Are your people contented?!

In today’s age of information, data is very crucial. That makes servers even more crucial. Humans invest heavily in maintaining and micro monitoring these servers so that the valuable data is managed and stored without even a small problem. In short, we take care of these servers because we understand the value it has!

Similarly, organizations and businesses that understand the value of their “Human Potential” will constantly work on sustaining and nurturing them. A business will only scale if is it run by its people with their heart!

Based on my experience, I have shortlisted some basic issues that an organization must keep in mind when it comes to its manpower:

Adequate Compensation & Benefits: This is the first and most basic need of any employee. In 2019, I was an internal coach to one of the very driven employees about his growth and future ambitions. But after the first two sessions, he felt demotivated. On exploration, I found out that the real issue was that he was being underpaid for the volume of responsibilities he had! This triggered a very important checklist in my mind — Adequate Compensation & Benefits; Until an employee does not feel monetarily secured by the employers, he/she would not be motivated enough to drive themselves and thus the business ahead.

Acknowledgment & Reward: I am not just referring to incentives and bonuses! I am referring to real-time public praises or a shout-out to someone who had achieved something phenomenal by his/her and company’s standards. And why publicly? Because we are all social animals. We like to believe in our purpose and show it off a little to the people around us as well. An employee feels that the senior management cares about their work irrespective of the nature of the job! And that feeling is enough to chaise self-motivation in one’s daily life.

People Engagement: This is about culture. One of the basic issues that I have come across in organizations is that employees don’t feel belonged or get fed up with the monotonous work life. Work can get repetitive and perhaps uninteresting. Culture is set by values and values are set by the company. During my experience, I have been in constant touch with teams and employees to check up on them about their personal lives, work going, etc. I have organized weekly group catch-up sessions where employees can discuss their favorite sports, movies, books, and any topic they prefer. When an inter-departmental bond is established, employees feel like they are part of a bigger family. They feel engaged in the day-to-day activities. And once they feel engaged, they will be with you till the end!

Invested in their future: This is one of the gold coins when it comes to the treasure of talent retention! Once an employee is satisfied with his/her compensation and work, what next? We all naturally seek change and growth. I conducted a 10-month employee succession program for 8 shortlisted employees. I coached them about the next 5 years of their professional life. The program was successful with a 90% promotion rate. But the feedback was very insightful — All those employees were very overwhelmed as they felt that the organization cares for their present and their future. For employees, if they can experience the resource investment in their development by the organization, they will always cherish it and strive hard to make you proud! Beyond contentment, employees will develop a sense of accountability towards the organization.

Honesty & Transparency: For employee’s and organization’s contentment, it is very important that their transparency between both of them, especially in terms of the vision and mission.

You keep your employees in light, they will get you to the highest of the skies!