If you want to retain your employees and keep them from looking for jobs at other companies, you’ll need to keep them happy. The more upbeat and connected your office environment is, the less likely your workers will be to jump ship. Retention is very important to the wellbeing of your organization. A stable workforce means less hiring, training, and more time to devote to growing your company. When a workplace feels more like a community than a job, staff members are happier and less likely to leave.
Give Them Opportunities to Grow
Empower your workers by giving them opportunities for growth. This will not only benefit them, but it will serve the organization to have staff members who are evolving into more educated and skilled individuals. You can promote growth by offering:
- Training
- Workshops
- Classes
- Chances to try new tasks
Offer Stress Management Support
Every job will come with a certain amount of stress, but how people react to it is what matters. When people learn to manage their stressors, they are able to relax, which leads to getting sick less often, and being happier. Learning to cope with on-the-job stress can carry over into your team members’ personal lives, too, which is a win-win. Consider offering:
- Yoga
- Meditation/breathing workshops
- Stretch breaks
- Exercise breaks
- Positive quotes/affirmations
Show Gratitude
Your team of workers is the lifeblood of your company, and you should not only show them gratitude, you should be grateful to them. Saying thank you is a great start, but it’s important to internalize it, because then they will really pick up on your positive feelings toward them. When people feel truly appreciated, it makes a huge difference in their happiness levels.
Create an Open Floor Plan
There has been an uptick in open floor plans, because having some space to move around can create a sense of freedom and encourage interactions between employees. If you’re not ready to totally remodel your office, you may want to consider:
- A combination of open space and meeting rooms
- Doing away with cubicles
- Having a centralized common area with private/quiet areas around the perimeter
There’s no one-size-fits-all floor plan, but experimenting with different layouts can give you a feel for what will work for your organization.
Belonging to a community is a basic human need. Members of communities look out for each other, care about their work, and toil together for the common good. If you want your team of employees to be happy to come to work, let them grow, show them how to shrug off stress, appreciate them, and arrange your office in an open comfortable fashion.