“People join companies, but leave people.” What does this mean when it comes to your workplace culture?

Firstly, it means that leading by example is always a good idea. If you want to see punctuality, enthusiasm and team player behaviour then you will need to display them yourself before expecting others to follow suit. But what else can you do? Read on as we discuss 10 potential ways in which you can make your employees happy.

 1. Engagement, everyone already knows that engagement keeps people happy in their work, so focus on ways to improve it. Appreciation and involvement in the work at hand should involve a personal investment of discretionary effort from an employee, meaning they are eager to do more than is required of them.

 2. Career progression, this doesn't necessarily have to mean promotion. Consider your education and development opportunities, as well as cross-divisional training. If an employee gains a greater understanding of their own field and the broader field of the business this will also mean higher engagement levels.

 3. Recovery time, emphasise the importance of taking a break. US Company Full Contact recently made news for offering employees $7,500 to take a completely disconnected holiday from work. That may not be within your capacity, but it doesn’t take much to emphasize the benefits of taking a break.

 4. No one likes a jerk. This covers glory hogging, being overly controlling, playing mind games, being vague and abstract with instructions, being an extremist and micro-managing. Each of the employees you hired should be sufficiently trusted to take responsibility for projects.

 5. Listen to what your employee say, give credit where it’s due and action where it’s required

 6. Humour, try giving your employees creative titles. Try ‘Chief Smile Instigator’ rather than receptionist.

 7. On a similar note, make room for fun. Try creating traditions, every year hold a go karting championship, or a team based treasure hunt.

 8. Provide flexibility, your employees may perform at their best at different times of the day, if they are given the freedom to work when they see fit, you will consistently get the best from them.

 9. Spread the love, Philip Rosedale, ex CEO of Second Life, famously introduced the ‘Love Machine’, which allowed employees to recognise hard work from other employees over a public forum, as well as allowing bonuses to be allocated via employees in an election system.

 10. Can your workplace be dog friendly? Research shows that a canine in the work-space can relieve stress and encourage creativity, helping co-workers to bond with each other. 

Ben is the Chief Executive Officer of Employment Innovations (EI), he is also a qualified solicitor with a passion for business.