Employers are desperately trying to look for ways to improve the satisfaction of their employees during the job. But often times they’re so misinformed to the requirements, needs and demands of their employees that it remains a botched effort at best. An employee satisfaction survey was carried out by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in 2016 which identified some of the key factors in employee job satisfaction and employee engagement which as required by employees.
The results of the study are designed to help employers and HR personnel to design effective policies based on useful data. Without knowing the preferences of their employees, employers end up wasting thousands of dollars designing ineffective strategies which workers want nothing to do with.
Why is employee satisfaction important?
Employees of all ages, income brackets and position with their company are highly unmotivated. Employee satisfaction has climbed down to a low 45% in 2016 and will continue to fall according to disturbing trends. This low morale inevitably leads to workers leaving the company in droves because they never feel their dreams are being fulfilled.
Such low levels of employee satisfaction were not always the norm. For instance, 20 years ago over 60 percent of Baby Boomers reported that they were satisfied with their job.
What the study from SHRM has to say
The study has found a comprehensive list of factors which contributes to overall employee satisfaction. This includes variety of work, corporate culture, communication between employees and senior management, job training, networking, meaningfulness of their job and most importantly, their relationship with coworkers.
Some of the factors that don’t contribute much to employee satisfaction include networking opportunities, paid training and tuition reimbursement programs.
The key to improving employee satisfaction comes down to the following main factors:
- Career development opportunities
- Career advancement opportunities
- The work itself
- Relationship with supervisors
And it makes sense. No one wants to be stuck doing the same entry level job for the rest of their lives. Each individual wants to see a noticeable change in their compensation/pay, skills and the meaningfulness of their job.
Job security is also an important factor. It is not an uncommon trend for employees to be paranoid if they’re next on the list of getting axed by their bosses. This means they’re always trying to read off of cues which their supervisors give away. The relationship with supervisors and managers also plays an important role.
Companies can carry out their own independent surveys
It helps employees to carry out their own independent surveys to pin point any factors which they feel contribute to low satisfaction levels. But this is not always easy. Employees can feel pressured to give away false pieces of information which will only lead to incorrect conclusions.
The same cycle of employee dissatisfaction will continue for many years down the road. If independent surveys are not a possibility due to the nature of your workspace, then it makes sense to invest some of your time to read the report SHRM to help devise effectual policies.
