The workplace is ever-evolving and with that, the needs and wants of team members. It’s going to take more than a free juice bar and table tennis tournaments to keep team members happy. So where to begin? Engagement is a good place to start, as an engaged work culture can result in a 24% drop in staff turnover in industries known for high turnovers. But engagement is not enough, you also need to show your team members that you CARE about what makes them happy.
4 Benefits of Taking CARE of Team Members
Richard Branson, founder of The Virgin Group is famously quoted as saying, “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” Let’s look at four benefits of taking CARE of your team members.
Increased Productivity
Team members that feel valued are more likely to perform their tasks well. Productivity is essential to keep the wheel of a business in motion. For instance, a drop in productivity could result in a drop in your bottom line. This is because productivity affects the things that make your business run, such as product manufacturing, customer servicing, and even sales.
The rate at which your business produces products or services determines whether you’re able to meet and exceed breakeven, turn a profit, expand operations, or possibly increase staff remuneration. Technology does its part to track productivity, ensuring that the process is streamlined, but it doesn’t replace a pat on the back and a personal acknowledgment for a job well done. The above-mentioned study reveals that workers need more.
- Regular contact: A simple greeting can be as encouraging as formal recognition. This is because team members don’t want to be invisible to management.
- Performance reviews: Letting team members know where they stand, what they’re doing well, and where they can improve is valuable feedback.
- Allow options: There’s nothing like a guilt-free extended lunch break to watch your kid’s sports, knowing you have your boss’s approval and encouragement. That extra bit of trust goes a long way.
- Keep your team members in the loop: No one likes being blindsided and for team members, large, structural changes can cause a break in trust.
Higher Retention Rate
A highly engaged business unit enjoys 59% less staff turnover when compared to the 24% drop in high-turnover organizations. This allows the business to focus its energy on growth and a positive-forward trajectory. However, when there is a high turnover of the team, the focus becomes attracting and training new talent. This is a costly exercise and affects the following aspects of your business:
- Sourcing a replacement for the team member lost
- Conducting interviews and potentially outsourcing the initial rounds to a recruitment agency
- Coming to terms with the knowledge bank the team member left with
It’s unusual for a company to have a 0% turnover rate. An average turnover rate is said to be between 12% and 15%. Higher than that is cause for concern and should be investigated.
Stronger Customer Relations
Customers can fall into three categories: detractors, neutral, and promoters. The promoters are your biggest fans and will talk about your business to other potential customers while you reap the benefits. Neutral won’t really say anything bad, but they’re also not likely to promote. Detractors, however, are those who will turn to every avenue known to consumers to let everyone know how upset they are with your organization.
While it may not seem like your team members have anything to do with this, they do. Team members who feel valued and seen by their organization, are far more likely to treat customers the same way. Even an angry customer is likely to turn into a promoter if they happen to have several interactions with employees who CARE.
Happy team members feel inspired to do their job well, which is a necessary ingredient for good customer relations.
Reduced Team Member Sick Leave
Studies show that happy team members are healthier and take up to 15 fewer days of sick leave. Sick leave affects every aspect of productivity as it impacts team members who need to pick up the slack, creates missed deadlines, and results in unhappy customers. Sick leave can also create a lack of trust between the team member and management, especially if the leave seems excessive or not for a valid reason.
Happier team members who do have to take sick leave, are shown to improve faster and make it back to work in record time. But it’s not just sick leave numbers that enjoy a positive boost. There’s also learning ability and the willingness to adapt to change (think change management!).
How Do You Show You CARE?
Team members have shown that there is a trade-off between organizational benefits and how they’re treated at work. There has been a remarkable shift in the job market and team members can look for work more easily than before, thanks to technological advancements such as electronic job markets, easy access to recruiters, and readily available salary bands and benefits scales. Showing you CARE involves highlighting aspects of your organization that will appeal to potential new hires. Some ways include:
- Know your team’s worth and share it with them: Acknowledgement is a powerful tool when it comes to team member satisfaction. It allows workers to feel seen and also gives them a much-needed boost to continue the good work.
- Find out what matters to them: They might not have an interest in free lunches and good coffee, but they might want to have some flexibility in their work hours. Or perhaps input in the shift roster or vacation plan for the team.
- Offer benefits that make a difference: Good healthcare and matching their 401(k) is a good start, but some companies can make a great difference to the overall well-being of their team. For instance, you could offer student loan assistance or cover their study costs entirely.
- Involve your team in the decision-making: Whether it’s changes to the production flow or enhancements to products or services, let the team have the floor to share their ideas. If their ideas are used, it’s important to give credit to the contributor. Why not take it a step further and involve the team in the vision and mission of the business?
If you have any questions about OPOC.us or how we can help you CARE for your team members, give us a call!
