Need to increase the morale of your staff? Look at their "happiness quotient" says Customer Care Coach JoAnna Brandi.
Ever notice how when you feel happy at work, your job performance is more productive? Ever notice that when you're unhappy at work -- feeling confused, stressed or unappreciated -- productivity diminishes?
If you haven't you should, says Authentic Happiness expert and Customer Care Coach® publisher JoAnna Brandi. She explains, "Stories on the relationship between workplace happiness and employee productivity have made the cover of The Economist and have been featured in The New York Times Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.
"It's time for business leaders to take their heads out of the sand and realize that while they're not responsible for each employee's individual happiness, they are responsible for creating a work environment where employees feel good about themselves, and their work."
Brandi points out that more and more statistics prove the inextricable link between the work environment and employee happiness, as well as between employee happiness and customer happiness. She says, "It makes perfect sense. When employees feel good about coming to work, when they feel appreciated and they know they make an important contribution to the success of the company, they're going to be more generous in the contributions they make to the company's success."
Business leaders, managers, team leaders and supervisors are in the positions to have the greatest impact on creating a positive workplace. Brandi recommends they put her five easy tips into action to lift the "happiness quotient" at work:
- Positivity -- Be positive, and focus on the positive in both the people around you and in the company in general. This means you're looking at the strengths in others and at what the business does well, rather than focusing on the people's weaknesses and the company's shortcomings.
- Appreciation -- This is one of the deepest human needs. Make sure you let people know how you appreciate when they do a good job. Let customers know you appreciate them, too.
- Recognition and Reward -- As you notice more and more of what people are doing "right," be sure to reward and recognize their behaviors both tangibly and intangibly.
- Clarity -- Workplace negativity symptoms like stress, disappointment and frustration may be indicators that employees do not have a clear picture of their role in the company or of your expectations of them. Ask employees if they have what they need to get their jobs done and engage them in conversations about their positions. Answer their questions clearly and thoroughly.
- Connection -- Let everyone know the special part they play in touching customers' lives and creating success in the company. When customer loyalty, customer retention or profits increase, be sure to celebrate the employee efforts that led to those achievements. People who know they make a difference at work are more likely to be happy on the job -- making them less likely to leave it.
