How to Balance Employee and Company Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction is key to business success. Employees that are happy are more productive, efficient and often motivated to stay at the company long-term. Happy employees also help contribute to other business areas, such as boosting recruitment through positive reviews. In addition, customers are more likely to continue doing business with you if they can tell your employees are happy at work.

At the same time, business growth matters. Often, there is a balancing act between meeting employee satisfaction goals and keeping company objectives in mind. For example, you may need to ask an employee to work longer hours or take on more responsibilities in order for the company to stay profitable.

So, how do you balance employee happiness and company satisfaction? Here, we outline what employee engagement is and five methods to help improve your employee satisfaction. 

What Is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement refers to making an active effort to ensure your employees feel like they are part of the company and that their contributions matter. Studies have shown that when employees are given the chance to explore their potential, they feel more invested in the company and are more likely to stay at the organization.

When employees feel a sense of ownership in their tasks and projects, they will be more eager to take on new challenges and responsibilities.

It’s Not All in the Perks

Some companies believe that if they offer enough perks, employees will be happier and more productive. This is not always the case. Perks can be a great incentive, but they need to be just one part of a company’s overall employee engagement strategy.

Five Ways to Increase Employee Engagement

There are a number of ways to help employees feel more engaged. Let’s look at the top five methods:

1. Discuss company goals and gather feedback: Some organizations talk to each employee directly about the mission of the company and how they are a vital part of helping the company realize that mission. They also actively solicit feedback from employees and implement suggestions whenever possible.
2. Give employees freedom to make decisions: It’s often helpful to move decision-making as far down the chain as possible. Employees who are actively making decisions about the company are more invested and engaged.
3. Get creative with perks: One way to combine perks and employee engagement is by giving employees time off to volunteer at a local organization as part of a company’s social awareness initiative. 
4. Support career growth: Many companies strive to create an environment that supports career growth through abundant professional development opportunities.
5. Offer unlimited PTO: Some companies allow for unlimited vacation time. They trust employees to balance how much time they really need with how long the company can afford to be without them.

By keeping your employees engaged and recognizing them as a vital part of your company’s success, you can increase employee satisfaction while still meeting company goals.

How are you working to improve employee and company satisfaction? Do you have any advice for other manufacturing organizations? Leave a comment below!