How to Keep Your Employees Happy and Improve Productivity

Good management and leadership require some valuable skills and keeping your employees happy is one of the most essential ones. A happy employee is a productive one and it is not difficult to understand why. Employees spend most of their time at work and they will be more flexible with a positive attitude of their employer. Good team work and appreciation for his/her work will make employees happy and is the motivation key to strive for higher production.
Unfortunately, many companies make the mistake to invest only in qualified employees and don't know the reason why they don't succeed to reach their goals. Unhappy employees are often the main reason and creating motivation factors can easily contribute to the profit of the company. A fixed salary and a linear raise is not enough to create happiness in his/her team. They expect factors to strive for a promotion or a sign their work will be appreciated and is important for the future of the company.

Employees are the fuel of the company and a good manager and leader needs to possess qualities to create and improve happiness in his company. Here are some tips which might help an employer to keep employees happy and improve productivity:

* Respect and communication

The attitude of the employer is important to keep his/her employees happy. He needs to be honest and flexible if he wants to create a work-friendly environment. People have different opinions and showing respect for the opinions of the employees of his team will benefit the team work.

The employer will take all the necessary decisions for the company and delegate tasks. It is possible these tasks will create a negative atmosphere in his team. Listening to his employees and an open mind for suggestions will help to make his employees happier. There is not always a perfect solution but if you show respect and do efforts to create good team work, you will make your employees happier and as result you will notice an increase of productivity.

* Equal treatment of employees

The employer needs to provide in an equal treatment of his/her employees. You can't create good teamwork if you give more benefits to certain employees who execute the same work. It is natural to enjoy working with some employees more than some others but you need to avoid favoritism. It is bad for the work environment to give certain employees privileges and this will lead to jealousy and often conflicts arise between employees in your company. There are certain company rules and these need to be respected by everyone.

* Flexibility

Flexibility is an important quality of an employer or manager and contributes to the happiness of his/ her employees. Everyone wants to take holiday from time to time and it is important you don't show an attitude his/her absence will always be a problem. It is possible some employees need to be present in times when nobody can be found to replace him/her or some situations requires his/her presence but some employers show an attitude of refusing holiday every time. If you are flexible to give holiday, they will likely to work more hours in case of urgency.

There are some other possibilities of flexibility but some of them vary from company to company. Flexible hours can motivate many people because they also have a family life and can easier make a good work/family balance. It is not possible for every kind of company but certain business sectors have success with these facilities. Flexibility in social issues will improve the relationship between the employer and his employees, for example, to allow leaving work earlier when his/her child is ill, a family member died or some other social circumstances.

* Rewarding

People work to earn money but there are many more possibilities to reward your employees. A salary is a fixed income but maybe you can provide certain rewards if certain goals are reached, for example, a premium if a certain production is reached, a share of the benefit of the company, gift certificates or extra legal advantages like a group insurance or retirement bonuses.

An extra reward may be an extra cost for the company but will benefit the productivity in the long run. These rewards will increase performance and happiness in the team and employees are likely to work harder even if the manager or leader is absent in the company for a few hours or even days.

* Facilities

An employer can create some facilities which might improve the productivity of the company. Certain jobs require following certain educations to increase your intelligence of your current job. Some employees might follow educations during the evening but it may be better to organize certain educations during the working hours. It is an extra cost but will increase the capacity of your employees and your employees will be more motivated than following these lessons in the evening.

You might also benefit the happiness of your employees if you organize some events, for example, family events during the weekend or some activities which your employees enjoy, for example, a bowling evening, a theatre visit or a concert. It is maybe also a good idea to organize a day when they can get one tea or coffee for free during lunch time.

Keeping your employees happy is an important business etiquette and will always improve the productivity of your company. A happy employee will be more motivated to work harder, be more social and in other words a better employee than an unhappy one.