Yasmina Rauber
As a corporate trainer, I have noticed a pattern amongst many leaders and managers: they are perpetually concerned about staff retention and keeping their team players happy. It’s that age-old question: How do you ensure that your staff, team, and employees have the best possible experience in their role? How can I ensure my team enjoys what they do and brings their best to work daily?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over one-quarter of surveyed employees were at high risk for turnover. Many of these outstanding workers showed that they were top performers in their roles or that they had the potential to be. While some team members choose to leave a workplace for other reasons, most people will instantly lose passion for their role and begin looking for a new one if they no longer find joy.
It’s as simple as that. If you don’t love what you do, you won’t want to do it anymore.
Why you need to create a culture of ‘belonging’ at work
First things first: you need to create a workplace that fosters a culture of belonging. Each and every team member needs to feel like they belong. This means that you need to help them to feel included, valued, and as though they are in the right environment.
In a study conducted by Harvard Business Review, a sense of “high belonging” was shown to be linked to a huge “56% increase in job performance and a 50% drop in turnover risk”. Not only that, but it was found that employees with a stronger feeling of belonging also showed a 167% increase in their willingness to recommend their company to others.
These are wonderfully promising numbers.
While there is no one size fits all solution for high turnover of staff, there are a few proven ways to ensure that your work environment is enjoyable for your team. Implementing these simple changes to your work environment can help your team be more engaged and loyal, enjoy what they do, and give their best efforts.
1. Make an effort to support inclusivity and diversity
A great strategy to boost employee retention rates and reduce turnover of staff is to prioritize inclusivity and diversity.
Introducing diversity and inclusivity methods into the workplace and committing to social responsibilities will have a wonderfully positive effect on the happiness of your team.
A manager who uses virtue signaling, or worse, is “all talk and no action,” won’t inspire confidence in their employees. After all, who would want to align themselves with a company that shows little empathy, awareness, or responsibility?
Diversity and inclusion expert Verna Myers has said that “diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.” (I highly recommend watching her TedTalk on inclusivity strategies.)
Experts agree that a way to promote these values within a workplace and to invite “everyone to dance” is for leaders to ask themselves critical questions like “Who do we have in what roles?” “Who could we promote internally to leadership positions? Who are we not listening to?”
Leaders can see where they may fall short by reflecting on and addressing these ideas.
As someone who works very closely with managers and leaders looking to build their diversity and inclusivity awareness management, I suggest you spend some time forming your answers to these questions. Approach them like any other business proposal carefully to ensure you hit all the right notes and address every angle.
2. Schedule a regular “check-in meeting”
Most employees understand the importance of exit interviews and how valuable this information can be. But rarely do companies consider doing what I call a “check-in meeting.”
This simple meeting is just your opportunity to understand what your employee values and how they feel about their role. I would recommend this meeting be one-on-one between employee and manager, preferably in a relaxed setting where feedback and thoughts are encouraged.
Some questions to consider are:
• What are the biggest challenges you face?
• What talents do you have that you think are being overlooked?
• What professional skills would you like to explore?
• Is there anything you’d like to change about your role/team/management?
• What are your career aspirations, and how can we support you in reaching them?
Remember to approach this like an open discussion rather than an opportunity to shift the blame or argue. Honesty is such a virtue, and if you can show your team that you abide by honest lines, they’ll feel so much better every day at work.
3. Active listening is key
As I alluded to before, a happy employee feels heard, valued, and supported. The way to achieve all three? Active listening and taking on feedback.
Speaking with BusinessNewsDaily, Laura Grieco of ParkMobile says that while listening and feedback are important, it’s how you respond that counts.
“You should always be transparent by sharing what you’ve learned and a course of action for addressing the issue, ” she says. “Transparent communication and a simple acknowledgment that we heard you can go a long way.”
This means that as a leader, you need to be actively seeking out feedback and responding as soon as you can. From minor concerns to giant flags, every concern should be addressed with professionalism and empathy to ensure that whoever lodged the feedback feels heard.
