By John Rampton, the founder of Palo Alto, California-based Calendar, a company helping your calendar be much more productive.
Recruiting the most talented employees is tough these days. It seems that every company is competing for its slice of an increasingly small pie. If you are fortunate enough to attract great employees, you’re immediately confronted with finding ways to retain them.
This used to be easy. Raises, bonuses, a matching contribution to their 401(k) and the promise of lucrative promotions could literally buy loyalty from many people. Now, though, employees’ priorities have shifted. Sure, they want to be paid well. But happiness and fulfillment—or their absence—are equally important factors in their decision to stay or go.
You know that happy employees hang around. They’re productive. They’re team players. They delight your customers and clients. So if happiness is key to retaining your employees, how can you bring it to them?
Here are four ways you can keep your employees happy so they’re more likely to stay around for the long haul.
1. Let Them In On Things
It’s human nature to love being told a secret. Sharing them builds a sense of trust and collegiality. You know something not everyone does, and that’s somehow satisfying. On the flip side, being left out of the loop can be annoying, if not downright hurtful.
Of course, as a leader, you can’t divulge everything those at or above your pay grade share with you. Certain company intel requires discretion—but not all of it does. Clear the release of information with those you report to. Challenge those individuals if you don’t agree with their reluctance to let you talk to your team members about things you think they have a right to know.
And hold yourself to the same standard. Instead of keeping information to yourself purely as a show of authority, use that authority to pull back the curtain when you can. Not only will your employees appreciate such transparency, but it can encourage them to become more invested in the business.
2. Lead By Example
Happiness, they say, is contagious. If it is, then make a point of spreading it around to your employees. It will be infinitely easier for them to come into the office or stay engaged during a meeting when they’re surrounded by happy people. It’s your job to take the lead by demonstrating your own good cheer.
You’ve probably had a colleague or boss at some point in your life who brought their misery to the office every day. They’re the people who talk rudely to waiters and never have a good word to say about anything. Remember how those co-workers made you want to leave? Don’t be like them.
Say hi to your employees and ask about their families. Hold team lunches to give your team a treat and encourage non-work conversation among colleagues. Communicate openly and trust your team. By establishing a cheerful atmosphere and fostering intra-team friendships, you’ll create a workplace people want to come back to.
3. Help Them Find Their Balance
It’s safe to say that the issue of work-life balance has taken on a new prominence. The primary focus of pre-retirement Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers may still be their careers. But the composition of the brass rings on the Millennial and Gen-Z carousels can be quite different. In my experience, many expect their life outside of work to matter just as much as their life inside it.
In a post-pandemic business world where companies continue to struggle with finding the best work arrangements, many employees remain on an uncertain footing. If the nature of your business allows it, help your team members find the in-person, remote or hybrid situation that suits them best. Otherwise, the only smooth path they may find is the one to the door.
Avoid applying the same rules to everyone. Be flexible with the person who needs to spend more time with family, to disconnect or to use their time for something more rewarding than a long commute. Be patient while you and they find ways to strike the right balance.
4. Support Their Passions
Volunteering has emerged as a key employee retention strategy. Younger generations, in particular, have learned the value of giving back and connecting with causes that are important to them. Doing so makes many people happy.
You have a real opportunity to support your employees’ passion for good causes. You can give them time off to pursue them. Even better, pay them while they’re volunteering without making them dip into their PTO. Let them share stories about their cause during meetings and allow them to invite others to join them. Or have the team vote on a cause that everyone can support through a team volunteering event.
Writing big checks isn’t the only way a company can support worthy causes. Recognizing and supporting your employees’ efforts to do good outside their jobs can make them feel better within them.
Be A Happy Place
Perhaps one lesson everyone learned in the past few years is that time is a precious commodity. That’s why your employees would rather spend it doing what makes them happy. And if they can find a happy place at work, they’ll be more likely to stick around.
