8 Ways to Improve Employee Satisfaction

One of the most important things you can do for the overall health of your business involves improving employee satisfaction. These are the people on the front line of your service, and they need to be happy. Satisfied employees increase work output and stay on board longer. Here are a few ways you can improve employee satisfaction.

Ensure Your Orientation Engenders the Right Expectations

Starting a new job is scary enough, but without guidance, you'll be completely lost. Offer a thorough orientation to ensure that their expectations are realistic and allow them to ask any questions that they may have about the company. 

By welcoming the employee and making them feel comfortable, you're encouraging a positive attitude that can reduce turnover rates.

Implement a BYOD Policy

Nothing kills productivity like making employees learn to use new devices -- it inspires frustration and costs your organization extra money for training. 

Allowing them to use their devices in the workplace is a cost-effective and simple alternative. By implementing a Blackberry byod solution that includes mobile device management, you'll be able to control what the employee has access to while keeping all of their apps updated. 

By allowing employees to use their own devices, they'll feel infinitely less restricted at work.

Recognize Those Who Work Hard

Employees often feel like they're just another cog in the machine, and for a good reason. Many of the tasks they complete daily only receive feedback if they're late or incomplete. Employees often “check out” when they are unhappy in their job. If you have an employee who has had any common de-motivators happen to them, they may be quiet quitters. 

What is Quiet Quiting? Quiet Quitting is a problem many employees have. Employees do the bare minimum and then go home. They are not motivated anymore and are simply collecting a paycheck. They do not want to quit, but just don't exceed anymore.

Recognize employees who sit at their desks and work diligently over those who complain and find excuses for missed deadlines. A simple acknowledgment, whether it's through an e-mail or face-to-face, can go a long way.

Offer them a survey to see how they feel about the benefits that they have, their wages, time is given to work on projects, and other items, and use that feedback to improve satisfaction levels.

Set Daily Goals

Sometimes, it's a bit overwhelming to look at the big picture regarding assignments. Therefore, you should break assignments up daily and set daily goals. Reorganize assignments to be more effective. 

Alternate the boring tasks with more enjoyable ones. Plan each day by what you aim to accomplish, and acknowledge when the employee meets or beats their goal.

Allow Relaxation Periods

Working at a desk all day can be tiring. Give your employees a bit of time each day to take small breaks. Allow them to exercise, grab a bite to eat, or just walk around the office. Taking a much-needed break several times each day will break up the monotony of work.

Encourage Interaction With Co-Workers

A great way to boost employee satisfaction is by encouraging them to interact with their coworkers. By starting group e-mails or chats, you allow them to meet each other and find common ground. 

If you can, start group discussions based on sports teams or even where they're from. This will also give them the chance to exchange ideas and experience, which will help others increase their knowledge and skills.

Prioritize Life Over Work

This will be difficult to implement, but it's important to stress that life comes first. Understand that there will be many situations that are out of your control when it comes to an employee's life. Be flexible and embrace them as they come.

By placing value on life outside of work and their family, they'll be much more relaxed at work, knowing that if something were to happen outside of work, they would be able to take care of things. They should realize that while their job is definitely part of the equation, it's not the most important part.

Get Rid of Vending Machines

This may earn you a bit of hatred up front, but it's for your employees' collective good. Junk food makes your employees perform like junk. They do nothing for your brain power and productivity. Instead, offer healthy food that supports brain function and mental clarity, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Limit their access to company coffee, only allowing one cup a day if possible. Offer decaf for those who simply can't live without it. Your energy level directly relates to what goes in your body, so make sure you put healthy things in your body. At the end of the day, you want them to look back on the work they've done and be happy.

There's no foolproof method to increase employee satisfaction around the office. You'll have to try some of these tips, gauge response then implements another if necessary. Have your employees reported that they're happy with their job? If so, share your secret: What are you doing to keep them happy?

Expanding Your Business: 5 Necessary Positions to Fill to Ensure Future Growth

A business owner must look to the future and make plans accordingly. This will allow an entrepreneur to succeed without as many growing pains. To do so, a company must fill positions when anticipating growth. With that being said, here are five necessary positions to fill to ensure future growth.

Electrical engineers

When making plans for the future, many companies will need plenty of electrical engineers as they can help the organization save money and implement new strategies. Without a doubt, when a potential employee has an OU Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering, the company will have a good employee on its hands. Engineering career possibilities are huge, and a company must fill this void ahead of time.

Online marketing

It is no secret that Internet marketing has exploded in popularity in the past few years. This will continue as companies use SEO, Facebook and PPC to get more website visitors. Ideally, a business should support its marketing campaigns by hiring qualified and educated online marketing experts.

Accountant

At first, some entrepreneurs do their own taxes and bookkeeping. While this is a great way to save money, a company should hire a qualified professional. With an accountant, the organization can avoid problems with tax authorities. At the same time, when using an accountant and CPA together, the business will rarely have problems with the books and should save money on taxes.

Human resources

Most small business owners cannot justify the hiring of a full-time human resources worker. As time goes on, one will need to rethink this as an HR rep can help a business avoid breaking laws and can also foster employee relations. Remember, any serious company will have a qualified HR representative that work with the business and employees to make it better for everyone.

IT specialists

When running a small office, some opt to outsource the IT tasks such as server and computer maintenance. This will work to a point. However, when a company grows, it will need a comprehensive solution and will require multiple employees to manage the tasks. Luckily, when hiring qualified IT staff members, a company can have a smooth transition and will not suffer from any serious and irrecoverable errors.

When building a business, one must realize that it is crucial to look to the future. When anticipating problems and needs, an entrepreneur can make more money, and the business will grow faster and with fewer growing pains.