The Value of Satisfied Employees for your Company

The Value of Satisfied Employees for yur CompanyThe Value of Satisfied Employees for your CompanyThe Value of Satisfied Employees for your Company DeZubeEmployee satisfaction has been in the doldrums for years going back to 2013 and beyond. Recent research shows the continuation of this problematic trend67% of employees rank respectful treatment as a very important factor contributing to job satisfaction, according to the Society for Human Resource Managements (SHRM) 2016 Employee Satisfaction and Engagement survey.Only 31% of the workers that SHRM surveyed were very satisfied with the level of respect their organization showed employees.Workers who get respect from their leaders reported 89% greater job enjoyment and employee satisfaction and were 1.1 times more likely to remain with their organizations, according to a 2014 Harvard Business ReviewTony Schwartz study.The question is - how can employers address this issue? It turns out that the best way to improve your workers engag ement doesnt involve pay or benefits its about creating a workplace of respect. The bottom line pay and benefits might convince a job seeker to sign on with your organization, but respect will keep them in the game and at your table.Creating a workplace culture of respect for your growing business can also help you recruit new employees, says Rob Danna, senior vice president at global engagement solutions provider ITA Group in Des Moines, Iowa. Treat employees with respect and honor and theyll become brand advocates, he says.How do you promote respect and honor in your organization and then share that story when talking about your brand? These five tactics can help.1. Treat your employees the way they want to be treated.Respect is highly individual because we each interpret words and behavior differently. With that in mind, focus on treating employees the way they want to be treated, rather than how you personally want to be treated, says SHRM HR business partner Edward Yost SHRM-S CP.People may need additional kudos, feeling as though theyre listened to, their opinions are solicited or theyre included in meetings, he says.Find out what behaviors people consider respectful with an informal or formal employee survey. Then, create a focus group or ask your HR team to hammer out a written policy describing on-the-job behaviors that demonstrate respect and disrespect. Need ideas? The University of Virginia and the Law Society of Alberta share their respect policies online.If youre having trouble crafting a policy, a corporate attorney can likely help.2. Ask interview questions that highlight respect.Some argue that a respectful workplace starts with hiring respectful people.Peter Matthies, founder of the Conscious Business Institute (CBI) in Santa Barbara, California, which helps organizations become more effective, inspiring and sustainable, says his organization hires primarily on values.I dont mean the ones someone comes up with and sticks on the walls of the l obby, he quips. I mean the rules of the game - how we want to interact with each other, how we play together. We define those and hire to those rules of the game.One of the ways the CBI delves into respect is by asking job seekers open-ended questions like If you could choose your own work environment, how would you like to work? Followed by a question that shows respect for differences and individual preferences How can we help you create that here?Ashley Moore, a conflict entscheidung specialist at ProActive ReSolutions, a firm that works with organizations to build respectful workplaces, says a job candidates behavior during group interviews often provides clues about respectful behaviors.See how they defer when others are speaking, or if there is competition between them, she says. Look for people who share the spotlight or ask others what they think, even though theyre not the interviewer.For another temperament test come in 10 minutes late for the interview to see how the per son responds. Are they angry or do they shrug off the lateness?You could also ask behavioral questions such as Tell me about a time you were disrespected in the workplace. How did you handle it?3. Expose new hires to people who live your corporate values.Onboardingoffers another opportunity to highlight your organizations commitment to respect and honor employees. Business automation software developer Ontraport puts new hires through a two week class that includes meeting the companys Value Award Winners - folks who best exemplify the company values.Its a good way to have our values be tangible and easily understandable and not just aspirational or cheesy, says Talent Acquisition and Development Manager Sara Hetyonk. Its also a great way for new hires to meet people who have been here for three or four years and for them to get immediate interaction with the team.4. Teach people how to get along.A policy that calls for respect and honor wont change employee behavior. A survey of 8 ,000 employees by ProActive Resolutions found69% of respondents know about their organizations respectful workplace policies.58% said their employer didnt provide training about how to respond to disrespect.32% were aware of two to five instances of disrespectful behavior at work.Sending a few people to mediation and facilitated discussion training ensures you have in-house folks who can provide supportive resources to address disrespect in a constructive way. That exists in even smaller organizations, Moore says.5. Treat employees like the stars they are.When an employee or team does something great, like working extra hours to land a new client, make sure everyone knows about it by sharing the story, Danna says. Create a 90-second video about the teams extraordinary effort and posting it on your company website. Every employee with their face in that video will repost it, Danna promises.Even small gestures can be meaningful. Print notecards with one side blank and the other featur ing the company brand and mission. Ask managers and co-workers to use the notecards to write handwritten thank-yous and words of praise to share with people they respect.Even unterstellung sort of small gestures will go a long way to establish a workplace of respect - and a culture of fairness and equity.