Beyond the Dollar

Employees work hard for their pay, but many other factors influence how they feel about their workplace besides the number on their pay stub. Improve overall quality of life at your company, and you may be rewarded with highly motivated, more productive workers.

Key areas to consider:

Job descriptions. Avoid creating job descriptions that are a mundane list of tasks and skills. Think of the description as a sales tool promoting a fulfilling job at your workplace. “Explore new places and have one-on-one contact with customers” sounds a lot more motivating than “travel required, sales skills a must.” For a real productivity boost, encourage employees to help write their own job descriptions; then review them together.

Decision making. Every decision need not come from the top of your organization. When the situation allows, allow employees to have a voice in making decisions. Knowing their opinions count can boost their self-esteem and morale.

Communication. Remember that communication is a two-way street. Managers and supervisors should listen as well as speak, and ensure that every employee has a voice.

Training. Make education a part of every position. Don’t think of training as simply a way to increase skills for a particular task. Find ways to enrich your employees’ knowledge base in diverse, interesting and engaging ways.

Feedback and evaluation. Make the performance review process interactive and ongoing. Give praise as well as criticism. Make feedback useful and specific to help employees move forward, set goals and succeed with positive changes.

Safety and health. Provide a comfortable, clean and safe work environment not only to reduce the risk of injuries but to help employees feel more at ease and secure. When employees feel that their company cares about their welfare, they are more likely to do a good job.