An employee survey can often reveal an undercurrent of hidden unhappiness among your team. For example, data may reveal a number of employees reporting they do not envision themselves working for the company in the future. What this data shows is that there is something muddying the waters in their role. Dig deeper into management, and discover what needs to be solved. Perhaps certain roles need to be further defined, or employees and managers need further training.
The key action to take away is to invite feedback and then communicate to your team, so they know their voices have been heard. Something as simple as a survey may be the difference between high staff retention and losing your top performer.
4. Provide support to avoid employee burn-out
Inflation and the rising cost of living, job uncertainty, and post-pandemic anxiety—it’s no surprise that burnout and stress are among the top reasons employees decide to leave their role for greener pastures.
So, what does support for well-being look like exactly? Some workplaces offer wellness incentives like yoga classes, while others provide access to mental health experts. These offerings are wonderful, but they only skim the surface.
Leaders, organizations, managers, and employees themselves all have a part to play in preventing burnout and being aware of the importance of well-being.
A healthy work-life balance is critical in a happy work environment. Encourage your staff to take some much-needed restorative time off. Once work is finished for the day, they should close the laptop lid and dedicate their energy to refilling their cup.
5. Upgrade your team’s workspace
If your team is working from an office, now is your chance to give that space a much-needed upgrade.
Our environment and surroundings affect us more than we know. There’s a reason we don’t work in dark caves or small, cramped spaces. The best work, and subsequently, the happiest employees, are usually found in a space that makes them feel happy.
For many employees, the perfect workplace or office would have access to private and flexible working spaces, more space and light, and space for socializing when the occasion calls for it.
Again, the perfect workspace will look different for every company. As I have said before, and will always repeat, listen to what your employees want. Something as simple as some office plants or new desks will do them a world of good and make their workday more enjoyable.
6. Consider adopting a flexible working arrangement
Did you know in a study conducted by FlexJobs, it was found that 81% of surveyed employees said they would be more loyal to their employers if they had flexible work options?
Whenever I see statistics like these, I always wonder if employees realize the potential of flexible working arrangements.
Remember that a happy employee feels that their leaders recognize their professional needs and wants. This rings especially true regarding how and where they want to work.
Since COVID, it’s a proven fact that work can be completed remotely by many roles and that many employees found they were more productive when able to work from the comfort of their own homes.
This point will differ between companies and industries, but I urge you to consider the benefits that a hybrid workplace offers: happier staff, better work, and a lower turnover. Giving your team the agency to dictate their own working environment may be the missing piece of the puzzle in your workplace satisfaction.
7. Emphasise professional development
How do you ensure that your employees envision a future with your company? You show them what a future with your company looks like with a clear career path.
As a manager and leader, this is your opportunity to show your employee how much you value their skills and their potential. Creating a career path strategy for an employee helps them to understand what they’re working towards, their strengths and goals, and how you plan to help them achieve them.
Setting your team up for success is only one piece of the happiness puzzle. A high turnover of staff and unhappy team members is usually a sign of something more extensive below to surface.
As a leader, it’s your job to roll your sleeves up and start investigating how you can help to fix the happiness of your employees. Whether it’s investing in an inclusivity and diversity program, changing their work environment, or just making an effort to implement feedback requests, seek out positive change wherever you can. Trust me when I tell you, there’s nothing quite like the inspiration and dedication that comes from a happy working team.
Are you wondering how you can make your employees happier? Unsure of where to begin when it comes to office culture?
I am here to help.
Please click here to book a call with me and discover how staff retention and happiness are intertwined.
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YASMINA RAUBER of YAS COACHING
My mission is to guide women to gain true confidence, career clarity, and leadership success. As a corporate trainer, I educate businesses on equality and inclusivity and support them every step of the way as they journey into a new business paradigm where gender biases are a thing of the past.
Discover more about my journey, my mission and values, my certifications, and how I coach management and leadership on my website: www.https://yascoaching.com/
