“You can have the best strategy and the best building in the world, but if you don’t have the hearts and minds of the people who work with you, none of it comes to life.” – Renee West
What is every organisation’s most important asset? People
It is widely agreed that people are every organisation’s most important asset. Every employee is valuable to a company, especially when it comes to their performance, creativeness, and talent. It is up to the employer to create an effective environment that encourages everyone to work to their best ability. To be successful, an organisation must have the people factor. The people factor is
- Creating a vision that everyone feels part of
- Understanding what engages and motivates your employees (flexibility, pay, purpose)
- Giving a voice to employees (responsibility, representatives, trade unions)
- Making sure the way people behave supports the values of the company (equality, fairness)
The department of Human Resource Management is an area where challenges are continuously arising. HR’s job is to monitor changes within the organisation and when challenges become prevalent. HR must keep the welfare of the company and its employees in mind. One of the most important aspects of HR Management is turning managers into coaches or leaders. Doing this will optimize the talent management within the company and when this happens, the company will become a higher-performing workforce. An effective talent management system will attract the right people for the job and aim to keep these people in the company.
The workplace must also have the correct environment to promote productivity. The role of HR is critical in determining the performance and success of an organisation. Recruitment and development will influence the success or collapse of an organisation. If HR adheres to the people factor and makes sure the vision for the business is established, then employee engagement and employee happiness should be a prominent feature within the company.
Why are happy employees more productive than unhappy employees?
There are 3 types of employees. Engaged, Non-engaged and Actively-disengaged.
Engaged employees have the passion and determination to go above and beyond for their work. They strive to be better; they drive innovation and always go the extra mile. Non-engaged employees get the job done. They do the work, but they are non-engaged and don’t have a passion for the job! Actively disengaged employees are unhappy with their job. They do the bare minimum and they usually act out their unhappiness to bring everyone else down. The association between employee happiness and employee performance is real.
It is SO important to keep your employees happy at work. Happier employees are more involved, they have higher productivity rates and less absenteeism. They are exceptionally important for the survival of any organisation.
Yes, we all have our down days, but if we love our job then it usually means we are very good at it too! What company doesn’t want people who are happy AND great at their jobs?
What can you do as an employer to improve employee happiness?
- Create a healthy work environment where employees can communicate openly
- Have a sense of community; this makes employees feel valued, trusted and part of a team
- Be flexible, promote work-life balance and adjust work times if you can
- Offer benefits, incentives, and rewards
- Promote well-being in the workplace; happy employees = greater productivity
Think about it this way: Google is a multi-billion-dollar company, with extravagant buildings all over the world, but there is one thing that is fundamental to its success and that is its people. Its people are happy, they are engaged, and it all comes down to HR’s hiring process, hiring the right people for the right job will pay off in the end. As Simon Sinek once said, ‘Happy employees ensure happy customers. And happy customers ensure happy shareholders – in that order’.
