4 Simple Ways to Keep your Employees Happy

If you want to retain your employees, you better make sure they’re happy.  In a way, your staff is like your children.  Do they feel loved?  Appreciated?  Supported?  Because if not, once they’re all grown, they’ll leave you and never look back…

Happy employees won’t just stick around; they are motivated, loyal and in it to see your business succeed.  So, in another way, a happy employee is kind of like the goose that laid those golden eggs; they’ll lay golden eggs of productivity all over the office.  Imagine what you could do with three, four or even an entire staff full of them (other than throw one heck of an Easter egg hunt).

So, how do you make your employees happy and then, keep them that way?  Well, it’s really not as hard as you might think.

Here are four very simple ways to keep those golden eggs coming your way.

Exclamation points all around!

Positivity is a no brainer.  How are you supposed to have happy employees if you and your staff are a bunch of Debbie Downers, choking on negativity and spewing cynicism?  You can’t.  It’s impossible.

All you need in order to create a positive environment is a little encouragement.  And (hint, hint), it doesn’t hurt if it starts from the top.

Throw out some praise, reassurance and kudos every now and then.  Tack a cheesy motivational quote to the front door of your office, email an inspirational story to your staff every Monday and thank them for all their hard work after every meeting.

Yay or nay?

Even if it’s a nay, employees want to know how they’re doing, what they’re doing wrong and how to make it better.  If they work and work and work and never receive any feedback, they’re basically in limbo—they don’t know what you think of them, where they stand and if they’re doing a good job.  How can anybody be happy with that much doubt surrounding them?

That’s so sweet.

It’s important to show your employees that you care.  Sure, you could always tell them, but what’s better than showing them?

Bring a box of donuts in one morning, give them a random day off or host a company BBQ.  Anything (no matter how small) will make a difference.  Not only does this promote positivity but it encourages collaboration, as well.

Speaking of collaboration…

If your employees can’t work with each other, then you have a problem.  If they’re constantly on the verge of an office-wide rumble, you also have a problem.

Your employees don’t have to like one another.  But, they should be able to work with each other.  If they can’t, changes should be made.  Whether you train your staff on interpersonal communication or you make an effort to implement weekly group exercises, you should do it fast.  And, really, it doesn’t even have to be that difficult.  Introduce applications like Lync or Dropbox into your daily operations and you’ll experience a notable jump in communication… and productivity.