Improve and Measure Workplace Happiness to Drive Employee and Company Success
Choosing the right ERP software for your organization is important, but your organization’s success depends on so much more…
If you are not involved in project management or on a development team, you probably haven’t read the book, . But it makes an excellent point that applies to everyone. The driving factor to employee success is easily summed up by the book’s author, Jeff Sutherland, “Happy people aren’t happy because they are successful; they’re successful because they are happy. Happiness is a predictive measure.”
So, how does the idea of workplace happiness apply to your organization--especially during such a challenging year with rising unemployment rates and pay cut concerns at the front of everyone’s mind? We believe that the shift for organizations nationwide to make major adjustments to the way they do business in the face of COVID-19 presents the perfect opportunity to also consider employee happiness and make changes for them to thrive within your company going forward.
Opposition and change—just like we are all facing during the COVID-19 pandemic—often drive growth. Coupled with progress and leaning, our experience has taught us that true, lasting happiness is driven by these three things.
Encourage Workplace Happiness Within Your Organization
At AKA, we evaluate work performance as we during given time periods and consider what went well, what could’ve been improved, and an actionable plan for how to do better during the next cycle. This ongoing evaluation falls under the “retrospective” part of the SCRUM methodology. We also consider projected performance metrics for projects when making this evaluation as part of SCRUM’s continuous improvement concept.
The same concepts can be easily applied to measure team, employee and partner happiness. Implementing ways to measure employee happiness in the workplace, along with ways to track improvement, are key. These 3 methods are sure to help your organization establish a baseline for employee happiness:
- Employee Reviews: An initial questionnaire is helpful to establish a baseline of employee workplace happiness and other details such as position within the organization, expectations for professional growth, etc. The key to a successful employee work happiness survey is to make it personal. Rather than defaulting to a standard check-box style survey, offering employees the chance to discuss surveys with a “let’s talk about what you did well and where you might be even better” approach will establish your willingness to invest in each employee upfront, making them feel valued and involved in determining any opportunities to succeed and progress within the organization.
- Anonymous Surveys About Your Organization: Asking employees for their feedback on how your organization is doing is crucial to their career happiness. This openness between the organization’s top-level management and employees is important for employee happiness and anonymous surveys can offer critical insights for your organization.
- Enact Policies to Establish A Safe Work Environment: No employee wants to feel as if they aren’t able to be open and honest. Listening to your employees, whether they have positive feedback or real concerns is important.
Once you’ve implemented measures and policies to establish a baseline, start tracking improvement across your organization and make changes to . Happy employees are more committed, engaged and successful!
What Can Employees Do to Improve Their Own Happiness?
Be the change you want to see. While organizations can play a large role in workplace happiness, employees also need to be proactive. Here are our tips for employees to proactively improve their overall happiness:
Non-work-related tips for improving happiness:
- Establishing a good work/life balance is more important than ever for remote employees during COVID-19
- Adopt a healthy diet
- Stay properly hydrated and avoid sugary drinks
- Move! Sitting all day isn’t good for anyone, so get moving.
- Make sure you get enough sleep
Work-related tips for improving happiness:
- Learn by asking questions
- Work toward certifications and building your skill sets
- If you desire a change in your company’s policy (or lack thereof), make a plan for improvements
- While not every aspect of your job may be exciting, find a way to do tasks you enjoy the most more frequently
- No matter how big or small, establishing professional goals is important!
And, while most employees focus on achieving these two changes at work, the teaches us that they won’t necessarily make you happy—at least not for long:
- Earning a new title or promotion
- An increase in pay ()
At the end of the day it is important to remember to have realistic expectations. Communicate with managers to establish your desire to progress and come up with an actionable plan together to work toward specific changes.
AKA cares about their employees. and join our team of happy employees.
ABOUT AKA ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS
specializes in making it easier to do business, simplifying processes and reducing risks. With agility, expertise, and original industry solutions, we embrace projects other technology firms avoid—regardless of their complexity. As a true strategic partner, we help organizations slay the dragons that are keeping them from innovating their way to greatness. Call us at 212-502-3900!
Article by: Matthew Case and Adolfo Ramirez | 212-502-3900
Matthew Case has worked with CRM for 9 years, specializing in CRM architecture, interface design, user adoption, and change management. As AKA's Media Practice Lead for more than a decade, Adolfo has a history of successful CRM and ERP projects across Media and other industries.
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