Your product may be what you build you company on, but your staff are what will make you successful. They are the critical touch point for every customer and their level of satisfaction can make or break a growing company. Employee satisfaction is also not a single point in time aspect. It is a continuous process of evaluating what can be done to help make your employees happy and drive them to provide the very best support.
Why Employee Satisfaction is Important
I don't mean that to sound dramatic or doom-and-gloom. In fact, I'm passionate about all things staff happiness. Being able to provide them with a positive, fulfilling experience is vital to the long-term success of your business. People are the core of any company, and therefore the key to any brand. This is why it is so important to build the right type of organization and ensure your employees are satisfied. They will be the ones who sell the product with their actions every single day. If they are not happy, then it will show to your customers and the results will be damaging. If you are able to build a solid and happy team of staff as you grow, then that strong structure will be able to continue as you expand. If not, you will have unhappy employees who mentor and train the next batch of unhappy employees.
Measure it
As you start to collect the data you need to make decisions on your staff level satisfaction, don't forget that you also need to measure your company as a whole. If there's something missing from your team satisfaction levels, it could be the reason your company isn't growing. Focus on measuring the multiple different aspects of satisfaction and collecting that data regularly. Not only with the survey results provide measurable data on satisfaction, but it may unearth previously unknown issues before they become a major problem.
Create a Culture That Truly Values Employee Satisfaction
You can't just build products or deliver services without realizing that the people who sell and support them will have a big influence on your company. Make employees happy and you'll ensure your employees will help create great products and services and deliver them more quickly and efficiently. It may not make a huge impact on your profits today but could lead to a much higher profit margin in the future. People are the heart and soul of a company and you will always have to rely on your staff to deliver those important tasks. Building a culture that truly supports and values your staff will manifest in many positive ways including better customer support, higher sales, and more efficient services. A great culture will also help onboarding of new staff and ensure they are more positive and satisfied from the start. This process will drive faster growth and better quality of hires.
Reward Good Performance
With more than 4,000 studies done on this topic, only about one-third of business owners feel that their staff are engaged and productive. If your staff are not happy, they can't deliver for your customers. Don't get me wrong, it's impossible to please everyone, but a great way to help is by rewarding them. It sounds so simple, but it's really a way of motivating your team. Rewarding good performance is not only about increasing pay. Spot bonuses for going above and beyond or simply thanking someone for a job well done can go a long way. End of year bonuses for employees based on reaching corporate earnings or growth metrics can also help staff when they most need it. Employees want to feel like their work is appreciated, so any method that displays an honest appreciation for their hard work will make a huge difference.
Conclusion
It's not just about how many customers you've got or the number of sales you can make, it's about maintaining your business by satisfying your customers and your staff. Hiring the right people, paying them well and making your team happy are all essential components of growing a successful business.
