A high salary and awesome job title do go a long way to keeping employees happy, but there are more things employees need to flourish. Many of these things are intangible, and don’t have a dollar amount attached to them, but they are vital for your employees’ success. We’ve outlined five of the most important things employees need below, but there are many more. Feel free to let us know if we’ve missed any in the comments at the end of the article!
Purpose
More and more professionals these days are looking for more than money from their jobs, they seek purpose. In fact, according to Forbes, Millennials seek purpose, not paycheck. In order to keep your team happy and motivated to do their best, they must believe in the bigger purpose of the company. Make sure your entire team understands the mission and vision of the business, and how their roles contribute to the bigger picture.
Accountability
Accountability is a personal trait of an employee, but it can be facilitated with company structure. If managers trust employees to do their work autonomously, then employees are held accountable for their results. Be sure to give your team everything they need to do their jobs well, then let them know they are responsible for the completion and success of tasks.
Independence
No one likes a micromanager. Micromanagement stifles creativity, growth and innovation, so it’s in your best interest to give your employees the trust independence to make decisions and do their jobs. Allowing your team the freedom to work independently gives them the option to work during their most productive hours, using their most effective methods. These may not be the same for everyone, so having a rigid system in place could lower productivity.
Expectations
Goals and expectations, both on the employer and employee side, are one of the most important things that employees need. Employees need to know what to expect from the company, as well as what is expected of them. It’s also important that leaders and managers have high expectations of their teams, since employees rise to meet them.
Consistency
Finally on this list, employees need consistency. This includes leadership, management and business processes. If your teams are expected to act on the fly without any processes in place, they’ll get burnt out. If your leadership is fickle and constantly changing direction, employees will get burnt out. Consistency is important for the effectiveness of a team’s work, and reliability is important for their output and confidence in the company.
Let us know what else is important for employees to have in the comments below!
About the Author: Jocelyn Pick
