How to Cultivate Employee Satisfaction

Make sure your employees are cared for and supported ⁠— and that they know it! The key to a successful business is employee satisfaction. So much of your job as a manager comes down to showing care and consideration. Give each member the support and resources they need to be successful.

Here are five guidelines you can use to increase employee morale:

1. Show respect
2. Mentor your team
3. Collect and implement feedback
4. Focus on team building
5. Communicate openly

1. Show Respect

Respect is a two-way street. Showing respect in the workplace means listening and making improvements based on employee feedback. Demonstrate further respect for your employees by:

• Taking their concerns seriously and acting on them quickly.
• Being considerate and conscientious about their time.
• Mirroring back any feeling statements (“I’m hearing that you feel…”) shows that you’re listening.
• Never underestimating the value of using manners and kindness in every communication, whether it’s verbal, over email, or on a chat app.
• Addressing any conflicts quickly and diplomatically.

2. Mentor Your Team

Mentorship is an advanced skill for the practiced manager, as it means giving your employees both guidance and opportunities to grow. You need to be able to understand their strengths and weaknesses and help them develop their skillsets. Increase employee satisfaction and help your direct reports reach their professional goals by:

• Creating clear career development plans that play to your worker’s strengths and interests.
• Revisiting those plans regularly will help you to chart your employee’s career development and any areas for improvement.
• Having a clear promotion process and an internal hiring process for lateral moves.
• Ensuring that workers who are struggling with challenges or feel stagnant have the support they need.
• Making sure employees are proud of their accomplishments by acknowledging their great work.

3. Collect and Implement Feedback

Another high-level skill for any manager is accepting feedback. A team that believes you’re looking out for them is a team that will do their best work for you. Here are some best practices for collecting feedback:

• Issue monthly employee engagement surveys, weekly pulse surveys, or other anonymous feedback-gathering techniques.
• Make it clear that offering feedback will not result in retaliation. You and your team are both here for the same reason, to do great work and constantly improve. That requires accepting feedback.
• Hold regular all-hands meetings to provide a chance for everyone in the company to be heard, get their questions answered, and feel more invested in the company’s future.

4. Focus on Team-Building

Focus on teamwork to increase employee satisfaction. The key is to build a common sense of purpose. Here are some ways to foster collaboration:

• Employee awards and recognition ceremonies are a fun way to acknowledge workers’ efforts and make them feel encouraged and supported.
• Occasional cross-training gives workers a better understanding of other roles and the big picture.
• Create an employee recognition initiative.
• Group recreation activities, such as sports, escape rooms, and axe-throwing, are fun and easy ways to increase workplace satisfaction.

5. Communicate Openly

Boost employee satisfaction by making your employees feel like they are integral to the team and the company strategy. Here are some ways you can increase communication:

• Have one-on-one meetings to help your direct reports build strong relationships.
• Send a weekly newsletter to the department or the whole company to keep your employees updated on company goals, strategies, and new developments.
• Hold departmental meetings so that team-specific conversations don’t derail larger conversations and foster team bonding.

Continue Strengthening Your Company Culture

Now that you know about the importance of employee satisfaction and how to increase it, take your management skills to the next level with expert advice from Monster.