Enhancing Employee Satisfaction: Strategies for Managers

It pays off when employees are happy, healthy and satisfied with their tasks. But if you've been in management for any length of time, you know that this isn't as easy as it sounds. From resolving conflict to eliminating burnout to correcting under-performance, the art of employee satisfaction is extremely complicated. And for managers and other supervisors, holistic happiness in the workplace may seem like a nice fairy tale.

Or not?

In the era of great recognition, employee satisfaction is slowly becoming more accessible. In fact, it is entirely possible to improve employee satisfaction without making you, as a manager, lose your mind. Honest!

And it starts with three basic elements.

How do you manage the performance and satisfaction of your employees?

Employee happiness and satisfaction are closely linked. A happy employee is 12% more productive than an unhappy one, increasing satisfaction and pride in their work. Imagine an entire company filled to the brim with happy customers. That could be you!

But until then there is still some work to be done. Today there are three important factors that influence employee happiness and satisfaction:

• Internal conflicts
• Employee burnout
• Performance management

A balance between these factors will make your company one of the coolest places to work - and one of the best places for employees to get their time cards stamped.

But how do you balance conflict, burnout and performance, and is that even possible in a 24-hour day? In a word: yes! Let's examine each of these points in more detail.

How to resolve conflicts between managers and employees

Conflicts are inevitable. No matter how many donuts are left in the break room, people have a habit of arguing among themselves. And when disputes arise between managers and employees, the situation can quickly become unpleasant.

More than 50% of employees have quit their jobs because of a bad manager. Interpersonal conflicts increase turnover and job satisfaction and quickly cause employees to lose their love for your brand.

It's best to resolve potential conflicts in advance (or better yet, create an action plan just in case). Experts recommend resolving conflicts in your company using a three-part method:

1. The first priority is communication with open doors. Let your employees know that they can come in and voice their complaints at any time, including in the event of conflicts with superiors.
2. Know when to involve HR (and when not to). Avoid intervening in a conflict that could be resolved between two parties and encourage both to work toward a solution.
3. Write an action plan in the manual. This essential employee handbook contains everything your team needs to know about managing and resolving conflict within the company.

While these steps aren't a guarantee that conflicts won't arise in the first place, they will ensure that your employees are happy and satisfied with your efforts.

How to deal with burnout

Ah, burnout: an old friend. Approximately 52% of workers experience burnout (wowza), and that number is expected to increase over the next five years.

What should I do?

• Focus on recognition! Make your employees feel listened to and valued.
• Provide plenty of time to rest and recharge. Even if you would like to onboard a new client this month, you should keep an eye on the stress and overload of your team.
• Get actionable feedback on why your employees are feeling burned out in the first place. A pulse survey or eNPS is a good place to start.

The more you show your employees that you care about them, the greater their job satisfaction will be. The productivity benefits are just icing on the cake!

How to deal with a low-performing employee

Everyone has problems sometimes, even with their work. Whether burnout, conflicts or personal reasons - poor performance can quickly drag down employee satisfaction.

Research shows that 70% of employees are not ready to perform at their best. But addressing the elephant in the room with a mouse rarely goes well. Instead, we suggest taking a mindful approach:

• Offer tangible incentives and rewards that encourage employees to do their best. Recognition is important, people!
• Equip your teams with manager resources that disseminate motivating feedback. Employees who receive feedback are more efficient and productive!
• Make sure you provide plenty of professional development. Salary increases, promotions and learning opportunities are good examples of this.

And you're done! You're well on your way to improving employee satisfaction in ways that matter.

How managers improve employee satisfaction with feedback

So today we've talked a lot about listening, but not so much about how to do it. You know the feedback process is all well and good, but paper surveys are simply not enough to measure employee satisfaction and happiness over the long term. At IceHrm, we understand this better than anyone.

IceHrm has been working to increase employee satisfaction for more than a decade - and we're pretty proud of our results. Our Connect, Recognize, Lead and Listen software integrates perfectly into any technical system and allows managers to conduct satisfaction surveys with ease. Gather insights, recognize hard-working employees, and see changes across your organization in real time.

Elevate your employee satisfaction efforts with IceHrm's comprehensive solutions. Streamline feedback processes and foster a happier, more productive workplace.