When you consider a business in terms of its basic components, it all comes down to relationships. Businesses are built on people; no amount of technology and capital can change the fact that your business simply would not run without the efforts of your employees. You know the age old adage “happy wife, happy life”? The same notion applies to the workers under your care — your mutually beneficial relationship can grow exponentially if they are satisfied with their jobs.
A recent survey posited by The Conference Board took stock of the satisfaction situation by asking 1,500 people about their job satisfaction, and came back with some surprising results: while 51% of people feel “overall” satisfaction, employers are lacking when it comes to drawing and retaining new talent, Rebecca L. Ray, a report author and Executive Vice President of The Conference Board, explains.
“To attract and retain the most productive employees in today’s labor market, companies must make a bigger commitment to addressing the factors within their control. Among other steps, that entails addressing the job components with which employees are least satisfied, including job training, the performance review process, and promotion policy.”
Although 57.5% reported being satisfied with their supervisors, the problem lies with receiving recognition and support for the work they do. A separate poll run by Gallop found that only one out of five workers believe their managers are providing enough encouragement in the work environment, which means that the other four out of five feel like they’re completely on their own.
That can mean a massive change in job satisfaction, costing the company time and money due to the fact that unmotivated employees are less productive and less efficient. It’s been reported that the U.S. economy loses around $7.4 billion every day as a result of improperly filled out time sheets, and that’s just due to a simple error — the impact that indifferent, apathetic workers have (which includes high turnover rates) could make or break a company, defining the line between profit and loss. It comes down to simple math: the happier your employees are at work, the better their work will be, and the more your company will grow from their efforts.
Approximately 72% of businesses report that their main priority is improving customer service. Having read these surveys, they should be focused more on treating the cause of the problem, rather than the symptom: thorough and upgraded training programs targeted at educating employees on the customer service experience, as well as the implementation of recognition and goal systems, can create a better customer service experience naturally.