye on their progress, give them some autonomy.  “Encourage times when employees are completely disengaged so they can focus on their family and set their own personal priorities.”

Stop keeping score.  Don’t think: well I did “such and such” for my employee, what can they give me in return?  Obviously, return on investment is important but it’s not always best to think that way.  Give your employees room to breathe.

Provide job related perks.  Some companies offer discounts on cell-phone plans or gym memberships.  Also, consider giving reliable, hard-working employees more flexible hours, telecommuting options, and/or extra vacation days (perhaps a whole day on some of those pre-holiday half-days).

Create challenges.  “Research shows that people who have to bring their skills to bear at work, and who have stimulating and challenging job tasks, tend to have higher levels of job engagement and company commitment.”  Find ways for your staff to use their skills to the fullest.  Give them opportunities to add value in their unique ways.  Help them make progress toward their goals.  As long as you challenge people without overwhelming them, they will rise to the challenge and enjoy it, and your company will reap the benefits.

Lastly, and quite possibly, most importantly, give your employees a voice.  Take the time to listen to your employees ideas and allow them to add value through their unique skill sets.  Think about what you can do to help them be their best selves and give their hardest effort to your company.  Meeting the needs of your employees can help them thrive and grow.  “Anything you can do to remove roadblocks and help employees make progress will contribute to their well-being as well as your bottom line.”  Show your employees that you care about their success and happiness.  Empower them to give their very best.  

As I’ve discussed today, there are many ways to keep your employees happy without having deep pockets.  New companies and start-ups often don’t have the funds to give annual raises and bonuses but as outlined above there are many ways to keep your employees productive without such resources.

Here are some articles you might want to check out about keeping your employees happy:

“15 Ideas for Keeping Your Employees Happy”: http://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/15-ideas-for-keeping-your-employees-happy.html

“Motivational Tips for Keeping Your Employees Happy and Satisfied”: http://businesssearch.dnb.com/small-business-tips/motivational-tips-for-keeping-your-employees-happy-and-satisfied/

“How to Keep Your Employees Happy While Pushing Them to Their Limit”: http://www.quicksprout.com/2011/05/18/how-to-make-your-employees-happy-while-pushing-them-to-their-limit/

Until next time…