3 Easy Ways to Make (and Keep) Employees Happy

Great news for the majority of small business owners and managers: According to the Aflac 2016 Small Business Happiness Survey, 74 percent of employees are extremely or very satisfied working for a small business. However, 96 percent of the employees surveyed also agree there is a lot an employer can do to improve employee happiness.

Employees are critical to small business success. Each and every individual’s performance and commitment to the organization plays a role in ensuring quality outputs — be it exceptional customer service, impressive sales numbers, positive client relations or valuable production capabilities.

The current job market increasingly favors employees, making it tougher than ever for small-business owners to attract and retain top talent in their respective industries. While managing a small business involves a limitless number of responsibilities, employee happiness is a factor that shouldn’t be ignored.

What can you do to maintain — or even increase — employee happiness?

1. Evaluate employee satisfaction on a regular basis. Almost half of surveyed employees (48 percent) said their company does not assess employee satisfaction.

2. When making changes within your company, pay attention to what employees want. The following items were chosen by employees as first priorities among a list of issues small business leaders should address when making improvements:

i. Compensation (23 percent)
ii. Communication (22 percent)
iii. Employee benefits (16 percent)

3. Offer a variety of benefits offerings to fulfill the needs of your employees and their family members. 65 percent of employees feel that an improvement in benefits offerings would make them a happier employee. For small business owners, voluntary benefits continue to provide value and grow in popularity because of their ability to offer a comprehensive benefits package with little to no additional cost to their bottom line.

Having happy employees helps to guarantee a productive, pleasant office culture that contributes to your company’s success. Though small businesses across the country are currently succeeding in securing employee happiness, it is important that happiness remains a top priority in years to come to ensure small-business success.

Employees Image via Shutterstock